EXCLUSIVE: Knicks Champions Attend Tribeca Premiere of Bill Bradley's 'Rolling Along'
NEW YORK-The New York Knicks made the transition from the Mecca to Tribeca over the weekend upon the premiere of "Rolling Along," a filmed one-man stage show starring player-turned-politician Bill Bradley.
Named for Bradley's description of the Mississippi River's motion in his Missouri hometown of Crystal City, "Rolling Along" is a self-reflection on Bradley's unique career, one that saw him move from Madison Square Garden to Capitol Hill. A one-man stage show starring Bradley, it premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this month, the festivities getting underway at the SVA Theater.
After a 12-year career with the Knicks, which saw him partake in both of New York's championship runs in 1970 and 1973, Bradley served three terms as a United States Senator for New Jersey, the state where he burst onto the national basketball scene at the unexpected locale of Princeton University.
"I always wanted to serve my fellow human being and politics became the way I did that," Bradley told All Knicks on the red carpet. "I love politics, I loved the Senate, I love the policy. I love the people that I represented. You have to do that it can't simply be you it's got to be about them. I actually enjoyed that."
Directed by Mike Tollin, (also known for his involvement in narrative sports films "Summer Catch" and "Radio"), the film allowed Bradley to tell his 79-year-old story in his own words in a project that lists renowned director/Knicks superfan Spike Lee and acclaimed actor Frank Oz among its executive producers.
A lengthy career has allowed Tollin, a tenured director and producer, to help tell athletic stories from both a documentarian ("The Last Dance," "The Captain," "Hardwood Dreams") and narrative ("Summer Catch." "Radio") perspective. He was drawn to Bradley's tale due to "not just his play, but his values."
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"I heard about his work ethic and I heard about a guy who was really inspiring about the way he approached the game, through old-fashioned team basketball. That was what he was all about," Tollin told All Knicks. "He chose to go to Oxford and further his education before he came to the NBA and then there was the magic of going to the Knicks, a team that had never ever won, and then having two titles in four years. To be right in the middle of all that it's, it's kind of a fairy tale."
While humorous and victorious, "Rolling Along" serves not as a victory lap for Bradley, who is more than willing to discuss his shortcomings such as an unsuccessful bid for the 2000 U.S. presidential election's Democratic nomination and the dissolving of a 33-year marriage.
Bradley mixes lively anecdotes co-starring family and constituents with emotional encounters that kickstarted his involvement in public service and remain prevalent, such as racism his amateur and professional teammates faced. It serves as a culmination of a figure that was mixing sports and real-life issues far before the concept became more mainstream in modern times.
"For me, it was a selfish thing to do to help him," Oz said. "My fans don't really care about what I have to say about the world or America. This is an opportunity for me to support a man who I believed in, and what he said about America."
"He has it all, he's done it all. And he's still a magnificent person," fellow two-time Knicks champion Walt "Clyde" Frazier told All Knicks. "In the 70s, when racism was still a problem in the NBA, this man never showed any. He was always a supporter of the brothers, the black players, standing behind them. Demanding with Oscar Robertson, and Jerry West, all these players, that we get better treatment. Playing with him, he was so unselfish, he made us champions with the way he was dishing and swishing."
Frazier, equally known for his own showmanship and on-court prowess, was surprised that the reserved Bradley was taking the stage, a step that even he said he'd feel "intimidated" by. He was more willing to discuss the profound, lasting impact Bradley had upon him and was glad to see his story spread.
"I'm shocked that Bill's doing it. He was so quiet, when he told me he was doing a one-man show, I was like 'a one-man show, are you kidding me?'" Frazier said with a laugh. "He's a marvelous person, he has such an impact on me along with Willis Reed, Dick Barnett. So I'm indebted to him."
"Rolling Along" was originally intended to be a traveling show but transportation issues brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic turned it into a big-screen feature.
Bradley then worked with Oz, best known for his work in the "Muppets" and "Star Wars" franchises, to work on his diction and memorization, taking advantage of a chance meeting prior to filming. Longtime theatre producer and Neil Simon collaborator Manny Azenberg was also a driving force in encouraging Bradley to take the stage, claiming the former Knick's style reminded him of the late Hal Holbrook's portrayal of Mark Twain.
On premiere night, Bradley was joined by several metropolitan teammates on the weekend's red carpet, including Frazier, Dick Barnett, and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe. A Q&A session hosted by MSNBC anchor/commentator Lawrence O'Donnell followed after the film was screened.
"It's the way he spanned America's biggest obsessions, sports and politics. No one else has done that the way he has done that at the level," O'Donnell said of Bradley's appeal. "He was a very popular American before becoming a Senator, before becoming a politician. He already kind of naturally crossed party lines. Talking to Bill Bradley never felt divisive."
Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags
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