{"id":36058,"date":"2024-05-17T18:00:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T16:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=267241"},"modified":"2024-05-17T19:32:58","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T17:32:58","slug":"is-the-big-cigar-true-the-real-story-of-how-a-fake-hollywood-film-helped-black-panther-huey-p-newton-escape-the-fbi","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/is-the-big-cigar-true-the-real-story-of-how-a-fake-hollywood-film-helped-black-panther-huey-p-newton-escape-the-fbi\/","title":{"rendered":"Is The Big Cigar true? The real story of how a fake Hollywood film helped Black Panther Huey P Newton escape the FBI"},"content":{"rendered":"

Huey P Newton\u2019s name is ingrained in the history of modern America for his leading role in the Black Panther Party. Now he\u2019s the focus of a new Apple TV+ series, \/\/The Big Cigar\/\/, which explores the astonishing true story behind his audacious escape to Cuba <\/p>

By James Osborne\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 17 May 2024 at 16:00 PM<\/p>

\n\n

The combination of revolutionary political organisations, a covert FBI operation and fake movies sounds like the stuff of fiction, but forms the foundation of the true story told in The Big Cigar<\/em>, a new limited series from Apple TV+.<\/p>\n

Set in the dazzling colour of 1970s America, The Big Cigar <\/em>explores how Huey P Newton \u2013 the co-founder and first leader of the radical Black Panther Party \u2013 fled the US to Cuba with the help of Hollywood.<\/p>\n

But how much of what we see in The Big Cigar<\/em> aligns with the real history of this extraordinary phase of Newton\u2019s life?<\/p>\n

Is The Big Cigar<\/em> a true story?<\/h2>\n

Yes, The Big Cigar<\/em> is based on a true story: Huey P Newton really did flee to Cuba in 1974, enabled by the production of a fake film, also named The Big Cigar<\/em>, organised by Hollywood producer Bert Schneider.<\/p>\n

Though he effected his escape in a matter of weeks, the reasons behind it were years in the making \u2013 and his absence was keenly felt by the Black Panthers.<\/p>\n