I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali
GenreAnimation
Created byFred Calvert
Kimie Calvert
John Paxton
Voices ofMuhammad Ali
Frank Bannister
Casey Carmichael
Patrice Carmichael
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Running time22 minutes
Production companyFarmhouse Films
Distributor20th Television
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseSeptember 10 (1977-09-10) –
December 3, 1977 (1977-12-03)

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali is an animated series featuring boxer Muhammad Ali, who performed his own voice.[1] The series was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC and produced by Fred Calvert's independent production company, Farmhouse Films, in the fall of 1977, but was cancelled after 13 episodes due to its low ratings.[2]

In the show, Muhammad Ali went on adventures with his niece Nicky and nephew Damon.[3]

Crew

Episodes

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No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The Great Alligator"September 10, 1977 (1977-09-10)
2"The Air Fair Affair"September 17, 1977 (1977-09-17)
3"The Littlest Runner"September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24)
4"Ali's African Adventure"October 1, 1977 (1977-10-01)
5"Superstar"October 8, 1977 (1977-10-08)
6"The Haunted Park"October 15, 1977 (1977-10-15)
7"Caught in the Wild"October 22, 1977 (1977-10-22)
8"Volcano Island"October 29, 1977 (1977-10-29)
9"Oasis of the Moon"November 5, 1977 (1977-11-05)
10"The Great Bluegrass Mountain Race"November 12, 1977 (1977-11-12)
11"The Werewolf of Devil's Creek"November 19, 1977 (1977-11-19)
12"Sissy's Climb"November 26, 1977 (1977-11-26)
13"Terror in the Deep"December 3, 1977 (1977-12-03)

Reception

The series received generally negative reviews. In The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter writes, "Ali did attempt acting himself, starring in The Greatest and other film and TV projects, but he proved not to be as good at it as he was at throwing punches. That should have been a sign to the producers of this series that a project featuring him wasn't a good idea, but they ignored it, banking on Ali's popularity with children to make the series work. It did not. This was, instead, perhaps the most clumsily animated, written, and acted series in television animation history, with little of value presented."[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 424. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 225. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  4. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 295. ISBN 978-1538103739.

External links


Muhammad Ali
Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s
Categories