RAREST Orig. Beatles & Cassius Clay Miami 1964 VTG Kodachrome 35mm Photo Slide

Description

One of Only Six Known Color Images Of This Iconic Moment!
Previously unpublished original 35mm Kodachrome slide of the February 18, 1964 meeting between the Beatles and Cassius Clay (not yet known as Muhammad Ali) at Miami's 5th Street Gym.  Clay was preparing for his title fight with Sonny Liston, and Liston had no interest in meeting with the band.
This is the original Kodachrome slide, stamped May 1965 on the back.  The slide mount is sealed and this is absolutely the original film.  The presumption is that the photographer simply did not have the roll developed until a year later.
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"There’s no denying that The Beatles and Muhammad Ali were all skilled at delivering powerful hits in their own rights. It wasn’t until February 18, 1964, however, that their paths eventually crossed at Miami Beach’s 5th Street Gym. New British rockers George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr — otherwise known as the Fab Four — were stateside for a live Ed Sullivan Showperformance when they met a largely unknown 22-year-old underdog boxer named Cassius Clay. For his part, the fighter, who would, weeks later, change his name to Muhammad Ali, was in Miami to get in the ring for a bout with the heavily favored Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston.
To drum up publicity while in the United States, the boys from Liverpool actually first approached Liston to participate in a photo op ahead of the match. When Liston unequivocally refused — and even reportedly threw some metaphorical jabs at the band — the Beatles rolled with the punches and recruited his opponent instead. Photographer Harry Benson captured the meeting of the legends that day in a series of pictures worth far more than a thousand words.
At the time, neither Ali or the musicians really knew of each other, and, by all accounts, Ali didn’t make the best first impression. Journalist Robert Lipsyte, who had traveled to Miami to cover the fight for The New York Times, remembers a tense beginning, with Ali arriving extremely late.
"Somebody said that ‘Clay’s not here' and the four guys cursed you know and said, ‘We’re the F out of here,’ and turned around, but … I guess Clay’s people wanted a photo op too so they just kind of pushed all of us up the stairs and I went into this dressing room with these guys, I didn’t know who they were, I wasn’t intimidated,” he later recalled. “The five of us are in the dressing room and the door is locked, they’re screaming and banging on the door, they were very angry … and they started banging on the door and cursing and they were very angry at having been abducted.”
But suddenly, Lipsyte explained, a towering Ali — clad in his boxing shorts — appeared, eclipsing a doorway, and all of The Beatles gasped in unison. Ali quickly broke the ice.
“Hello there, Beatles! We oughta do some road shows together. We’ll get rich!” Ali said, according to Lipsyte. (Other reports claim he, instead, said, “Hey, Beatles, let’s go make some money!”)
Soon after, Benson snapped the famed photos of all five men goofing around in the gym. In one shot, the music group pretended to fall like dominoes after Ali intimated a punch towards Harrison. Another image showed the boxer lifting Starr, while his bandmates laid on the ground as if they’d just gotten KO’d. At one point, Ali reportedly told The Beatles, “You ain’t as dumb as you look!” Fired back Lennon, “No. But you are!” Following a brief awkward silence, the whole group erupted in laughter.
Ali also lightened the mood by improvising freestyle, per a UPI reporter, who was also in the room: “When Liston reads about The Beatles visiting me / He’ll get so mad, I’ll knock him out in three!” (In a major upset, Ali actually ended up defeating Liston in three rounds and declared himself “the Greatest.”)
Despite all the good-natured camaraderie between Ali and The Beatles, Lipsyte added that after sneaking in a workout at the gym, the six-feet-two-inches boxer retired to the dressing room for a massage and approached the journalist with a blunt question. According to Lipsyte, Ali asked him just who exactly “those little sissies” were."
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This item is guaranteed 100% authentic and will make superb quality prints.  This will also make a great addition to any collection or image archive.  This 35mm slide is in excellent condition.
Negatives/slides will be carefully packed and shipped in a sturdy, cardboard photo mailer.
RETURNS ON PHOTO NEGATIVES/TRANSPARENCIES CANNOT BE ACCEPTED.  Please note this before bidding or purchasing this item.
Check out my eBay store where you'll find other rock 'n roll, Hollywood, sports and political negatives, transparencies and slides.  Many are offered with copyrights.  Please email me if you have any questions.  Thanks!