Extremely Rare Muhammad Ali the Actor, signed Playbill from “Buck White”

This extremely rare 6”x9” playbill is signed in ink on top by the boxing legend and star "Muhammad Ali”. Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. 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.

Muhammad Ali, was not just a boxing superstar and icon he also for a very brief time and actor. I’m speaking of his single Broadway role, as the lead in the musical Buck White. It was adapting Joseph Dolan Tuotti’s play Big Time Buck White and writing the lyrics and music. 

The show lasted for only five days, seven performances on Broadway commencing on 2nd December and closing the doors on 6th December. This was during the period in which Ali had been stripped of his title and banned from boxing for his refusal to join the Army and fight in Vietnam.

Here is a video from the Ed Sullivan show showing Ali as the singer. Ali as Buck White

Today, it is almost impossible to find any evidence of the show other than his performance of “We Came in Chains” on The Ed Sullivan Show on January 18, 1970. We are proud to have the only signed piece that we could find records from this unique and very brief period in Ali’s life. It’s interesting to note that while he had taken on the name of Muhammad Ali several years earlier when he joined the Nation of Islam, his Broadway appearance ultimately saw him billed by his earlier name, which he had denounced as his slave name, Cassius Clay, though ‘Muhammad Ali aka’ appeared in smaller type above it. This extremely rare 6”x9” playbill is signed in ink on top by the boxing legend and star “Muhammad Ali”. Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. 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.

With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA. With JSA LOA

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