June 06--Days after news of Muhammad Ali's death on Friday, his effect on our culture remains awe-inspiring. Long considered one of the most famous men in the world, Ali inspired a pop song, released a spoken word album, risked his career to speak out against the Vietnam War and, at one point, persuaded a man to come in off a ledge in Los Angeles.
Larger than life for most of his life, Ali also starred in his own Saturday morning cartoon, "I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali," which aired in 1977. In tribute to Ali, the Robert Rodriguez-founded El Rey Network will run a marathon of all 13 episodes of the series beginning on Wednesday, June 8.
Featuring the voice of Ali along with his publicist Frank Bannister, the series featured the duo traveling the country and solving mysteries, not unlike the "Scooby-Doo" gang. At the time and even now, the conceit, oddly, doesn't sound quite so far-fetched.
The marathon begins at 10 p.m.
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