Great Celebrity Purge of 2016

The year 2016 will be forever remembered in infamy to many people, as it claimed the lives of many celebrities. And while every year claims its share of celebrities, 2016 seemed especially cruel and callous, as one after another after another was taken from us.

This series of geocaches tries to honor those who were taken during the year by placing caches in memoriam and on the anniversary of their passing.

Tony Burton

Anthony "Tony" Burton (23 March 1937 – 25 February 2016) was an American actor, boxer, and football player. He was known for his role as Tony "Duke" Evers in the Rocky franchise. Only he, Sylvester Stallone and Burt Young (as Paullie Pannino) are the actors who have appeared in every Rocky installment (not counting Creed).

Burton played halfback at Northern, where he was selected to the first teams of the All City and All Valley teams, and chosen as an All State honorable mention. He was the team's co-captain and MVP, leading the team in yards gained and receiving yards. Burton was also a Michigan Golden Gloves light heavyweight boxing champion in 1955 and 1957.

After boxing, Burton would up in prison, doing three and a half years for robbery. But in the end, Burton credited his time in prison with allowing him to earn his high school diploma and a degree from the University of California. "Most important," he recalled, "I got myself together and found out who I was and how I could proceed without destroying myself." Skills acquired in prison help Burton meet his wife on a television repair house call. Additionally, a prison workshop that used pyschodrama as a form of therapy pointed Burton towards his acting career.

According to his sister, Burton had been frequently hospitalized in the last year of his life. He died from complications of pneumonia at a hospital in Menifee, California, at the age of 78.