The Real Table Tennis Player Who Inspired Marty Supreme

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I’m really excited about Marty Supreme coming out on December 25th! It stars Timothée Chalamet as a table tennis prodigy. The movie follows him as he balances competing in actual tournaments with playing for money in a pretty rough part of New York City – all so he can afford to travel and keep competing. It sounds like a really interesting mix of sports and a bit of a gritty underworld story.

The character of Marty Mauser was inspired by Marty Reisman, a highly skilled table tennis player from New York. Reisman won 22 major championships between 1946 and 2002, including the United States Open twice and the British Open once.

The movie’s story is made up, but it’s based on the life of a real person known for his drive and ambition. Here’s the story of the athlete who inspired the film.

The Marty in Marty Supreme

The film introduces Mauser as a young man working at his uncle’s shoe store in New York City, finding an outlet in competitive ping pong. While the real Marty Reisman did sell shoes, it wasn’t during his youth or for a family business. The job is meant to show how he drifted between various temporary positions, intentionally avoiding long-term commitments or a settled life, according to screenwriter Ronald Bronstein.

Director Josh Safdie discovered Marty Reisman through his memoir, The Money Player, which his wife, Sara, gifted him. He and Bronstein were captivated and began developing a story about a determined dreamer from New York City’s Lower East Side who rose to prominence after World War II. Though the film isn’t based directly on the book, Reisman’s story revealed a vibrant and largely unknown world of unique characters – hustlers, obsessives, and dreamers – in New York. Interestingly, Safdie’s uncle knew some of these individuals personally, even sharing meals with them.

According to Bronstein, Mauser constantly sought to innovate and make his mark on the game of ping pong. He was known for theatrics during matches, often to encourage betting on his wins. The film shows him even attempting to start a business selling bright orange ping pong balls, hoping they’d be easier for players to track than the traditional white ones.

The movie is set in 1952, a pivotal year for Marty Reisman. He had just lost to a Japanese player in a world championship—though the film changes the location from the real-life Mumbai to London. Determined for a rematch, Reisman is trying to fund his trip to the world table tennis championships in Japan. In the years following World War II, an ink-pen businessman (Kevin O’Leary) offers Reisman a free flight on his private jet, but only if he’ll play a promotional match in Japan to boost pen sales. Reisman refuses to do that, and the film follows his attempts to get to Japan independently.

Mauser is far more preoccupied with the wife of a wealthy media executive (Gwyneth Paltrow) than with the upcoming exhibition game. According to Bronstein, their intense connection stems from what each sees in the other: Mauser envisions a future of success and recognition in Kay, while Kay sees in Mauser a chance to recapture her youthful ambition. Ultimately, Mauser uses Kay, even stealing a piece of her jewelry to fund his trip to Japan, only to discover it was a fake. He reluctantly agrees to play the exhibition game, but a previous unpaid fine prevents him from competing in the world championships.

The real Marty Supreme

Wow, they really had a nickname for everything back then! They called Marty Reisman “the Needle” because he was so fast at the table, but he was also known as “the Bad Boy of Table Tennis” – a real rebel! I read this old article in TIME magazine from 1974 that painted him as a bit of a hustler, even accusing him of stealing things! Apparently, he was legendary among gamblers, right up there with guys like Minnesota Fats and Bobby Riggs. The article went on to explain exactly how he’d pull off his schemes…

To earn extra money, he’d play basketball during breaks in the Harlem Globetrotters’ games, often tricking wealthy players into thinking they could win if he gave them a nineteen-point head start and played while sitting down. He’d even play with a trash can lid if the price was right. While touring Asia, he was approached by a smuggler and agreed to hide gold under his clothes and carry it across borders.

This isn’t your average basement table tennis game. As author Reisman explained in his book, The Money Player, professional players faced real hardship. They couldn’t rely on winnings alone; many were gamblers or involved in smuggling just to survive. Reisman himself had already collected over 175 trophies, but as he pointed out, trophies don’t fill your stomach.

According to his New York Times obituary, he had a quirky pre-game ritual: he’d use a $100 bill to measure the height of the table tennis net. He was a regular at the well-known Lawrence’s table tennis club in Manhattan, just as shown in the movie, and also owned and operated his own parlor on the Upper West Side from the late 1950s through the late 1970s. His regulars included actor Dustin Hoffman, author Kurt Vonnegut, playwright David Mamet, and chess champion Bobby Fischer.

Known for his vibrant personality and fashion sense – often seen in classic fedoras and Panama hats – he became a popular performer at Harlem Globetrotters games. His comedic routine, done with partner Doug Cartland, involved hilariously hitting basketballs with frying pans and shoes while the tune of “Mary Had a Little Lamb” played.

Reisman continued to play table tennis until he passed away in 2012 at the age of 82. He was also the founder and president of Table Tennis Nation, an organization dedicated to growing the sport. Even just nine months before his death, he told the New York Times he always embraced a competitive challenge, saying, “I took on anyone, and I never backed down from a bet.”

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2025-12-25 17:07