Float Like a Butterfly...Just Don’t Let Them See...
Born Cassius Clay on January 17th 1942, Muhammad Ali made his professional boxing debut on October 29, 1960 and steamrolled through history becoming a cultural icon and establishing himself as one of the greatest athletes of all time. Carving his legacy with both his fighting in the ring and his fighting words outside of it, Ali had many titles bestowed on him during his career. However, following his actions on May 4th 1984 one of them was revoked…by a distinguished group of professional magicians.
A longtime fan of magic, Ali began learning the craft at the age of 18 telling interviewers “I did it to deceive people. Now I do it to show people how easy it is to be deceived.” Always willing to put on a show for an audience he appeared on British television and performed a number of magic tricks on air earning him an honorary membership in the British Magical Society. Several years later he would again find himself performing tricks on British television, this time on a program raising money for charity. Ali made a handkerchief disappear and a woman levitate among other illusions, but it was what he did next that delighted viewers and horrified magicians all over the world.
Muhammad Ali
In 1975 Ali converted to the Nation of Islam and his religious beliefs did not look kindly on the deliberate deceiving of people. In order to make his love of magic align with the practice of his religion he always explained his “magic powers” after performing the tricks. During his televised performance on May 4th 1984 he proceeded to do exactly that, breaking one of the most sacred tenets of the magic world – to never, ever, reveal the secrets of a trick.
Almost immediately after the program aired Barry Gordon, head of the 99-year-old British Magical Society, released a statement regarding Ali’s reveal saying “Now…he has broken the cardinal rule of all magicians by exposing how the tricks are done and we have decided to remove his name from our list of honorary members.”
Ali never regretted his revealing of the methods and wrote of his love of magic in his book The Soul of a Butterfly: Reflections on Life’s Journey. Speaking of the run-in with the British Magical Society he wrote:
“Muslims aren't supposed to trick people, and I try not to do that. I love magic, and at one time I was a member of a magicians' union. But because Muslims aren't supposed to deceive anyone, I would always reveal how a trick was done after I amazed everyone with my "magic powers." After I did this on a British television show, however, the magicians' union kicked me out.”
Magic remains a love in Ali’s life, and one that he shares with people all over the world. In another excerpt from his book he described the night after his fight re-claiming the heavyweight title from George Foreman in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle”:
“After the fight, I returned to the presidential compound, where I was staying, about an hour north of Kinshasa. The match had started around 3 a.m. in Zaire so it would be on during primetime in the United States. By the time I got back to my place it was actually the next morning and I was exhausted, but after Angelo and Bundini and all of my entourage had gone back to their rooms, I stayed up and sat on the steps of my cottage. A group of local kids came by to see me. I'm not sure if they knew about my boxing or the huge match! I had just won, but they knew my face and name from all of the posters and radio announcements. They expected me to entertain them. These kids wanted to be with Muhammad Ali the magician and jokester, not Muhammad Ali the boxer. I love children because of their innocence and their ability to make the best out of any situation, and being able to entertain a group of kids after such an emotional and stressful night was really great. As much as the championship meant to me, I won't ever forget sitting up with those kids that day, doing magic tricks well into the morning.”
Although he left the ring many years ago, Ali remains an avid fan of magic and still performs his tricks proving, as he has so many times before, he needs no approval from anyone in order to keep astounding everyone.
