Guy Hamilton told me a story which illustrates the kind of admiration which Christopher [Lee] attracts. Guy was directing him in the Bond movie, The Man with the Golden Gun, and the set was visited by Muhammad Ali, professing himself a devoted Lee fan, and requesting an audience. They were introduced, Ali assuring Christopher that he was his favorite movie star, and then he had added, "And I'm going to dedicate my next fight to you, too!"
This was taken as an extravagant compliment, no more - but sure enough, when Ali won his next fight (I've an idea it was the Rumble in the Jungle) and the ring was awash in fans, handlers, and journalists, the champion fought his way to the nearest TV camera and roared into the lens: "I won that fight for Christopher Lee!" Which, as Guy remarked, was not only a tribute to Christopher, but proved Ali was a man of his word.
You may be cool - but you'll never be as cool as Christopher Lee getting Muhammad Ali to dedicate one of the biggest fights of his career to him cool.
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