SHOWTIME SPORTS' DOCUMENTARY FILMS TO PREMIERE PARIAH: THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF SONNY LISTON ON FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15 AT 9 PM ET/PT
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 09 Oct 2019
Film Examines The Complex Life And Mysterious Death Of One Of The Most Vilified Athletes Of All Time
?Ever since I came into this world, I?ve been fighting to stay alive and live a reasonably normal life. I?ve never been able to do it.? ? Sonny Liston
NEW YORK ? October 8, 2019 ? Today, SHOWTIME announced PARIAH: THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF SONNY LISTON, a SHOWTIME Sports documentary film, premiering on Friday, November 15 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Written and directed by Simon George and told through original conversations with luminaries, historians and some of Liston?s closest friends and family, PARIAH chronicles the rise and precipitous fall of one of the most vilified and misunderstood sports champions of all time.
Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became the heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. Just eight years later, his wife would find Liston dead in their Las Vegas home from a supposed heroin overdose. Suspicion as to the cause of death pervaded among those that knew him. PARIAH explores the many theories behind his untimely demise. The film features exclusive conversations with Mike Tyson, boxing historians Nigel Collins, Jerry Izenberg, Bob Lipsyte, Don Majeski and Shaun Assael, upon whose investigative work PARIAH is based.
?Sonny Liston?s story is filled with tragedy and triumph, and goes far beyond boxing,? said Stephen Espinoza, President, Sports and Event Programming for Showtime Networks Inc. ?PARIAH provides a raw examination of the public?s perception of Liston versus his reality. The film is powerful and compelling, and will reveal an authentic, inside perspective about Liston?s life that has never been told before.?
Liston?s boxing career took him to places he?d never imagined. From fighting for the most prestigious honor in sports to his association with notorious mobsters in America?s violent underbelly, Liston was a man who led many lives. Instead of being celebrated with the reverence reserved for the heavyweight champion of the world, Liston became a pariah, denigrated by white society as a violent criminal and rejected by the civil rights movement because he wasn?t the poster boy they needed. This realization caused Liston to spiral out of control. Expedited by back-to-back losses to Muhammad Ali, including perhaps the most controversial knockout of all time, Liston?s dramatic fall from grace would end tragically.
?To me, Sonny Liston was one of the greatest, yet most misunderstood and vilified sports figures of all time,? said director Simon George. ?He was born into a time of great turmoil and upheaval in America, and became the scapegoat for a nation in flux. He was a man who aimed for the stars but instead got torn apart by the factions warring for their places in post-war America. His story is one of race, prejudice and injustice. It is a film about how America chooses its heroes and how it never lets anyone forget their past.?
PARIAH: THE LIVES AND DEATHS OF SONNY LISTON is executive produced by Louise Norman, Adam Hawkins and Dimitri Doganis.
Developed from Shaun Assael?s investigative book The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights, PARIAH is the latest in a series of unscripted programming from SHOWTIME Sports Documentary Films that spotlights culturally relevant subject matter in the world of sports. Additional titles in the lineup include the 2017 Sports Emmy? Award-winning DISGRACED, the multi-part series SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE, 100%: JULIAN EDELMAN and QUIET STORM: THE RON ARTEST STORY.
Recent PhilBoxing.com In-House articles:
UNDEFEATED KNOCKOUT MONSTER VERGIL ORTIZ JR. DESTROYS ERICKSON LUBIN IN SECOND-ROUND
Sun, 09 Nov 2025Manny Pacquiao Arrives in LA to Oversee Son Jimuel's Highly Anticipated Pro Debut
By Dong Secuya, Sun, 09 Nov 2025Robert Racasa Shines for the Philippines on First Day of World Memory Championships
By Marlon Bernardino, Sun, 09 Nov 2025P20k for 42k winners in 3rd SDSPPO
By Lito delos Reyes, Sun, 09 Nov 2025Weights Set for Tomorrow’s Sanman Boxing Show in General Santos City
Sat, 08 Nov 2025Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin: Can Lubin Tip the Ortiz/Ennis Apple Cart?
By Chris Carlson, Sat, 08 Nov 2025Gibbons’ ‘Thrilla’ regrets
By Joaquin Henson, Sat, 08 Nov 2025Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Erickson Lubin Set for Explosive Showdown in Fort Worth
Sat, 08 Nov 2025Ring Officials Announced for Michael Hunter Vs Eli Frankham - York Hall, 5th December
Sat, 08 Nov 2025Round 12 with Mauricio Sulaimán: The Baseball in the Sulaimán Family
By Mauricio Sulaimán, Sat, 08 Nov 2025Shields signs $8 million multi year contract with Salita Promotions
By Gabriel F. Cordero, Sat, 08 Nov 2025A TIBUTE TO VICTOR CONTE
Sat, 08 Nov 2025Lhuillier Lauds RP Blu Boys’ Triumph in Japan Tilt
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 08 Nov 2025FIDE Rated Chess Tournament Pasig Police Board Patrol Checkpoint Challenge
By Marlon Bernardino, Sat, 08 Nov 2025MANNY PACQUIAO VS. FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR. ONCE AGAIN
By Maloney L. Samaco, Fri, 07 Nov 2025