Turn Your Clippers On: Remembering Smokin' Joe Frazier

The late great Joe Frazier, Keith Sweat, Gerald Levert, Johnny Gill, Kevin Durant, Terrell Owens, Mike Tyon.  What do all of these superstars have in common? Dennis “Denny Moe” Mitchell, Harlem’s own, superstar barber!

He’s been in the business for 29 years, earning the reputation as one of the most respected barbers and servicing some of the biggest names in Sports, Television, Music and Business.  Dennis “Denny Moe” Mitchell will let our readers into the mind of the man that has traveled the world because of his unique skill of blending his talents of a celebrity barber and his ability to enter into the backdoor of the entertainment industry.








Remebering Smokin' Joe Frazier


My clippers have taken me many places and to meet many people. Doors have opened up for me here in my hometown of New York and as far away as Amsterdam, Germany, France and many places others can only imagine. I have been in the presence of many great individuals initially because of my job as a barber and later on, Executive Protection.

One of my proudest moments has been spending time with boxing legend Smokin’ Joe Frazier. He is most remembered for his three epic battles with Muhammad Ali. Joe died [November 7th] and will be buried this week in his home town in South Carolina. In reflection, I remember meeting Joe some years ago. His manager, Darren Prince called to request [Mark Joyner and myself] to escort Joe Frazier and Magic Johnson during their visit to New York; then later, to events like the All-Star Game and NFL Super Bowl.

I can’t help but to recall the time when Joe and I were walking in Harlem, from Lenox Avenue to Morningside Avenue reminiscing about the time we took a brief walk in Miami during the Super Bowl. During our walk in Harlem, Joe was greeted with a “Hey, Champ!” here and a “What’s up, Joe?” there, however in Miami, it took what felt like three hours to walk two blocks. Many well wishers wanted Joe’s autograph or asked to take a picture with him.

It was an honor to spend time with Joe and a pleasure to cut his hair. I remember Joe saying “Damn man, this is the best cut I had in years!” During my quiet time with him, I thought he was a great guy and a genuine cat but I also felt that he was misunderstood. He was a diabetic and wasn’t good with names when it was time to sign autographs, I recall helping him to remember.

Talking with him about Ali, Joe would tell me he didn’t understand Ali, the whole Uncle Tom and the white people’s champ antics. He talked to me about Ali wanting him to help get his boxing license back after he was banned because of protesting his draft status during the Vietnam War in 1967. The conversation was private in a car and Ali exited the car in front of the media and press and started yelling for Joe to get his butt out the car and he was going to bite his head off. I respect Ali’s gangster but this was the fundamental difference between the two men in my eyes. Joe simply wanted to treat people right!

Two undefeated heavyweight champs met at Madison Square Garden on March 8th, 1971, known as “The Fight of the Century”. Joe told me he had his eyes closed when he hit Ali so hard and when he opened his eyes, Ali was on the mat. Joe remained the undefeated heavyweight champ and gave Ali his first career loss. I once heard that they were trying to setup the last Ali vs. Frazier meeting in the ring. Where the two fighters would enter the ring in separate corners and come out to shake hands at center ring. All I can say is too bad that never happened. God Bless Smokin’ Joe Frazier and may he rest in peace.