Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr.
Rahaman Ali
Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (November 11, 1912 – February 8, 1990) was an American painter and musician. He was the father of three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali and Rahaman Ali, and the paternal grandfather of Laila Ali. He married Odessa Lee O'Grady in 1934 and worked as a painter. He was described as "a handsome, mercurial, noisy, combative failed dreamer"[1] and a "hard-drinking, skirt-chasing dandy of a daddy".[2] His son Muhammad Ali described him as "the fanciest dancer in Louisville".[3]
Biography
Clay was born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, to Herman H. Clay (March 1876 – February 1, 1954) and Edith E. Greathouse (December 1889 – December 30, 1972[4]). He was named in honor of the 19th-century Republican politician and staunch abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay. He had a sister and four brothers, including Nathaniel Clay.[5][6] Clay's paternal grandparents were John Clay and Sallie Anne Clay. His sister Eva said that Sallie was a native of Madagascar.[7] According to DNA research, Muhammad Ali's paternal grandmother was Archer Alexander's (1816–1880) great-granddaughter.[8]
Clay painted billboards and signs.[9] He also played the piano, took piano lessons and wrote music. Around 1933, he married Odessa Lee O'Grady.[10] He was a heavy drinker, which led to legal entanglements for reckless driving, disorderly conduct, and assault and battery.[11] When asked in 1970 why he had not become a Muslim as his son had done, he said: "my religion is my talent, that which supports me."[12]
Clay died at the age of 77 on February 8, 1990, after suffering a heart attack while leaving a department store in Kentucky.[6]
Legacy
Clay was portrayed by Arthur Adams in the 1977 film The Greatest and by Giancarlo Esposito in the 2001 Oscar-nominated film Ali.[13]
References
- ^ Lipsyte, Robert (March 7, 1971). "I Don't Have to Be What You Want Me to Be". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 23, 2018. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Ali". The Guardian. London. November 2, 2003. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Lee Eisenberg (September 1984). Fifty who made the difference. ISBN 0-394-53912-5.
- ^ "Ancestry of Muhammad Ali". Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- ^ "Barber Can Relax Hair". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 15, 1997. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ a b "Cassius Marcellus Clay., Former Champion's Father, 77". Associated Press in The New York Times. February 10, 1990. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Egerton (1991), p. 134
- ^ DNA evidence links Muhammad Ali to heroic slave, family says Archived 2019-04-04 at the Wayback Machine Ben Strauss, Washington Post, October 2, 2018
- ^ "The Dream". Time magazine. March 22, 1963. Archived from the original on August 24, 2013. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ Egerton, John (September 28, 1980). "Ali's Kentucky Roots". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Growing Up Scared in Louisville". Sports Illustrated. April 18, 1966. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Words of the week". Jet magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. November 12, 1970. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Ali (2001)". The Internet Movie Database. Archived from the original on 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- Egerton, John (1991). Shades of Gray: Dispatches from the Modern South. LSU Press. ISBN 0807117056. Retrieved 2012-10-23.
External links
- Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Boxing at the 1960 Summer Olympics
- Clay vs. Hunsaker
- Clay vs. Siler
- Clay vs. Esperti
- Clay vs. Robinson
- Clay vs. Fleeman
- Clay vs. Clark
- Clay vs. Sabedong
- Clay vs. Johnson
- Clay vs. Miteff
- Clay vs. Besmanoff
- Clay vs. Banks
- Clay vs. Warner
- Clay vs. Logan
- Clay vs. Daniels
- Clay vs. Lavorante
- Clay vs. Moore
- Clay vs. Powell
- Clay vs. Jones
- Clay vs. Cooper
- Liston vs. Clay
- Ali vs. Liston II
- Ali vs. Patterson
- Ali vs. Chuvalo
- Ali vs. Cooper II
- Ali vs. London
- Ali vs. Mildenberger
- Ali vs. Terrell
- Ali vs. Williams
- Ali vs. Folley
- Ali vs. Quarry
- Ali vs. Bonavena
- Fight of the Century (Frazier vs. Ali I)
- Ali vs. Ellis
- Ali vs. Mathis
- Ali vs. Blin
- Ali vs. M. Foster
- Ali vs. Lewis
- Ali vs. Patterson II
- Ali vs. B. Foster
- Ali vs. Bugner
- Ali vs. Norton
- Norton vs. Ali II
- Ali vs. Lubbers
- Ali vs. Frazier II
- The Rumble in the Jungle (Foreman vs. Ali)
- Ali vs. Wepner
- Ali vs. Lyle
- Thrilla in Manila (Ali vs. Frazier III)
- Ali vs. Coopman
- Ali vs. Young
- Ali vs. Dunn
- Ali vs. Norton III
- Ali vs. Evangelista
- Ali vs. Shavers
- Ali vs. Spinks
- Spinks vs. Ali II
- Holmes vs. Ali
- Ali vs. Berbick
Docu films and series |
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- Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962 film)
- I Am the Greatest (1963 album)
- The Super Fight (1970 film)
- "Black Superman (Muhammad Ali)" (1974 song)
- The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976 album)
- The Greatest (1977 film)
- I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali (1977 animated series)
- Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (1978 comic book)
- Muhammad Ali Heavyweight Boxing (1992 video game)
- Foes of Ali (1995 video game)
- When We Were Kings (1996 film)
- King of the World (2000 TV film)
- Ali: An American Hero (2000 TV film)
- "Muhammad Ali" (2001 song)
- Ali (2001 film)
- "The World's Greatest" (2002 song)
- One Night in Miami (2013 play)
- Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight (2013 TV film)
- Approaching Ali (2013 opera)
- One Night in Miami... (2020 film)
associates
- Chuck Bodak (trainer, cutman)
- Angelo Dundee (cornerman)
- Drew Bundini Brown (trainer, cornerman)
- Ferdie Pacheco (personal physician, cornerman)
- Joe E. Martin (first trainer)
- Archie Moore (trainer)
- George Dillman (instructor)
- Jabir Herbert Muhammad (manager)
- Luis Sarria (trainer, cutman, masseur)
- Joe Frazier (opponent, friend)
- Richard Durham (autobiography co-writer)
- The Greatest: My Own Story (1975 autobiography)
- The Fight (1975)
- Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times (1991 biography)
- The Tao of Muhammad Ali (1997)
- King of the World (1998 biography)
- Facing Ali (2002)
- Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years (2002 biography)
- The Soul of a Butterfly (2004 autobiography)
- Twelve Rounds to Glory (2007 biography)
- Ali: A Life (2018 biography)