Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
Vegas Confidential columnist Norm Clarke remembers Ali the entertainer
Muhammad Ali wasn’t just “The Greatest” inside the ring. Beyond the ropes, he won fans with magic tricks or by drawing sketches of them.
“He got tired of talking about himself and that’s how he deflected the questions,” said Gene Kilroy, who was Ali’s business manager for 12 years.
My all-time favorite Ali story happened at N9ne Steakhouse at the Palms, site of the Las Vegas premiere of “Ali.” The 2001 biopic starred Will Smith and Jamie Foxx.
Ali was having dinner with his entourage when he raised his hand to get the attention of a busboy.
The awestruck busboy stopped in his tracks. “What’s your name?” The young man stammered his name, which I believe was John or Josh.
“Nice meeting you,” said the champ. The busboy walked off on Cloud Nine.
About 20 minutes later, as the busboy was walking by, he saw Ali beckoning him with a gesture.
The three-time heavyweight champion handed the busboy a folded linen napkin. The busboy thanked him and headed back to the kitchen.
I can only imagine the scene: With co-workers looking on, the busboy unfolds the linen napkin and there’s a personalized drawing by Ali.
He had drawn a boxing ring and surrounded it with fight fans. In the middle of the ring, two stick figures with boxing gloves.
Written over one: the busboy’s name. Over the other: two words, “The Greatest.”
Definitely had to be the greatest tip that kid ever got.
Ali had a bag of magic tricks, said Kilroy.
“He had a fake thumb where he put a handkerchief in it,” added Kilroy. “He worked with Jimmy Grippo, the house magician at Caesars Palace.”
Ali’s big trick, though, always brought the house down.
“He does a classic levitation — classic,” magician David Copperfield told a group of writers on the red carpet at Ali’s 70th birthday tribute at the MGM Grand Garden.
Copperfield said Ali took levitation to another level by adding his bodyguards to the illusion, which gave the appearance of the feet rising several inches above the floor.
Ali attended Copperfield’s shows on numerous occasions and would join him backstage.
Ali performed that levitation trick in front of a large group of fans inside the Palms’ Rain nightclub while in town for the premiere.
Someone introduced the champ to me and my friend. He was clearly more interested in my friend, Ona. He was whispering in her ear. She was smiling. “He said, ‘If I were young again, you would have been my next wife.’”
“The guy who showed him that levitation trick,” said Kilroy, “was the nephew of Tommy Lasorda. He showed him a lot of magic tricks.”
One time Ali came to Las Vegas to visit Kilroy and they ran into famed arms dealer and high roller Adnan Khashoggi. In a flash, Ali was showing off his mastery of magic.
Kilroy and Ali go back to the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where Ali, then 18 and known as Cassius Clay, won the gold medal in the light heavyweight class.
Kilroy was there as an Army officer who signed pay vouchers for U.S. Army personnel. “We’d hang out at the Olympic Village.” From that interaction sprang an improbable friendship as a member of Ali’s inner circle.
“It’s tough,” said Kilroy, who is mourning the death of his friend. “You lose a guy who was like a brother.”
Kilroy was a pallbearer for Ali’s mother and father.
THE SCENE AND HEARD
Jessica Moore has landed an anchor job at WCBSTV in New York City after a six-year run at NBC affiliate KSNV-TV, Channel 3. Moore, 32, and Jim Snyder have teamed up as evening anchors the past four years. They were married briefly. Her last day at the station is June 28. “Not only is Jessica a strong anchor and reporter she has also been a leader in the newsroom since she started in 2010,” news director Mark Neerman wrote in an email to his staff. “Her contributions can’t be overstated. She’s been a key player in helping our newscasts grow from third to first place.”
SIGHTINGS
Jerry Newton, in the audience for brother Wayne Newton’s “Up Close and Personal” show at Bally’s on Friday. The Newtons entered the Las Vegas music scene as a duo in the late 1950s.
THE PUNCH LINE
“Fleet Week is when members of the Navy do the bravest thing they’ve ever done: wear all white on the New York City subway.” — Jimmy Fallon