Biography

Don King

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Overview

Born
August 20, 1931 · Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Birth name
Donald King
Height
6′ 1½″ (1.87 m)

Mini bio

Don King coined the phrase, "Only in America." He lives it. He breathes it. He believes it. It's part of his soul. "Only in America can a Don King happen," explains Don. "America is the greatest country in the world-I love America. What I've accomplished could not have been done anywhere else." Indeed, the odds have always been long for King. A product of the hard-core Cleveland ghetto, he beat those odds to become the world's greatest promoter. His shocking hairstyle, infectious smile, booming laugh and inimitable vocabulary have made Don King universally recognizable. He has been featured on the covers of Time, Sports Illustrated, Ebony, Jet, and countless other magazines. He has appeared in movies, television shows and on numerous television and radio talk shows. There was even an award-winning unauthorized movie loosely based on his life and numerous other attempts by Hollywood to depict his larger-than-life personality. Don's promotions have entertained billions around the globe. His life has been devoted to staging the best in world-championship boxing as well as always giving something back to the people. Don King-promoted events have given the sports and entertainment world some of its most thrilling and memorable moments. Inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame in 1997, King was the only boxing promoter named to Sports Illustrated's list of the "40 Most Influential Sports Figures of the Past 40 Years." The following year as part of New York City's centennial celebration, King, along with such notables as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall, musician Duke Ellingon, and poet Maya Angelou, was named by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as one of the New York City's 100 top black achievers of the century.
- IMDb mini biography by: Don King Productions, Inc.

Family

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Trademarks

His hair that stands straight up

Trivia

Promoter of boxers Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson, among others. World-renowned promoter of boxing luminaries including Muhammad Ali, "Smokin'" Joe Frazier, "Big" George Foreman, Larry 'The Easton Assassin" Holmes, "Iron" Mike Tyson, "Sugar" Ray Leonard, Roberto "Manos de Piedra" Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez, Evander "The Real Deal" Holyfield, Felix "Tito" Trinidad, Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins, Alexis Arguello, Hector Camacho, Lennox Lewis, to name a few. Promoter of over 900 championship fights. More than 100 boxers have earned $1 million or more in Don King Productions-promoted fights.
Was a numbers runner for the Jewish Mafia in Cleveland
House was bombed in 1957. Subsequent investigation led to the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Mapp v. Ohio (1961) -- establishing that the "exclusionary rule" was also applicable to the states, not simply the federal government. Mapp v. Ohio extended the exclusionary rule, which was then being applied to the federal courts, to the state courts. Application of the Fourth Amendment protection against the introduction of evidence obtained from an illegal search and seizure is applied to the states through the 14th Amendment.
Campaigned for George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election, and attended the Republican National Convention in New York.
For more than 60 years has personally handed out turkeys to needy families. King's "Turkey Tour" has provided millions of turkey dinners in cities across the country during the holiday season.