In reading a biography of Joe Namath, I found a little tidbit about Ernest Hemingway. Apparently Hemingway was often on the lookout for sparring partners and, according to a fellow who was one such partner, the candidates were told not to throw any "rights" at Papa, and to also watch their testicles in a clinch because he often would hit below the belt then. I know Hemingway did a fair amount of boxing, but if this story is true then it doesn't show Papa in the best light.
Another tidbit that I discovered in the Namath book is that Namath was the star of a motorcycle movie back in the 70s called C. C. & Company. I actually remember this movie with some fondness but had completely forgotten that Namath was in it. Broadway Joe was also in a spaghetti western, which must have been pretty bad because I had never heard of it before.
I kind of remember the Western - it was named for whatever his character was in the movie, but C.C. Rider I remember best for its opening scene where he goes into a grocery, makes a sandwich while shopping, gets cupcakes for dessert, puts everything back and checks out with just a pack of chewing gum. That scene probably should be a classic. Charles, you might also recall that William "Big Bill" Smith is his rival in that flick, I think, and he was Karl Edward Wagner's choice of someone right to play Conan. He wound up cast as Conan's father in the Stone film because Wagner was a technical consultant and suggested him.
ReplyDeleteYeah, C. C. Ryder was the character's name. I remember William Smith from a couple of biker movies but get his roles confused. I always liked him a lot and would have been happy to see him play Conan, although maybe he was a bit old by the time the movie came out. I always felt bad for Smith in a way because he would always get whipped in the movies and most of the time the guys who were whipping him didn't look like they could accomplish the feat.
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