Muhammad Ali
Acting
Born: January 17, 1942 · Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Died: June 3, 2016 (aged 74)
Highest Rated
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
American Gangster
2007
American Made
2017
Da 5 Bloods
2020
O.J.: Made in America
2016
When We Were Kings
1996
Pelé
2021
Touched by an Angel
1994
Andre the Giant
2018
Best of Enemies
2015
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
2008
Explained
2018
Tyson
2008
Photos (1)
Movies (19)
The Greatest
Cassius Clay / Muhammad Ali
Doin' Time
Muhammad Ali
WrestleMania
Muhammad Ali (Enforcer)
WWE: Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology
Muhammad Ali
The Summer of Love
2017
Something's Happening
1967
Freedom Road
Gideon Jackson
United We Stand: The Ali Summit
archival footage
Kings of the Square Ring
1978
WWE Hall of Fame 2024
Muhammad Ali
Leon Spinks vs Muhammad Ali II
1978
City of Ali
2021
Cassius le grand
1964
When Ali Met Cathal
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad and Larry
1980
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
1991
Earnie Shavers
2021
The King of Miami Beach
2022
When Ali Came to Britain
2012
TV Shows (3)
Self / Appearances (132)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 9 eps
The Mike Douglas Show
Self · 6 eps
Touched by an Angel
Self · 1 eps
The Merv Griffin Show
Self · 1 eps
Wogan
Self · 1 eps
Apostrophes
Self · 1 eps
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest · 8 eps
Bambi
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest · 1 eps
Explained
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
American Made
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Captain and Tennille
Self - Guest · 1 eps
The Seventies
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Shut Up and Dribble
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Jerry West: The Logo
Self (Archive Footage)
Da 5 Bloods
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Himself (as Cassius Clay)
David Frost Vs
self (archive footage) · 1 eps
What's My Name | Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage) · 2 eps
Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
Self
Bill Russell: Legend
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Pelé
Self (archive Footage)
Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage) · 4 eps
James Brown - The Night James Brown Saved Boston
Self (archive footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage)
Untold: Deal with the Devil
Self - Professional Boxer (archive footage)
Tyson
Self (archive footage)
A Life in Ten Pictures
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Beatles '64
Self (archive footage)
Andre the Giant
Self (archive footage)
O.J.: Made in America
Self (archive footage)
When We Were Kings
Self
Monday Night Mayhem
Self (archive footage)
I Am Ali
Self (archive footage)
70 Years of Youth Revolt
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
The Century of Icons
Self (archive footage) · 1 eps
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
Self (archive footage)
Best of Enemies
Self (archival)
Black Rodeo
Self
Money Talks
Self
Pelé Forever
Self (archive footage)
Diana
Self
Muhammad Ali: The Whole Story
Self · 6 eps
Champions Forever
Self
Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
Himself (archive footage)
Ron Lyle
Self (archive footage)
Body and Soul
Himself
McEnroe
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
James Bond: The First 21 Years
Self
Stand
Self (archive footage)
Fight of the Century
Self
Night of 100 Stars III
Self
Boulevard! A Hollywood Story
Self (archive footage)
In Search of Greatness
Self (archive footage)
The Fight
Himself
Sticky: A (Self) Love Story
Self
Say Hey, Willie Mays!
Self (archive footage)
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
Malcolm X
Self (archive footage)
Facing Ali
Self
The Making of 'Ali'
Self
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
Thrilla in Manila
Himself (archive footage)
Robbed
Self
Soul Power
Self (archive footage)
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Self (archive footage)
Behind the Shield: The Power and Politics of the NFL
Self (archive footage)
Ali's Dozen
Self
The Real Rocky
Self (archive footage)
Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Black Is Beltza
Self (voice) (archive footage)
The Trials of Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
The Journey of the African-American Athlete
Self (archive footage)
Africa Rising
Self - Boxer (archive footage)
Black Power Salute
Self (archive footage)
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self - Roastee (archive footage)
WCW Halloween Havoc 1994
Himself (Ringside)
Goal!
Self
Mike Tyson vs Trevor Berbick
Self
Muhammad and Larry
Himself
Muhammad Ali - Through The Eyes Of The World
Himself
Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston
Self (archive footage)
Les vendredis d'Apostrophes
Self (archive footage)
Mike Tyson vs Larry Holmes
Self
WWE: Undertaker 20-0 - The Streak
Self (archive footage)
Mister Candid Camera
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali: Made in Miami
Himself
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier I
Self
Funny Girl to Funny Lady
Self
Muhammad Ali, the Greatest
Self
Jack Paar: Smart Television
Self
The Best of ABC's Wide World of Sports: The 60's
Self
The Last Round: Chuvalo vs. Ali
Himself
My Father Muhammad Ali
Self (archive footage)
Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
Self (Archival Footage)
Thrilla in Manila
Self
Atlanta 1996: Games of the XXVI Olympiad - Opening Ceremony
Self
Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme
Himself
a.k.a. Cassius Clay
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Trevor Berbick
Self
Ali-Frazier I: One Nation... Divisible
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston I
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston II
Self
Legends of Mid-South Wrestling
Himself
The Fighters
Self
Ali: The Mission
Self (archive footage)
Black Soul
Self
B.B. King: Live In Africa '74
Self
Cassius Clay vs. Doug Jones
Self
Norman Mailer: The American
Self
The Rumble in the Jungle: George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali
Self
Wake Up and Apologise
Self
Ali & Cavett: The Tale of the Tapes
Self (archive footage)
The Champ and the King
Self (archive footage)
Cassius X: Becoming Ali
Self (archive footage)
Kings of The Ring - History of Heavyweight Boxing 1919-1990
Himself (Archival Footage)
Rumble in the Jungle
Self
The Super Fight
Himself
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II
Self
Boxing's Greatest Champions
Self
Ali's Comeback: The Untold Story
Self (archive footage)
Sugar Ray Robinson: The Bright Lights and Dark Shadows of a Champion
Himself
Champions Forever - World Heavyweight Champs!
Himself
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson II
Self
Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III
Self
Muhammad Ali - Rumble in the Jungle
Self (archive footage)
Naked Sport: Welcome to the Sewer
Self
Muhammad Ali: Fighting Spirit
himself
Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson I
Self
