This person died in 2016 at age 74. He had an agile mind, a buoyant personality, and a brash self-confidence. He was politically and socially idiosyncratic. He was never taught to read properly; years later he confided that he had never read a book, including the ones on which he collaborated. He had Parkinson’s disease for more than 30 years. He was the most thrilling if not the best heavyweight ever, with a boxing style that fused speed, agility and power. Today’s dead celebrity is Muhammad Ali.

Famous & Gravy is created and co-hosted by Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne. This episode was produced by Jacob Weiss. Visit our website at famousandgravy.com and also enjoy our free mobile quiz game at deadoraliveapp.com

LINKS:

Transcript of this episode

New York Times obituary for Muhammad Alii

The Simpsons supercut video of all Muhammad Ali references

Muhammad Ali lights the Olympic torch at 1996 Atlanta

I Am the Greatest 1963 album Wikipedia entry

Trailer for Ali Rap documentary

Ken Burns’ Muhammad Ali documentary streaming on PBS 

Dead or Alive quiz game

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