This fall, Kevin Hart will play the Chicken Man — only it’s not the mobster from Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City,” or the local legend who ate 40 rotisserie birds in 40 days.
This Chicken Man was a real-life Atlanta hustler whose 1970 afterparty for a Muhammad Ali fight ended in an armed robbery. (No, not the same fight that provided cover for an FBI heist.) The thieves made off with $1 million from criminals across the country. The splashy story was covered in a 2020 iHeartMedia true crime podcast, which is the basis for Hart’s upcoming TV series on Peacock.
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“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” stars the Philly native as the Chicken Man, who must clear his name before the ticked-off gangsters catch up to him. Don Cheadle plays an old enemy and, unfortunately for the Chicken Man, the detective investigating the case. The cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Taraj P. Henson, Chloe Bailey and Terrence Howard in a full Farrah Fawcett feathered haircut.
The infamous heist took place on Oct. 26, 1970, after the much-hyped match between Ali and Jerry Quarry. The fight was considered a comeback for Ali, who had not boxed since refusing to serve in the Vietnam War. As the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, his return to the ring brought celebrities like Sidney Poitier and Diana Ross to Atlanta, as well as criminal types from New York City.
Those guests ended up at the Chicken Man’s party, an invitation-only affair with lots of gambling. Masked men appeared later in the night totting shotguns, and stripped the partygoers of their jewelry, cash and other valuables.
All this happened as Atlanta was positioning itself as a new destination for fights like the Ali match and other entertainment. But hustlers, like the people at that party, also were building empires in the city.
This unique period in history will be dramatized in “Fight Night,” premiering Thursday, Sept. 5. on Peacock. Watch the new trailer below:
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