Shelly Saltman
Sheldon Arthur "Shelly" Saltman (August 17, 1931 in Boston – February 16, 2019 in Los Angeles) was a promoter of major sports and entertainment events including the worldwide promotion of the Muhammad Ali / Joe Frazier heavyweight championship boxing matches, creating the Andy Williams San Diego Golf Classic and helped to arrange the independent NFL Players Association games during the 1982 NFL season strike. Saltman was perhaps best known to the public as the man that Evel Knievel tried to beat to death with a baseball bat in 1977.
Saltman created, wrote, and produced shows for television such as Pro-Fan, Challenge of the NFL Cheerleaders (an early "reality" show), and the film Ring of Passion about the fights between American boxer Joe Louis and German champion Max Schmeling in the years leading up to World War II. He was also the author of various books including Evel Knievel on Tour, with Maury Green, and FEAR NO EVEL: An Insider's Look At Hollywood with Thomas Lyons.
Early years
Shelly Saltman grew up during the Great Depression years as the child of Russian and Ukrainian Orthodox Jewish parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His father, Nate Saltman, was involved in Boston area politics.
Sports
Saltman's father and an uncle, Louie, both played football for the Boston Braves (today, the Washington Redskins); another uncle, Eddie, pitched for the Boston Braves baseball team; and his uncle Miltie played for the Philadelphia Athletics (today, the Oakland Athletics). Saltman spent much of his childhood playing sports, attending Boston Red Sox and Boston Braves baseball games, and attempted to play professional basketball.
Saltman became a professional sportscaster and play-by-play announcer under the name of "Art Sheldon" with a career that included stints as a basketball coach, a baseball umpire, and a boxing ring announcer. He was among the founders of several professional and amateur sports organizations including the Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Jazz basketball teams, and he was the first President of Fox Sports.
Saltman handled the worldwide promotion of the Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier boxing championships, was co-creator of the 1970s "Challenge of the Sexes" TV shows, a key promoter and business partner in the failed Snake River Canyon rocket-cycle jump by motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel, and for a time managed the careers of such sports stars as Canadian NHL hockey player Wayne Gretzky and American boxing champion Thomas Hearns.
Entertainment
After serving in Japan as a sports announcer and radio broadcaster for the Far East Network of the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Saltman came home to the U.S. and began a television career in NBC working for the Gillette Cavalcade of Sports. He went on work as an executive for WBZ-TV in Boston and WJW-TV in Cleveland, making his mark as a promoter by doing such things as holding a press conference in a submarine underneath Boston Harbor for the TV show The Silent Service.
From Cleveland he moved on to a position as a Vice President for MCA in New York, working for what was then the largest and most influential talent agency in America. Saltman left MCA and New York after several years, accepting an offer from the Los Angeles talent agency of Bernard, Williams, and Price to focus his talents on promoting the international career of singing and recording star Andy Williams. While in Los Angeles, he worked as a public relations consultant, promoter, and/or manager for numerous performers including actor Jack Albertson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Roger Miller, and worked as the first national publicist for The Osmonds.
Evel Knievel attack
In the mid-1970s, Saltman was one of the principals in a company called Invest West Sports. His company was contacted by boxing and sports promoter Bob Arum to invest the money necessary to fund and promote the Snake River Canyon rocket-cycle jump by motorcycle stuntman Evel Knievel. Saltman's company agreed with the condition that Saltman would head up the media promotion.[1]
During the months of promotion, Saltman carried a cassette-tape recorder with him in order to record the elements of the promotion for an upcoming book. Knievel, Arum, and many others involved in the promotion were daily featured on the recordings and Saltman claimed they were aware of his intention to write about his experience.
Three years later in 1977, Dell Publishing released Saltman's book under the title Evel Knievel on Tour, which included information about Knievel, information that Knievel claimed damaged his image and was misleading to the public. Knievel was outraged because he claimed the book misled the public about not only himself, but his family as well.
A few weeks after publication, Knievel went onto the lot of 20th Century Fox Studios, where Saltman was a Vice President. One of Knievel's friends grabbed Saltman and held him, while Knievel attacked him with an aluminum baseball bat, declaring, "I'm going to kill you!" According to a witness to the attack, Knievel struck repeated blows at Saltman's head, with Saltman blocking the blows with his left arm. Saltman's arm and wrist were shattered in several places before he fell to the ground unconscious.[1]
When the news of Knievel's assault on Saltman was broadcast on national television, Saltman's elderly mother had a heart attack. She died three months later. Knievel received a sentence of six months in work furlough for his assault on Saltman. A civil lawsuit was then filed; the civil court judge called Knievel's acts "cowardly" and awarded Saltman $12.75 million in damages. Knievel declared himself to be bankrupt and none of the civil award was paid.[1]
In 2007, Saltman released a second book entitled Fear No Evel: An Insider's Look at Hollywood in which he told his side of the Knievel attack, as well as his involvement in American sports and media.
After Knievel's death in late 2007, Saltman announced he would be suing the estate for the unpaid award from the civil suit, which he said amounted to over $100 million US dollars with interest, which remained uncollected throughout Saltman’s life.[1]
Family
Saltman was married for almost 51 years to Mollie Heifetz, who died on July 1, 2007 after suffering from cancer and kidney disease. The couple had two children.[2] He went on to spend his remaining years with his partner Susan Nober.[3]
Death
Saltman died on February 16, 2019 at the age of 87.[4]
References
- "Knievel attack victim wants cash". BBC News. December 4, 2007. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
- "Shelly Saltman, Promoter of Sports Events Featuring Muhammad Ali, Evel Knievel and Billie Jean King, Dies at 87". hollywoodreporter.com. February 19, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- "Shelly Saltman Obituary". Legacy. Los Angeles Times Reporter. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
- Barnes, Mike. "Shelly Saltman, Promoter of Sports Events Featuring Muhammad Ali, Evel Knievel and Billie Jean King, Dies at 87". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 19, 2019.