I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali is an animated series featuring boxer Muhammad Ali, who performed his own voice.^[1] The series was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC and produced by Fred Calvert's independent production company, Farmhouse Films, in the fall of 1977, but was cancelled after 13 episodes due to its low ratings.^[2]

I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali
Genre	Animation
Created by	Fred Calvert Kimie Calvert John Paxton
Voices of	Muhammad Ali Frank Bannister Casey Carmichael Patrice Carmichael
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	13
Production
Running time	22 minutes
Production company	Farmhouse Films
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	September 10 (1977-09-10) – December 3, 1977 (1977-12-03)

In the show, Muhammad Ali and his public relations manager, Frank Bannister, both provided their own voices, as Ali went on adventures with his (fictional) niece Nicky and nephew Damon, voiced by Casey Carmichael and Patrice Carmichael.^[3]

Crew

• Directed by Fred Calvert
• Written by John Bates, Carole Beers, Booker Bradshaw, Ellen and David Christianson, Joseph R. Henderson, Bryan Joseph, Gene Moss

Cast

• Muhammad Ali as Muhammad Ali
• Frank Bannister as Frank Bannister
• Casey Carmichael as Nicky
• Patrice Carmichael as Damon

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date
1	"The Great Alligator"	September 10, 1977 (1977-09-10)
2	"The Air Fair Affair"	September 17, 1977 (1977-09-17)
3	"The Littlest Runner"	September 24, 1977 (1977-09-24)
4	"Ali's African Adventure"	October 1, 1977 (1977-10-01)
5	"Superstar"	October 8, 1977 (1977-10-08)
6	"The Haunted Park"	October 15, 1977 (1977-10-15)
7	"Caught in the Wild"	October 22, 1977 (1977-10-22)
8	"Volcano Island"	October 29, 1977 (1977-10-29)
9	"Oasis of the Moon"	November 5, 1977 (1977-11-05)
10	"The Great Bluegrass Mountain Race"	November 12, 1977 (1977-11-12)
11	"The Werewolf of Devil's Creek"	November 19, 1977 (1977-11-19)
12	"Sissy's Climb"	November 26, 1977 (1977-11-26)
13	"Terror in the Deep"	December 3, 1977 (1977-12-03)

Reception

The series received generally negative reviews. In The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter writes: "… perhaps the most clumsily animated, written, and acted series in television animation history, with little of value presented."^[4]

See also

• Mike Tyson Mysteries

References

1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Vol. Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Metuchen, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved March 14, 2020 – via Internet Archive Book Reader.
2. Erickson, Hal (1995). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 1993. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 262–263. ISBN 0-7864-0029-3. Retrieved March 31, 2023 – via Internet Archive Book Reader.
3. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 225. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
4. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 295. ISBN 978-1538103739.

External links

• I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali at IMDb