October 22, 2014

The King and I (Intro)

Middleweight Champion Rocky Graziano

I went on my morning walk along the lake preoccupied with my next two Sinatra posts commemorating his very last concert that I attended precisely 20 years ago this Friday. To really do Frank justice, and it's very important to me that I do, I came to the realization I had to first introduce my late friend 'King' who died in 2004 at age 77. I'll be writing much more about him in the coming weeks.

King's actual name was Ephraim Solomon nicknamed 'Neno' as a boy but upon becoming a very promising young middleweight prizefighter in the early '50s was given the moniker 'King Solomon' and was famous throughout Chicago and the sporting world as the next great middleweight. One of my favorite pics that got mislaid was a pic of King, Rocky Graziano (above), and some other Italian street tough all in nice looking suits from about 1952.  The pic was of King at the very pinnacle of his life. He had recently won all 6 of his first professional bouts by knockout and had just been featured in Ring Magazine (wearing a crown!), the Bible of Boxing, which in those days had a huge circulation and much larger readership. What struck me most was how King dominated the picture while standing next to a former middleweight champion of the world who was a household name. King was bigger, much better looking, and had an expression of fire and fury as he was glaring at the photographer and likely threatening to "split his head open like a melon" to use one of his favorite phrases.  Rocky looked to be the one glad to be in a pic with King.

Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me

King never became that great middleweight champion and only because he let his demons win. His demons weren't drugs or alcohol but how he handled a breakup with a vivacious redhead he loved with all his heart.  To spite himself and I suspect to play the martyr in her eyes he started losing fights he could easily win, refused to train, and finally his backers, managers, and trainers gave up on him just as he had given up on himself.  It was a crushing blow to his Assyrian immigrant father, his brothers, and all the very close knit Assyrians in their little enclave in the Old Town neighborhood. He carried this albatross of self immolation the rest of his life

King was even more impressive out of the ring.  He had a roguish charm women found very attractive and he captivated nearly everyone he came into contact with his colorful extemporaneous philosophical monologues on everything from prizefighting, women, politics, and anything that struck his fancy. Pulitzer Prize winning author, radio host, and actor Studs Terkel was a huge fan and featured King most prominently in several of his books under the clever alias 'Kid Pharaoh'  Stud's interviews are archived at The Chicago History Museum and I occasionally listen to his interviews with King online. One of those interviews can be found here (scroll down to find Kid Pharaoh Parts 1 and 2).  When screen legend Bette Davis was in town during the '60s and '70s she had King take her to dinner and a show....nothing sexual he insisted only that she found his company stimulating. Mob boss Sam Giancana loved having King join him for lunch. I will go into more depth during my multi- installment feature on King in the coming weeks.
Screen Legend Bette Davis had King squire her around town during the '60s & '70s

From about 1990 until his death in October 2004 I either talked to or was with King nearly every day. One of our favorite hangouts was the old Ranalli's Pizzeria in Lincoln Park where we'd go and every night after we settled in he'd give me the signal to play his favorites on the jukebox and each song took him on a reverie....likely an old flame. He loved (and knew) the jazz singer Dinah Washington, a Billy Joel song Just the Way You Are and I'd always close it with selections from Sinatra's Reprise album including his torch song  The Summer Wind. Frank was his favorite.

21 comments:

  1. Never heard of this guy but sounds fascinating. Seems like a book is needed GSL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Naomi; King was fascinating and this skimpy intro doesn't even scratch the surface.

      Delete
  2. I've never heard of him either! Can't wait to learn more!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's not someone anybody not from Chicago born before 1940 would know but he was quite a character.

      Delete
  3. You must deeply miss your friend having spent so much time in his company. Something about the old timers that is missing in the younger generation. They always had a good story to tell. I've lost a couple of good oldies in the past few years and miss their enlightening anecdotes.

    Looking forward to learning more on your friend, The King.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do miss him CD and our relationship evolved as he got older. As will be made clear in my upcoming posts, he was immensely talented with the world at his feet but had some fatal flaws.

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. I was absolutely thinking about you writing this...especially after seeing your pin.

      Delete
    2. Do you mean Ms Hendricks? That pin was intended to help inspire me to embrace the 20. Though now its only 10. ish

      Delete
  5. Fantastic intro. As barbaric as some see boxing, I was brought up watching it...that and golf (sigh on that one). Love it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately there are so few fights that interest me anymore...as football and baseball have looted the talent pool. I still watch the major golf tourneys.

      Delete
  6. I can't wait to read more about Mr.King. Where DO you meet all these interesting people? Did he teach you how to box? I took a thai kickboxing class and loved it

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bebe, I did train at a southside boxing gym for a time with former heavyweight champ Leon Spink's son, Tommie, and since I was already 26, it was more to see what it was all about.

      Delete
  7. Wow he sounds like a real character. Are there comparisons that can be made between his life and your life GSL? Are you too, someone who has lost at love and then squandered his life just to spite himself?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Fair question Anon and I think the upcoming 'Confessions' series may shed more light on the subject.

      Delete
  8. Such a rich cast of characters gathering 'round The Den,G. I look forward to reading more about The King. To live the life of a boxer takes so much grit and determination. No matter the fame,glitz and glamour achieved,or not, it can be rather tragic in the end. My Dad always had the Friday night fights with Howard Cossell blasting away on the TV and loved the Golden Gloves! I could not stand it!
    Also, raised on the golf tournaments and still adore that kinder,gentler sport both as a participant and spectator!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Dear Trudye,
      King was the main event on the Gillette Friday Night Fights a couple of times broadcast from the Rainbow Room then a block away from Wrigley Field winning both bouts by knockout. I'll bet your father saw those fights.
      Estella and I grew up living on a golf course that hosted a PGA tournament that I caddied in as a high school and college boy. Having been spoiled with such access growing up, I rarely play anymore.

      Delete
  9. Oh, I must have seen them,too,as it was a family affair to watch whether you liked it or not! Given that I went everywhere with my Dad, don't get me started on the ringside seats we had to the Golden Gloves matches! The bodily fluids flying about and not restricted to the ring were enough to ...well, you can only imagine!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was before your time T..early 1950s and hard to picture a girl Trudye ringside during a bloody brawl.

      Delete
  10. Gosh, did I just do a comment? Flew away into the mists.
    They don't make 'em like that any more. If Bette Davis found him fascinating that is good enough for me.
    My great uncle's name was King and we momentarily thought about it as a name for Harley, quite common in NZ esp amongst my Maori friends.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was The Last of the Mohicans in respects Jody and a treasure trove of info regarding Chicago's dark underbelly from the 1930s on..

      Delete