Muhammad Ali - My brother-in-law and I were walking out of Madison Square Garden (the old one on 8th Avenue) in 1967 and saw Ali surrounded by four huge bodyguards (my brother-in-law is 6'3" tall and these guys made him look tiny). I fought my way through them and handed a newspaper to Ali who took it, autographed it and handed it back to me (the nice thing about it was his picture was on the page of paper that he signed). I said, "Thanks, champ", which brought a smile from Ali (this was during the time his title was stripped from him because he refused induction into the Army).
Middleweight champ, Rocky Graziano - I met him at least a half dozen times. He was a constant figure on the east-side of Manhattan at night and I'd always yell, "Hey Champ!", to which he'd ALWAYS say thanks and was prepared to talk for awhile. I got his autograph years before in Madison Square Garden.
Middleweight champ, Jake LaMotta - Like Graziano, he was a regular fixture on the midtown east-side area and I saw him/spoke to him a few times. Not as friendly as Graziano, the "Raging Bull" would still say hello at the drop of a hat.
Movie critic, Rex Reed - I literally bumped into him outside The Dakota (where he lived). I remember him saying "Ooooph" and that he felt like the Pillsbury Doughboy as I bounced off him.
From my years of working for politically connected law firms I've met and talked to publisher William F. Buckley, lawyer Roy Cohn (portrayed by Al Pacino in a tv movie), NJ Governor James Florio, and Olympics skater Dorothy Hammill.
