HE was a sporting renegade who claimed to have made and lost a million dollars, smuggled gold and was once chased naked by his lover’s shotgun-wielding husband. But the late Marty Reisman will achieve an even more impressive feat — making ping pong seem sexy. Last week heart-throb Timothee Chalamet was in New York filming scenes for a new movie, Marty Supreme, inspired by the table tennis titan who became an unlikely global star.
The Dune actor had his hair slicked back and was wearing thin-rimmed glasses, with the undeniable look of the American sportsman. The part-fictionalised biopic will also star Gwyneth Paltrow as Marty’s mum. Marty, who used to perform a comedy ping pong routine as the warm-up act for the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team, counted Hollywood stars such as Susan Sarandon among his friends and was a proud American — but it was in the UK that he really found stardom.
Nicknamed The Needle due to his thin physique, he rose to fame at the 1949 British Open in front of 10,000 hushed spectators. The 19-year-old was given a standing ovation at Wembley Arena as he unexpectedly beat Hungarian five-times world champion Viktor Barna. The win brought world attention to the teenager, but also shone a light on his escapades away from the table.
For Marty was a charismatic rebel who hustled his way through life. When he arrived in austerity-ravaged Britain, four years after World War Two, the innocent-looking youngster carried a suitcase full of linge.