REPOST
The tale of an unexpected encounter between 20th century legends -
a meeting which created a new template for global celebrity.
February 1964: The Beatles fly into Miami, sparking Beatlemania as
they prepare to perform on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Meanwhile in a low-rent Miami gym, the underdog Cassius Clay trains
to fight reigning champion Sonny Liston for the world title. The
pundits
say Clay hasn't a hope. Quite unexpectedly, the
paths of these
legendary figures cross.
British photographer Harry Benson arranges for The Beatles to
visit
Cassius Clay in the gym. Clay picks up Ringo and swings
him around the
ring as if he's no heavier than a toddler,
as the other band-members lie
at his feet. Clay pretends to
knock all four Beatles down with a single
punch. The resulting
images remain in the memory long after this brief
encounter.
The Beatles triumph on TV. Cassius Clay amazes all the
boxing writers
by defeating Liston. They suddenly both find
themselves on the cusp of a
new kind of stardom - they're
young, outspoken and able to capture the
global imagination.
John Wilson reports from Miami on the background to this
unique
encounter, with the memories of three people who
were there at the time:
photographer Harry Benson, who
was travelling with the Beatles, writer
Robert Lipsyte, who
was covering the fight for the New York Times as a
rookie
reporter, and fight doctor Ferdie Pacheco, then working
at the
gym in Miami. All witnessed the moment when
Cassius met The Beatles.
John also taps the memories of Paul McCartney.
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