I met Jake LaMotta in 1997. That’s 15 yrs. after this interview. He was with his son Joe at a local grocery store in the greater Cleveland area promoting their spaghetti sauce. He was, if I’m not mistaken, 75 yrs. old at that time. He wasn’t speaking much…it was his son who was pumping up the spaghetti sauce. A friend I worked construction with & I stopped in to meet the famous boxer of whom the movie Raging Bull was about. He was signing the bottles people bought and was very friendly. Seemed happy. You could definitely tell he liked the attention he was getting. My buddy and I asked him a few boxing questions and he answered us politely. We were in our 20’s then & yeah you could tell he liked talking to the young guys the best. What’s crazy is that he lived for like another 20 years after I met him. Died at the age of 95.
Crazy thing is his son died a year later on a SwissAir flight in late 1998. I believe he was flying to Europe promoting that sauce or doing some business regarding that sauce that you mentioned in your comment.
Lots of giggling by Letterman and the audience during the serious parts of the interview and stone silence when Lamotta told his jokes. Letterman and his audiences were weird back then...
ya thats how I felt. I think letterman was genuinely uncomfortable, knowing jakes short fused past. Idk though, I would've laughed at all of jakes jokes regardless if funny or not. RIP champ!
Jake was one of the greatest fighters ever and he is a good clever comedian but the best thing is to see what kind of great guy he turned out to be. A great personal reclamation job.
Great point, what l find interesting about life more than just in the LaMotta case is that so many people when they are in their prime are just rotten so in so's like he was. They have to get older and look back before they can become decent human beings. Age has that affect. Robert Deniro's performance in Raging Bull is probably one of the 5 greatest of the 20th century. I was told that Jake LaMotta was much worse than even the film portrayed. Some things had to be left out otherwise the movie could have morphed into too much of a tragedy or parody depending on one's perspective. But your point is very good.
He had 2 title defenses. That's not one of the greatest sorry. His overall win loss draw record is good though. If not for writing his biography and that becoming a movie he would not be noteworthy in boxing history. It's having 6 matches with sugar Ray Robinson that stands out
Jake spoke very well considering his years in the ring and the beatings he took. And then he lived to the age of 95! What a tough guy he was! I watched his last fight with Sugar Ray Robinson on TV with my dad. I was 6 years old. I bet a dollar on Jake to beat Sugar Ray. I lost the bet of course. And my dad took my dollar. Maybe that's why I never got into gambling.
What a great fighter Jake was he fought every top contender for many years sugar ray 6 times he openly admits he was past his best by the time he got his title shot really would of been champ for years because he didn't play ball with the mafia who ran boxing back then.
LaMotta was no Rocky Marciano. He never really fought anyone except Robinson. Yeah, he was never knocked out cold but refused to answer the bell in 3 fights which means he quit. I would rather be knocked out than quit and refuse to answer the bell.
It’s obvious you know nothing about boxing, Jake fought all the toughest fighters that the other rated. Fighters avoided including Robinson. Look up his record , but that probably would be meaningless to you. Jake was one of the most avoided boxers ever. I’ve followed boxing since 1946 as a kid , Jake was my favorite.
@@Jeanettesboxingchannel , That's the name I was lookin for..He only lost because he broke his shoulder..What a great champ he was... and what a tragic plane crash.
@@Baz-Ten Yep the Air France in Azores and then jake's son died on the Swissair in Canada which is eerie if you ask me. (Aviation, my second favorite topic lol)
I met Jake LaMotta in 1997. That’s 15 yrs. after this interview. He was with his son Joe at a local grocery store in the greater Cleveland area promoting their spaghetti sauce. He was, if I’m not mistaken, 75 yrs. old at that time. He wasn’t speaking much…it was his son who was pumping up the spaghetti sauce. A friend I worked construction with & I stopped in to meet the famous boxer of whom the movie Raging Bull was about. He was signing the bottles people bought and was very friendly. Seemed happy. You could definitely tell he liked the attention he was getting. My buddy and I asked him a few boxing questions and he answered us politely. We were in our 20’s then & yeah you could tell he liked talking to the young guys the best. What’s crazy is that he lived for like another 20 years after I met him. Died at the age of 95.
Hmmmph
Cool story bro
Great story.
I enjoyed reading about you meeting LaMotta. Nice.
Crazy thing is his son died a year later on a SwissAir flight in late 1998. I believe he was flying to Europe promoting that sauce or doing some business regarding that sauce that you mentioned in your comment.
Holy FUCK De Niro got the voice dead-on for Raging Bull
Check out a movie called The Bronx Bull. William Forsythe did a great Jake Lamotta also. More accurate, really.
I was thinking the same thing!!!!! LOL the voice is dead on
An awkward video because Dave wasn’t a polished interviewer yet and Jake is truly from a different world and time to the audience…
He's like a character from Sopranos
He would have been great in it.
Jake LaMotta invented the Dad joke genre.
How was he able to speak so well and be this healthy after more than 100 fights?
Dude’s head was like a cinderblock. He was also a master of riding with punches and taking away their impact
He knew how to take the punches its the way you move its a old boxer technique!
great defense is how
Just one of those guys who took big shots and didn't have brain wash. Short neck big head and fought out of a crouch.
@@captainkickass8264 He wasn't noted for his defense but rather his punch resistance. A middleweight George Chuvalo.
Lots of giggling by Letterman and the audience during the serious parts of the interview and stone silence when Lamotta told his jokes. Letterman and his audiences were weird back then...
ya thats how I felt. I think letterman was genuinely uncomfortable, knowing jakes short fused past. Idk though, I would've laughed at all of jakes jokes regardless if funny or not. RIP champ!
I got the impression because he made a joke about Jews it was politically incorrect thats why everyone reacted awkwardly.
Greetings from a DIFFERENT Steve Fowler.
@sanserof7 no, the joke was because davis wouldn't have been a good fit because he was black--more than being Jewish
Amazing! He lived until age 95. He had 106 pro matches
Jake was one of the greatest fighters ever and he is a good clever comedian but the best thing is to see what kind of great guy he turned out to be. A great personal reclamation job.
Great point, what l find interesting about life more than just in the LaMotta case is that so many people when they are in their prime are just rotten so in so's like he was. They have to get older and look back before they can become decent human beings. Age has that affect.
Robert Deniro's performance in Raging Bull is probably one of the 5 greatest of the 20th century. I was told that Jake LaMotta was much worse than even the film portrayed. Some things had to be left out otherwise the movie could have morphed into too much of a tragedy or parody depending on one's perspective. But your point is very good.
Mike Tyson did the same thing.
@@gregoryphillips3969 This is just one of many examples of people changing to better a person.
He had 2 title defenses. That's not one of the greatest sorry. His overall win loss draw record is good though. If not for writing his biography and that becoming a movie he would not be noteworthy in boxing history. It's having 6 matches with sugar Ray Robinson that stands out
Jake spoke very well considering his years in the ring and the beatings he took. And then he lived to the age of 95! What a tough guy he was! I watched his last fight with Sugar Ray Robinson on TV with my dad. I was 6 years old. I bet a dollar on Jake to beat Sugar Ray. I lost the bet of course. And my dad took my dollar. Maybe that's why I never got into gambling.
What a great fighter Jake was he fought every top contender for many years sugar ray 6 times he openly admits he was past his best by the time he got his title shot really would of been champ for years because he didn't play ball with the mafia who ran boxing back then.
This guy dodged CTE like a bullet. Good for him honestly
He definitely was going through some type of CTE, not as bad as others though
@@Only1Kizz he really only showed symptoms once he hit his 80s, he got very lucky
@@bug______ True
So give him a stage..where his bullhead can rage......THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!
Jake La Motta was the Most iconic boxing fighter
that felt a little tense. I loved lettermans line about Jake performing all around the Ramada Inns
LaMotta was really tough , not even Sugar Ray Robinson could NOT KO him! Sugar Ray got hit hard by Jake that Ray fell.
3 times
Yeah, Lamatta could take a lot of punishment, a real tough guy. The Bronx incarnate.
What are you talking about Sugar Ray scored a technical knockout over Jake that is a knockout.!
You did not want to make that guy mad.
Never got to answer the question about the mob and throwing the fight.
Interesting as Dave says "He is our guest this morning..."
Yeah, that ended soon after this.
You mean the earliest shows were filmed in the morning?
The LN shows?
No, that he stopped referring to the show as "morning" ("Good morning" and "He is our guest this morning.")
I gotcha... as in 'very early' in the morning...
Yup, after midnight, hence this morning.
Excellent video Don Giller. Thank you for posting.
Wow, Lamatta was hilarious!
I like Jake real good fighter😇👊🏽💎
Hard as they come , a true Raging Bull .
Just watched the movie Raging Bull, loved it. This is how a REAL MAN FIGHTS 🙏❤️🙏🦬😎
WTF is a ‘Sweet Roll’?
Like an Iced Finger or something?
Who's here after Raging bull?
that sweet role is Irish Catholic bread you know . . . the FUTURE 🥰😎💋👄
Muhamad ali apellais les boxeurs comme jake lamotta graziano zale motta cerdan steve belloise anton raadik robinson georgies abrahams steve mamakos charley burley fritzie zivic lou ambers ect ect ect ect
this is why i love history
Jake beat the shit outta CTE
He definitely was going through some type of CTE, not as bad as others though
The last thing I want to do is get you upset. Letterman such a gem.
That Sammy Davis Jr. Joke was Funny
Small Hands for Middleweight!
he had small hands. these small hands
like girls hands haha
Somehow still had the makings of a varsity athlete
1:40
Capitol fella
Joe lamotta ? 😂
jake lamotta is cool
le catcheur jack amar
LaMotta was no Rocky Marciano. He never really fought anyone except Robinson. Yeah, he was never knocked out cold but refused to answer the bell in 3 fights which means he quit. I would rather be knocked out than quit and refuse to answer the bell.
It’s obvious you know nothing about boxing, Jake fought all the toughest fighters that the other rated. Fighters avoided including Robinson. Look up his record , but that probably would be meaningless to you. Jake was one of the most avoided boxers ever. I’ve followed boxing since 1946 as a kid , Jake was my favorite.
Marcel Cerdan?
@@Jeanettesboxingchannel , That's the name I was lookin for..He only lost because he broke his shoulder..What a great champ he was... and what a tragic plane crash.
@@Baz-Ten Yep the Air France in Azores and then jake's son died on the Swissair in Canada which is eerie if you ask me. (Aviation, my second favorite topic lol)
@@Jeanettesboxingchannel , That is eerie ..I didn't know that...(deleted my last reply,,,,It was a bit flippant)
The last thing i want is to make you upset😂