I was watching a documentary last night and learned that Ali and his Dad were sign guys and that's actually how Mr. Clay Sr. put food on the table. Does anyone know any details? I found it very interesting.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
This was on the PBS website...I haven't been able to find anymore details...
Muhammad Ali
(Born January 17, 1942, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.)
Professional boxer and social activist. Ali was the first fighter to win the world heavyweight championship on three separate occasions; he successfully defended this title 19 times.
Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr., grew up in the American South in a time of segregated public facilities. His father, Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr., supported a wife and two sons by painting billboards and signs. His mother, Odessa Grady Clay, worked as a household domestic.
Posted by Terry Baird (Member # 3495) on :
Hi Kim, thanks! On Google search it said that he was also a muralist and did several churches in Louisville.
Posted by Mark Rogan (Member # 3678) on :
All I know is they always used knock out type!
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
I'm not sure, but it seems as though some infamous criminal's father (Charles Manson?) was also a sign guy.
One of the conspirators in the Lincoln assasination did lettering on railcars (or coaches).
Posted by Don Coplen (Member # 127) on :
Another famous signpainter was Woody Guthrie, author of the song "This Land is Your Land" and father of Arlo "Alice's Restaurant" Guthrie.
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
Thanks Don for pulling this thread out of the creepy zone. Just reporting the facts.
Posted by Ian Stewart-Koster (Member # 3500) on :
and Alan Bond, of the Aussie 1983 America's Cup challenge was a signwriter- well sort of: by nmutual consent, he and his employer dissolved his apprenticeship papers- spelling mistakes & quality problems and more. In the end young Alan was relegated to delivering the bills and accounts. He used to go via the pub and open them up and read them, so that when he got out of his employer's charge, he knew how & what to charge for certain jobs. He started out on his own then, underbidding his former boss, using cheaper materials, and the rest is history, made lost of money buying & selling businesses with other people's money, ran several of them broke, losing 1000's of millions and finally ended up in prison. It's all in "The rise & fall of Alan Bond" a book I've just finished- very interesting.
Posted by Mike Languein (Member # 319) on :
Another of our infamous brush brothers was Gary Gilmore - just to bring things back into the creep zone - who mercy killed his girlfriend in Utah and was sentenced to the firing squad. When the state reneged he forced their hand and they shot him. 1976? A bicentennial celebration if my memory serves
Posted by John Grenier (Member # 3816) on :
Jerry Seinfeld's father was also a signwriter.
Posted by Chad Preseault (Member # 4248) on :
I'm sure that just about every famous person or imfamous person has looked at a sign and appreciated it!
Posted by Rovelle W. Gratz (Member # 4404) on :
I heard somewhere that Redd Foxx, used to be a sign painter in St. Louis.
Posted by Bruce Williams (Member # 691) on :
The artist/historian Eric Sloane began as a signpainter. In an interview with SignCraft magazine, he says that as a kid, he lived next door to the great type designer Frederic W Goudy.
Thanks for the post about Muhammed Ali's background in signs. Y'know, back when he was a teenager and still Cassius Clay, I sparred with him, and actually had him scared for about a minute and a half: He thought he'd killed me.
Posted by Mike Languein (Member # 319) on :
I read that the truck used on the show Sanford & Son was lettered by Redd Foxx - his real name - can ya guess? Fred Sanford.
Posted by James Donahue (Member # 3624) on :
This is a riot!
Bruce, it sounds like you beat up his fist real bad with your face.
Makes sense about Eric Sloane, his books are written with a nice caligraphy. Alot of people know about his tool book, but I also enjoyed "A reverence For Wood".
Posted by Sue Avery (Member # 686) on :
An interesting thread.
Years ago, my bro-n-law, Robert Avery, also a sign painter and a really good artist worked on a movie with Cassuis Clay on the set.
He talked to him and said he was a really nice guy.
The photo he seemed to like the best was of a styrofaom rock that he painted up to look just like a boulder.
Well, I've enjoyed this.
Till later, Sue
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
Cassuis Clay was one of the great boxers.....ever!! Aparently you forget, when called on to serve his country, he joined the Muslums and changed his name to Mohammed, thus turning on his country. From that point on, in MY opinion, he turned into human scum.
Posted by Steve Barba (Member # 431) on :
I met David Mann, (Easyriders mag artist) a couple of years ago, and he told me that he started out as a signpainter.
Posted by Bob Burns (Member # 268) on :
Jerry Seinfeld's dad was a signpainter?......KOOL. Not that there's anything wrong with that!!
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
quote:Aparently you forget, when called on to serve his country, he joined the Muslums and changed his name to Mohammed, thus turning on his country. From that point on, in MY opinion, he turned into human scum.
Tony, I'm not trying to be a bitch here but what on earth does that have to do with his dad being a signpainter?
Posted by Tony Vickio (Member # 2265) on :
I have no idea!
Posted by BrianTheBrush (Member # 1298) on :
Steve... As long as you brought up David Mann,..yes, he has done some sign work in the past.(as well as being an illustrator at Roth Studios for a number of years)I got to know David a few years back. He purchased a piece of my panel art at a show, we spent the weekend hanging out and we hit it off. He's still very active, artistically, though not much "bike work" anymore. Paulette and I still stay in touch with he and Jacquie, and they're GREAT people.
Check out www.DavidMannArt.com and see some of Dave's illustration work. He provides artwork to ad agencies and such these days.
