MUHAMMAD ALI ORAL HISTORY PROJECT: LEON GAST Oral history is the collection of historical information obtained from recording and preserving in-depth interviews made up of personal experiences, recollections, and reflections. The Muhammad Ali Oral History Project is the Collection Department’s ongoing initiative to use oral history to document and preserve the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali. On October 30, 1974, perhaps the most famous heavy- weight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire: the "Rumble in the Jungle" between champion George Foreman and challenger Muhammad Ali. Leon Gast was present to film this historical footage and interview Muhammad Ali personally. Our Collections Department met with Leon Gast, producer and director of When We Were Kings, who reminisced on his unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali. Gast remarked that even with this great story, he did not have enough money to finish the film in 1974. Gast spent the next 21 years living with “boxes and boxes and boxes” of material in his apartment. The movie was finally released in January 1996, 22 years after the bout and went on to win an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.