HBO making documentary on Billie Jean King.

HBO documentary focuses on tennis great

By MELISSA MURPHY
AP SPORTS WRITER

NEW YORK -- Billie Jean King is in constant motion. She's gearing up for the inaugural "Billie Awards" with Elton John in California next week, the World Team Tennis season in July and the "Go Girl Go" fitness programs in Atlanta and Chicago.

And an HBO Sports documentary on her life, "Billie Jean King: Portrait of a Pioneer," premiered Tuesday night in Manhattan. King was unable to attend the event because her father was briefly hospitalized in Prescott, Ariz.

"At 62 you want to keep moving, that's important," King said in a recent phone interview with The Associated Press. She still plays tennis three times a week despite six operations on her knees.

"Go for it, dream big and go for it," she said.

That sums up the philosophy of King, whose fight for equal pay and equal rights for girls and women resonated with a generation during the 1970s and beyond. A winner of 39 Grand Slam titles, the champion and activist revolutionized sports and paved the way for female athletes.

"She just sped everything up as pioneers do, they bring about change," said Martina Navratilova, in New York recently for a book signing. "She changed opinions of people that had nothing to do with sports."

The film chronicles Billie Jean Moffitt's first tennis lesson at a public park in Long Beach, Calif., and her first Wimbledon win in 1961 en route to a record 20 titles. It highlights the infamous 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" match against Bobby Riggs viewed by a worldwide television audience of 90 million and her being outed as a lesbian eight years later by a former partner in a palimony suit.

In 1970, King and doubles partner Rosie Casals led seven others who broke away from the tennis establishment and its paltry prize money and signed symbolic $1 contracts with tennis promoter Gladys Heldman. The Virginia Slims Tour was born, along with the Women's Tennis Association and bigger pay checks.

The glory now goes to the younger generation, who are reaping the WTA rewards. King, who became the first female athlete to win more than $100,000 in prize money in 1971, retired in 1983 after earning $1.9 million in her 15-year pro career. By contrast, Maria Sharapova has won $5.6 million in five years on the tour.

King testified on behalf of Title IX, the federal law that banned sex discrimination in schools and created more opportunities for women in college sports. And she brought equal prize money to the U.S. Open in 1973. She co-founded World Team Tennis, the Women's Sports Foundation and Women's Sports magazine the next year.

"Women were coming into their own, seeking opportunities in business and careers," Casals said. "Billie Jean was in the forefront of sports and tennis changes, always fighting for equality."

The film, which debuts April 26 on HBO, uses rare footage, archival photos and interviews with Chris Evert, King's partner Ilana Kloss and sports journalist Frank DeFord. Her parents, now in their 80s, brother Randy Moffitt and ex-husband Larry King (not the CNN host) also get screen time along with Navratilova and Casals.

Mary Carillo, an HBO "Real Sports" reporter, helped push the film about her friend. King originally broached the idea of a documentary on women in sports during a rain delay at Wimbledon in 1993. That led to the 1999 Peabody award-winning film "Dare to Compete."

Executive producer Ross Greenburg wanted to paint a full picture of the tennis great.

"If we're going to do this, we'll do all of your story," Greensburg told King. "She fought so hard for women's rights and unknowingly came out of the closet and became a champion for gay rights. And now she understands how important she was in that campaign."

King lost millions in endorsements when former girlfriend Marilyn Barnett filed a palimony lawsuit in 1981. Barnett lost the suit, and soon after, King's husband granted a long-awaited divorce.

"I think she's in a good place now, quite comfortable with who she is," Casals said. "I don't think she's been comfortable with all the fame and glory. I think she finds that harder to accept than who she is in regard to her sexual orientation."

Kloss, a former tennis pro from South Africa, has been King's partner for more than 20 years. She's also the commissioner of World Team Tennis. Kloss didn't want to go public until about two year ago, King said.

"Everyone has got to go at their own pace," King said. "But I would never out somebody. It's up to them and their own pace, their own way. Everyone deserves that right of self expression."

Kloss thanked those at the premiere on behalf of Billie Jean, and said 88-year-old Bill King was released from the hospital Tuesday night after a bout with pneumonia.

"The good news is he is doing much better," Kloss said. "She does send her love and best wishes."

Navratilova picked up the championship mantle in the 1980s, first aware of King while watching Wimbledon on a black and white TV in Czechoslovakia.

"I was about 7 or 8 years old and watched Wimbledon, saw her play," Navratilova said. "I knew I wanted to be there."

They shared an aggressive serve and volley game, and Navratilova teamed with King at Wimbledon in 1979 to help her win a record 20th title.
Navratilova, still playing doubles at 49, is attempting to break that record.

"She was very creative, had a great tactical strategy," Navratilova said. "She did things in the middle of the match like no one else did."

source:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/othersports/3000AP_TEN_King_Documentary.html