When Billy Crystal Paid Tribute to Muhammad Ali
Former President Bill Clinton and Bryant Gumbel will also speak the memorial service in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, ESPN reported.
“This is what was chosen for him: to be the great ambassador for peace and understanding,” Crystal wrote in a 2010 USA Today piece about Ali. “Our teacher, our healer. He was the fighter who wouldn’t fight. He is a good man.”
One of Crystal’s best known acts is his flawless impression of Ali, who enthralled the world with his iconic combination of power and braggadocio.
Ali himself revelled in Crystal’s “fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee” schtick.
Crystal posted a video of his impression of Ali on Twitter along with a moving eight-word tribute: “For the greatest man I have ever known.”
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.