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The Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. [1] [2]The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre in October 1968, directed by Edwin Sherin with James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in the lead roles.
The Great White Hope is a 1970 American biographical romantic drama film written and adapted from the 1967 Howard Sackler play of the same name. [3] [4] [5]The film was directed by Martin Ritt, starring James Earl Jones, Jane Alexander, Chester Morris, Hal Holbrook, Beah Richards and Moses Gunn.
Writer Jack London coined the phrase "Great White Hope" to describe Jeffries in his attempt to win the heavyweight crown from African-American world champion Jack Johnson in 1910. [3] Jeffries came out of retirement for the fight, urged on by London and many others who wished to see a white man once again reign as heavyweight champion. [4]
The Great White Hype, a 1996 U.S. boxing sports-comedy film; World White Heavyweight Championship, a boxing title in pretense from 1911 to 1914; The White Hope (disambiguation) Great White (disambiguation)
Howard Oliver Sackler (December 19, 1929 – October 12, 1982) was an American screenwriter and playwright who is best known for having written The Great White Hope (play: 1967; film: 1970). The Great White Hope enjoyed both a successful run on Broadway and, as a film adaptation, in movie theaters.
Jess Myron Willard was born on 29 December 1881 in Saint Clere, Kansas.In his teenage years and twenties he worked as a cowboy. [3] He was of mostly English ancestry, which had been in North America since the colonial era.
[10] [11] Its production The Great White Hope, which opened at Arena Stage in 1967, was transferred to Broadway with its original cast, including James Earl Jones and Jane Alexander in the lead roles. [1] [12] Arena was the first regional theater to transfer a production to Broadway.
Johnson became the first black World Heavyweight champion in 1908 which made him unpopular with the predominantly white American boxing audiences. Jeffries, a former heavyweight champion came out of retirement to fight Johnson and was nicknamed the "Great White Hope".