Ali film is coming...well, I guess there's no such thing as bad publicity.
Rush&Molloy:
Float Like a Butterfly,
Stink as a Comic
Parkinson's disease may have reduced his bellow to a whisper, but Muhammad Ali's mouth can still get him in trouble.
The 59-year-old former heavyweight champ stunned a gathering in Washington on Monday when he let loose with jokes guaranteed to offend just about everybody.
"What's the difference between a Jew and a canoe?" the boxer asked at the D.C. premiere of "Ali." "A canoe tips!"
The crowd, which included a number of Jewish people, including "Ali" actor Ron Silver, laughed nervously.
But Ali wasn't through.
"A black, a Puerto Rican and a Mexican are in a car," he went on. "Who's driving?"
Punch line: "The police!"
Blacks and Hispanics in the crowd also paid Ali the courtesy of laughing.
The Washington Post's Lloyd Grove, who was at the party, reports that Ali's fourth wife, Lonnie, tried to head off his routine as he took the mike — pleading: "No, no, no, don't."
Ali's rep Sue Carls admitted his humor was "politically incorrect," but argued: "These are not new jokes. Muhammad tells them all the time, because he likes to make people laugh, and he shocks people to make a point. He always manages to defuse any situation that seems overly reverential. Following the film, everybody was paying tribute to him and he was in a good mood."
By the way, the premiere was a fund-raiser for an $80 million center Ali hopes to build in Louisville to teach "multicultural appreciation."
Rush&Molloy:
Float Like a Butterfly,
Stink as a Comic
Parkinson's disease may have reduced his bellow to a whisper, but Muhammad Ali's mouth can still get him in trouble.
The 59-year-old former heavyweight champ stunned a gathering in Washington on Monday when he let loose with jokes guaranteed to offend just about everybody.
"What's the difference between a Jew and a canoe?" the boxer asked at the D.C. premiere of "Ali." "A canoe tips!"
The crowd, which included a number of Jewish people, including "Ali" actor Ron Silver, laughed nervously.
But Ali wasn't through.
"A black, a Puerto Rican and a Mexican are in a car," he went on. "Who's driving?"
Punch line: "The police!"
Blacks and Hispanics in the crowd also paid Ali the courtesy of laughing.
The Washington Post's Lloyd Grove, who was at the party, reports that Ali's fourth wife, Lonnie, tried to head off his routine as he took the mike — pleading: "No, no, no, don't."
Ali's rep Sue Carls admitted his humor was "politically incorrect," but argued: "These are not new jokes. Muhammad tells them all the time, because he likes to make people laugh, and he shocks people to make a point. He always manages to defuse any situation that seems overly reverential. Following the film, everybody was paying tribute to him and he was in a good mood."
By the way, the premiere was a fund-raiser for an $80 million center Ali hopes to build in Louisville to teach "multicultural appreciation."
