At rest at last in Las Vegas

By Ron Kantowski

Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Hard by the betting windows at the Race and Sports Book at Caesars Palace stands a statue of the great Joe Louis chiseled from Carrara marble.

It is the same stone Michelangelo used to carve his famous “Pieta.” The alabaster likeness of boxing’s Brown Bomber is one of the biggest conversation pieces on the property.

It stands 7 1/2-feet tall, about a foot and a half taller than the man himself. But then, that is as it should be — Joe Louis, larger than life.

Louis, considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, heavyweight champion of all time, is the subject of a new HBO Sports documentary titled “Joe Louis: America’s Hero ... Betrayed.”

It debuts Saturday as the lead-in to the Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov fight, for which those guys owe HBO a huge favor, because it’s the only time they ever will be mentioned in the same sentence as Joe Louis.

The documentary chronicles Louis’ life from stem to stern, focusing on his two dramatic fights with Max Schmeling at the onset of World War II. Those classic bouts, seen as cataclysmic encounters pitting American good vs. German evil, catapulted Louis, the son of an Alabama sharecropper, to stardom in a segregated America more than a decade before Jackie Robinson would break baseball’s color barrier.

That was the “hero” part.

The “betrayed” part came after Louis enlisted in the Army at the prime of his career and the height of his popularity. He spent nearly five years fighting exhibitions, entertaining the troops and becoming Uncle Sam’s biggest ambassador. He even donated entire purses from two of his championship defenses to the war effort.

Incredibly, after being honorably discharged from the Army, Louis was relentlessly pursued by the Internal Revenue Service for back taxes. He was forced to fight well beyond his prime and even launch a pride-swallowing career as a professional wrestler in an effort to pay off his debt. His life became a downward spiral that included drug abuse and sporadic episodes of paranoia.

Ironically, it would be Las Vegas that would come to his rescue.

Often perceived as cold and heartless, our city came to Louis’ rescue at his most desperate hour. Ash Resnick, a rogue character from Las Vegas’ colorful past who had met Louis while the two were standing in line for their Army physicals in 1942, was a Caesars vice president when he put his old pal on the payroll as a casino host in the early 1970s.

“Mr. Louis’ job was to be adored by sports fans,” said Debbie Munch, a longtime Caesars executive who came onboard shortly after Louis’ death in Las Vegas in 1981. “And he was very good at it.”

Although the documentary makes the point that a job as a casino host might seem beneath a man of Louis’ acclaim and stature, it also credits the city for not turning its back on him as his government had. Instead of seeking a check, Uncle Sam should have sent him one. But thanks to Las Vegas, Louis always had a little walking-around money in his pocket, a roof over his head and that familiar cowboy hat he liked to wear on top of it.

“It was really a special time for him in Las Vegas,” said Joe Louis Barrow Jr., the fighter’s son who uses his full name, before a special screening of the HBO documentary Sunday at Rain nightclub at the Palms.

“There were people he hadn’t seen for years who frequent Las Vegas and as a result of that he was able to interact with them again. So he really had some wonderful years here. He loved to play golf and had some great friends in Ash Resnick and Harry Vold at Caesars. It was all special for him. Vegas loved him, and it was great.”

Joe Jr. said he owes one of his favorite memories of his father to Las Vegas. There aren’t many sons of boxers who have traditional relationships with their fighting fathers, and his was typical, as Louis bobbed and weaved in and out of his life.

Joe Jr. often refers to his father as Joe Louis, which, I suppose, is sad. But there was that one day at Caesars, when Joe Louis Barrow Jr. was checking into his room before the Frontier Open golf tournament, when he heard a familiar voice call his name.

“I turned around, and there was my father,” he said.

“Normally, I would interact with my father on my father’s time. So for me to check in at my hotel and to have Joe Louis standing there and to give me a big hug and to say, ‘Hello, ol’ dude,’ was a very special moment for me.”

On that day, Joe Louis wasn’t the Brown Bomber, the greatest fighter who ever lived.

On that day, Joe Louis simply was “Dad.”

‘Joe Louis: America’s Hero ... Betrayed’

WHAT: An HBO documentary revealing how the grandson of slaves became one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, served as an iconic figure during World War II, and carried himself with dignity and class through numerous setbacks.

WHEN: Prime time debut at 9 p.m. PST Saturday leading into World Championship Boxing: Wladimir Klitchschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov.

Other HBO showings: Sunday (noon), Feb. 27 (4 p.m., midnight), March 1 (10 a.m.), March 3 (12:40 a.m., 11:30 a.m.), March 6 (noon), March 11 (7:45 p.m.), March 24 (10:15 p.m.).

HBO2 showings: Monday (midnight), March 6 (9:45 p.m.), March 8 (9:15 a.m.), March 12 (9 a.m.), March 14 (4:40 a.m.), March 18 (4 p.m.), March 21 (3 p.m.), March 30 (5:15 a.m., 5:45 p.m.).

HBO on Demand: Monday through March 17.

THEY SAID IT: “Joe Louis had an astonishing career. Retaining numerous knockout records to this day, he was a pillar of democracy and strength in a tumultuous period.” — Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports.

WE SAID IT: “Poignant, compelling, heartbreaking. This documentary about an American icon will both upset you and bring a tear to your eye.”