In Memoriam
I’m going to take time out here to pay tribute to two great characters who passed away recently; Bob Anderson and Angelo Dundee.
If you’ve seen any of the first three (original) Star Wars films, Highlander, The Princess Bride or Die Another Day you will have seen some of the work of Bob Anderson. Anderson was possibly the greatest sword masters in cinema history. An Olympic and World Championships level sabreur he found a niche in the movie industry, working with stars like Errol Flynn and directors such as George Lucas and Stanley Kubrick. His most recent work was seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings trilogies. Whilst he rarely appeared in front of the camera (apart from a stint as Darth Vader) his skills and teaching no doubt influenced several generations of kids playing ‘swords’ in the garden with sticks, some of which no doubt went on to enjoy the sport of fencing. He passed away early this year aged 89.
Angelo Dundee is most famous for being the trainer of Muhammad Ali and latterly Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman. He was an inspirational trainer and coach, instinctively knowing the right way to handle his charges. For instance, he encouraged Ali to create his flamboyant and unconventional persona, aware that stifling it would have a detrimental effect. He could see that Ali’s self-promotion was a vital psychological tactic in terms of winning the fights but also on a pragmatic level guaranteed bigger gates and resulting purses. In fact he christened Ali with the nick-name ‘The Louisville Lip’ and even helped finish off Ali’s poems if he got stuck. It was a testimony to the bond between the fighter and trainer that Ali refused to let the Nation of Islam come between him and Dundee. After Ali, Dundee went on to manage Sugar Ray Leonard through his tenure as World Champion and also several other world champions in a long and successful career. He passed away this month aged 90.
Two great characters of coaching that are perhaps now trading experiences in the great sports gym in the sky…..
If you’ve seen any of the first three (original) Star Wars films, Highlander, The Princess Bride or Die Another Day you will have seen some of the work of Bob Anderson. Anderson was possibly the greatest sword masters in cinema history. An Olympic and World Championships level sabreur he found a niche in the movie industry, working with stars like Errol Flynn and directors such as George Lucas and Stanley Kubrick. His most recent work was seen in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings trilogies. Whilst he rarely appeared in front of the camera (apart from a stint as Darth Vader) his skills and teaching no doubt influenced several generations of kids playing ‘swords’ in the garden with sticks, some of which no doubt went on to enjoy the sport of fencing. He passed away early this year aged 89.
Angelo Dundee is most famous for being the trainer of Muhammad Ali and latterly Sugar Ray Leonard and George Foreman. He was an inspirational trainer and coach, instinctively knowing the right way to handle his charges. For instance, he encouraged Ali to create his flamboyant and unconventional persona, aware that stifling it would have a detrimental effect. He could see that Ali’s self-promotion was a vital psychological tactic in terms of winning the fights but also on a pragmatic level guaranteed bigger gates and resulting purses. In fact he christened Ali with the nick-name ‘The Louisville Lip’ and even helped finish off Ali’s poems if he got stuck. It was a testimony to the bond between the fighter and trainer that Ali refused to let the Nation of Islam come between him and Dundee. After Ali, Dundee went on to manage Sugar Ray Leonard through his tenure as World Champion and also several other world champions in a long and successful career. He passed away this month aged 90.
Two great characters of coaching that are perhaps now trading experiences in the great sports gym in the sky…..
posted by Dave at
11:08 AM
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