Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist, Peacock’s newest drama, has garnered vital consideration for its star-studded forged and gripping narrative.
The collection, which premiered on Sept. 5, is predicated on the notorious 1970 armed theft that occurred on the evening of Muhammad Ali’s historic comeback combat. Because the trailer cues viewers in, it proclaims, “Primarily based on some s— that basically occurred.”
Impressed by the iHeartRadio podcast of the identical title, the present explores how the theft at a lavish post-fight get together not solely shook the town of Atlanta but additionally contributed to its transformation into a significant hub for Black tradition and prosperity.
“It is a high-level Black challenge with quite a lot of sources,” showrunner Shaye Ogbonna instructed the Los Angeles Occasions in September 2024. “It’s necessary that the story is instructed accurately and precisely. You don’t get quite a lot of alternatives like this.”
The work options an ensemble forged, together with Kevin Hart as Gordon “Hen Man” Williams, Samuel L. Jackson as crime boss Frank Moten and Don Cheadle as J.D. Hudson, considered one of Atlanta’s first Black detectives.
However how a lot of Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist is true? Right here’s every part to know concerning the real-life occasions that impressed the present.
Is Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist a real story?
Sure, Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist is a real story.
In dialog with Georgia Public Broadcasting in August 2024, govt producer Will Packer, who additionally produced the iHeartRadio podcast, spoke of the virtually stranger-than-fiction component of the actual 1970 heist that captured his consideration.
“Oftentimes you are getting pitched issues by writers, and so they’re simply making up issues that are not at the same time as loopy and absurd as what occurred on this story,” he stated. “So for this to be true, I used to be like, ‘Oh my gosh, that is an unimaginable narrative.’ ”
What occurred on the evening of Muhammad Ali’s comeback combat?
The true-life occasions that impressed Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist occurred on Oct. 26, 1970, when Ali made his extremely anticipated return to boxing in a match in opposition to Jerry Quarry. The combat was each a significant sporting occasion and a cultural second, drawing celebrities and high-profile people from throughout the nation.
After the combat, a personal afterparty hosted by Hen Man would turn into the location of considered one of Atlanta’s most infamous crimes. In line with the Struggle Evening podcast, Hen Man wished the particular occasion to be “identical to Vegas,” and the home was arrange like a on line casino, full with playing tables and a bar.
The visitor record was unique however far-reaching, with engraved invites despatched to locations like New York Metropolis. When the festivities started that fall night, the 200 attendees included outstanding figures and well-known Atlanta hustlers like Moten, the so-called “Black Godfather.”
The celebration, nevertheless, was interrupted by a bunch of masked males armed with sawed-off shotguns. The partygoers, a lot of whom have been gangsters and high-profile personalities, have been pressured down into the basement and made to lie on the ground because the robbers systematically cleaned out their pockets.
Even Moten’s bodyguards, who have been recognized to be closely armed, have been left susceptible when their weapons have been taken away. Regardless of the strain, no pictures have been fired.
In line with the podcast, the robbers had cased the place within the days main as much as the occasion, making their assault swift. Visitors have been left empty-handed as they watched the robbers make off with an estimated $1 million in money, jewellery and different valuables, per The Atlanta Journal-Structure.
The theft shocked everybody, and although many suspected Hen Man’s involvement as a result of his possession of the home, he maintained he was as a lot a sufferer as anybody else.
Who was Gordon “Hen Man” Williams?
Gordon “Hen Man” Williams, portrayed by Hart within the collection, was a widely known determine in Atlanta’s underground scene, was a hustler with connections to the town’s felony community and the authentic enterprise neighborhood.
Following the theft, Hen Man was suspected of masterminding the plan. The investigation by Atlanta police that adopted put him within the crosshairs of each legislation enforcement and the felony underworld. Regardless of the suspicion, Hen Man maintained his innocence.
What occurred to the suspects after the heist?
Investigating the case was J.D. Hudson, one of many first Black detectives on Atlanta’s desegregated police drive.
Finally, two males, McKinley Rogers Jr. and James Henry Corridor, have been indicted on armed theft expenses. Nevertheless, their actual names have been James H. Jackson and James Ebo, respectively. However earlier than they might stand trial, each males have been shot within the Bronx in Could 1971, simply months after the heist.
The New York Occasions reported that they have been gunned down of their stolen Cadillac, with loaded weapons, pretend IDs and money discovered within the car.
Regardless of the deaths of the first suspects, the thriller surrounding Hen Man’s involvement continued. Whereas it was believed that Hen Man had been killed shortly after the heist in what was regarded as a contract hit, later revelations instructed in any other case.
In an interview for the Struggle Evening podcast, Hudson revealed that Hen Man had really survived and constructed a brand new life as a pastor.
How correct is Struggle Evening: The Million Greenback Heist?
The important thing occasions of the present — the lavish afterparty, theft, investigation and transformation of Atlanta — have been closely influenced by real-life occasions. Nevertheless, when speaking to Georgia Public Broadcasting, Packer famous that telling the story in an eight-part collection afforded them “room to stretch the narrative.”
Nonetheless, showrunner Ogbonna defined to the outlet that the essence of the narrative was essential to get proper by way of Atlanta’s emergence as a hub for Black tradition.
“This was Atlanta’s popping out get together,” she stated. “It gave us the chance to inform this wonderful story about this wonderful metropolis from this uniquely African-American perspective.”
Packer additionally shared that probably the most vital moments throughout manufacturing was when Hen Man’s household visited the set.
“One of many largest compliments that we bought all through this course of was once we had the household of Hen Man come to set and see every part that we created and get immersed within the setting and inform us, ‘You guys bought this proper,’ ” he recalled. “That is the most important praise that you may have. That was big.”
Actor Jackson additionally performed a essential function in making certain the accuracy of the interval depicted within the present.
“Sam has an Atlanta connection,” Ogbonna instructed the Los Angeles Occasions. “Having him round was like having a historian on set. He bought married within the church across the nook from the place Hen Man’s get together was.”