My hero Ali
Frank Skinner pulls no punches in his bid to learn more about The Greatest
MUHAMMAD Ali was a hero to millions, and Frank Skinner is set to show us why the boxing legend really was The Greatest of all.
As the anniversary of Ali’s death at 74 on June 3 last year approaches, Frank travels around the UK and US, visiting key locations and people in his life. Frank says: “I loved Ali since I was a child. I loved the warrior, the entertainer, the craziness that surrounded him. “I met him, as a trembling fanboy, a few times, in the 90s, but I only had the courage to ask for an autograph and a couple of photos. This project gave me the chance to question his family, friends and his boxing inner-circle and explore the truth about the man.”
In Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, Frank talks to a neighbour who witnessed the boxer’s singleminded dedication to his craft.
He meets Ali’s younger brother Rahman, 73, who was his closest confidant. And Frank talks to Ali’s second wife Khalilah, who was there in the turbulent years when he was banned from boxing for refusing to fight in Vietnam and became key to the civil rights movement.
Frank, 60, delves into some of the lesser-known aspects of Ali’s life, meeting the bareknuckle boxer from an Oxfordshire council estate who became one of his dearest friends.
He also talks to Ali’s old sparring partner and friend Larry Holmes, 67, who later faced him in the ring.
In 1998, Frank made A Little Bit of Elvis, going to America to find out if a shirt he had bought at auction really had belonged to the King.
We expect that this documentary, Frank Skinner on Muhammad Ali, will be a similar project.