
Muhammad Ali
Department: Acting
Biography
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Ali was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He became a Muslim after 1961. He won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. On March 6, 1964, he announced that he no longer would be known as Cassius Clay but as Muhammad Ali. In 1966, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, citing his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War. He was found guilty of draft evasion so he faced 5 years in prison and was stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison as he appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction in 1971, but he had not fought for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. As a Muslim, Ali was initially affiliated with Elijah Muhammad's Nation of Islam (NOI). He later disavowed the NOI, adhering to Sunni Islam, and supporting racial integration like his former mentor Malcolm X. Ali was a leading heavyweight boxer of the 20th century, and he remains the only three-time lineal champion of that division. His joint records of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight title and winning 14 unified title bouts stood for 35 years. He is the only fighter to have been ranked as the world's best heavyweight by BoxRec twelve times. He has been ranked among BoxRec's ten best heavyweights seventeen times, the third most in history. He won 8 fights that were rated by BoxRec as 5-Star, the third most in the history of the heavyweight division. Ali is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He has been ranked the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time, and as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated, the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC, and the third greatest athlete of the 20th century by ESPN SportsCentury. He was involved in several historic boxing matches and feuds, most notably his fights with Joe Frazier, such as the Fight of the Century and the Thrilla in Manila, and his fight with George Foreman, known as The Rumble in the Jungle, which has been called "arguably the greatest sporting event of the 20th century" and was watched by a record estimated television audience of 1 billion viewers worldwide, becoming the world's most-watched live television broadcast at the time. Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many fighters let their managers do the talking, and he was often provocative and outlandish. He was known for trash-talking, and often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry, anticipating elements of hip hop.
Known For

When We Were Kings
1996

City of Ali
2021

Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
2019

Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story
2020

Soul Power
2009

Black Soul
1974

Ron Lyle
2021

Earnie Shavers
2021

The King of Miami Beach
2022

Untold: Deal with the Devil
2021

Stand
2023

Muhammad and Larry
1980

Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
1974

Black Power Salute
2008

In Search of Greatness
2018

Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
2022

The Fighters
1974

Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
2000

Fight of the Century
1971

The Greatest
1977

Doin' Time
1985

Malcolm X
1972

Muhammad and Larry
2009

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I
1965

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II
1972

Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones
1963

The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
1974

Cassius Clay vs. Alonzo Johnson
1961

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
1971

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
1974

Say Hey, Willie Mays!
2022

Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!
2000

The Documented Life and Times of Muhammad Ali - The Greatest
2002

Ali Rap
2006

Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
2001

a.k.a. Cassius Clay
1970

Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021

Norman Mailer: The American
2012

Cassius le grand
1964

The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's
1990

The Super Fight
1970

Black Rodeo
1972

Out From Ali's Shadow: The Larry Holmes Story
2006

O.J.: Made in America
2016

Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
1988

Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick
1981

Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
1986

Body and Soul
1981

Parkinson at 50
2021

Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
2001

Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
2013

The Trials of Muhammad Ali
2013

Darts Tarts – Welcome to my World
2006

Rumble in the Jungle
2009

Thrilla in Manila
2019

WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
2006

Cassius X: Becoming Ali
2023

Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
2023

Pelé
2021

The Real Rocky
2011

McEnroe
2022

Diana
1981

I Am Ali
2014

Muhammad Ali - The Greatest Collection
1999

Muhammad Ali The Whole Story
1996

Tribute to Chuck Wepner: The Legacy and Retirement of the Real Rocky Balboa
2023

Night of 100 Stars III
1990

Mister Candid Camera
2021

Requiem for a Heavyweight
1962

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
2019

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
1991

Franz Klammer - The Ski "Kaiser" Will Be 70
2023

70 Jahre Annemarie Moser-Pröll – Ein Leben als Wintermärchen
2023

Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III
1975

Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
2013

My Father Muhammad Ali
2023

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II
1965

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I
1964

James Bond: The First 21 Years
1983

Andre the Giant
2018

Thrilla in Manila
2008

WWE Hall of Fame 2024
2024

Sticky: A (Self) Love Story
2016

Something's Happening
1967

Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990
1995

Kings of the Ring: Four Legends of Heavyweight Boxing
1995

Freedom Road
1979

Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion
1998

Money Talks
1972

When Ali Met Cathal
2009

TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
2004

Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
2018

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
2008

Funny Girl to Funny Lady
1975

Facing Ali
2009

The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali
2003

Africa Rising
2019

Jack Paar: Smart Television
2003

Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
2015

Tyson
2008

Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
2000

Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II
1978

Boxing's Greatest Champions
1995

WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak
2012

Legends Never Die
2006

Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
2008

Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
2014

The Journey of the African-American Athlete
1996

Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle
2016

Champions Forever
1989

B.B. King: Live In Africa '74
1998

James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
2008

Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer
1993

Da 5 Bloods
2020

Ali's Dozen
2006

The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
1998

WrestleMania
1985

WCW Halloween Havoc 1994
1994

The Fight
1974

The Champ and the King
2018

Black Is Beltza
2018

Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
2001

Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali
2021

Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit
2009

Beatles '64
2024

Wake Up and Apologise
1972

Monday Night Mayhem
2002

When Ali Came to Britain
—

American Made
2017

Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Opening Ceremony
1996

Pelé Forever
2004

United We Stand: The Ali Summit
2018

Ali: The Mission
2013

Best of Enemies
2015

Robbed
2014

Kings of the Square Ring
1978

When Boxing Ruled The World
2001

The Summer of Love
2017

Boxing Crazy
1997

Mike Tyson Presents: The Heavyweights
1988

70 Years of Youth Revolt
2020

The Merv Griffin Show
1962

Bill Russell: Legend
2023

Shut Up and Dribble
2018

O.J.: Made in America
2016

Ali's 65
2007

Muhammad Ali
2021

A Life in Ten Pictures
2021

Explained
2018

The Mike Douglas Show
1961

Die Muhammad Ali Story
1996

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

Wogan
1982

What's My Line?
1950

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
2021

Touched by an Angel
1994

What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
2019

Bambi
1948

Apostrophes
1975

The Dick Cavett Show
1968

The Century of Icons
2022

Der Sport-Spiegel
1963

The Seventies
2015

Mid-South Wrestling
1981

The Captain and Tennille
1976

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962

Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story
1996