[21] The author and journalist Hunter S. Thompson wrote in his 1967 book Hell's Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs that "in any gathering of Hell's Angels, there is no doubt who is running the show", describing Barger as "a 6-foot, 170-pound warehouseman from East Oakland, the coolest head in the lot, and a tough, quick-thinking dealer when any action starts", and saying of him: "By turns he is a fanatic, a philosopher, a brawler, a shrewd compromiser and a final arbitrator. [1] Between 1966 and 1973, the majority of his legitimate personal income was derived from advising various film projects. Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free, and always value honor. Sonny Barger, a Hells Angels Biker and Leader, Dies of Cancer at 83 Just like I'm sure some cops have sold methamphetamines. He also sent a telegram to the then president, Lyndon Johnson, offering Hells Angels services to provide a trained group of crack gorillas [sic] to demoralize the Viet Cong and advance the cause of freedom. As of 2023, Barger has accumulated an estimated net worth of $1 million. [62] He denied that jurors were intimidated by the Hells Angels' presence at the trial, saying: "The only ones that are intimidated are the ones the feds tell to be". [67] Two EPIC manuals and a homemade explosive device were discovered in Barger's home by federal agents. Sonny Barger Death Fact Check, Birthday & Age | Dead or Kicking [84][83], In 1997, the government of Denmark contemplated banning all outlaw biker clubs in response to the Great Nordic Biker War. Funeral for Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger set to happen Saturday in Hells Angels founder Sonny Barger dead at 83 - South China Morning Post During a brawl between the bikers and the crowd, a black spectator, Meredith Hunter, was knifed to death by an Angel, Alan Passaro. [28] Hilliard also testified that Barger had offered "to deliver the bagged body of a leftist for every Angel released from jail". Sonny Barger, the leader of Hells Angels, has died aged 83 That's all cops and newspapers. [74][75] Colorado state senator Nighthorse Campbell had allegedly tried to use his influence to have Barger released from prison earlier. [15] Founding their own Hells Angels club on April 1, 1957, each member wore the patch a small skull wearing an aviator cap set within a set of wings, later copyrighted as the Hells Angels' "Death's Head" logo after having replicas made at a trophy store in Hayward. Alleged kidnapping mastermind apparently fabricated family ties to Hells Angels founder, American Legend Sonny Barger celebrate his 80. [63] A female juror was excused from duty after her son was threatened by a group of Hells Angels at a downtown Toledo bar that he would have "lots of problems" if his mother did not "vote the right way". He also attested that the FBI had asked him to fake his own death in order to further their investigation against the Hells Angels, to which he refused. Barger's death on June 29 at the age of 83 made international headlines because of that reach. [59], In October 1982, Barger was part of a large group of Hells Angels from across the country who attended the murder trial of Jack "Jack-O-Lantern" Gentry, a member of the club's Cleveland chapter accused of shooting Outlaws member Ralph "Real Time" Tanner behind the Outlaws' Toledo clubhouse on November 30, 1980. The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is Sonny Barger's life. [56] The feud between the two clubs began in 1974 when Outlaws bikers in South Florida murdered three members of the Hells Angels' Lowell, Massachusetts, chapter as retribution for an Outlaw being beaten by Hells Angels at a party in New York City. Around a hundred Hells Angels wearing full "colors" attended the trial, as did the country singer Johnny Paycheck, a friend of Barger. But also know that in the end, I was surrounded by what really matters: My wife, Zorana, as well as my loved ones. Hippies no longer dug us. The blacks and Latinos didn't like us. EXPLAINED: Who Was SONNY BARGER & Cause Of Death, Hells Angel's [59], In 1983, Barger was diagnosed with throat cancer and temporarily handed control of the club over to his second-in-command, Michael O'Farrell, while he received and recovered from treatment. Sonny Barger, Figurehead Of Hells Angels, Dies At 83 Sonny Barger: Funeral & Obituary. Sonny Barger memorial service: Hells Angels ask to use Coliseum Barger returned on November 29, 2011, in the season 4 finale, part one. I think it was a devastating blow to the government, and I couldnt be happier with the verdict except if I had been found innocent myself. Barger was also provided with an alibi from his girlfriend, Sharon Gruhlke, who claimed she was in bed with him at the time of the murder. (KTXL) A funeral will be held in Stockton this weekend for Ralph "Sonny" Barger, the founder of the Oakland Hells Angels chapter who passed away in June from cancer. Having stage III laryngeal cancer, he underwent a total laryngectomy with bilateral functional neck dissections. [35] He blamed the Rolling Stones' extended delay before making an onstage appearance for worsening the hostility of the crowd, and said the Hells Angels refused to act as bodyguards for "a bunch of sissy, marble-mouthed prima donnas" when the band asked the bikers to escort them to the stage. I ended up not liking him at all, a tall skinny, typical hillbilly from Kentucky. [66] During one such meeting, Barger admiringly told Tait that he represented the "Hells Angel of the '90s" clean-cut, articulate, and capable of carrying out club business. Discovered in the trunk of the Pontiac were three club "prospects" William Hood, Russell Huddleston and Danny Jarman. For at least five years beginning in 1967, Barger and the Hells Angels turned over weapons acquired on the black market or locations of weapons, which could otherwise be used by Black Panther Party and Weather Underground radicals, to the Oakland Police Department in exchange for the release of jailed Hells Angels members. Sonny Barger has died aged 83 after a cancer battle surrounded by his wife Zorana and his loved ones The Oakland, California, biker was the founding member of the Hells Angels motorcycling. Sonny Barger obituary | US news | The Guardian [10][11] His mother left the family when Barger was four months old, leaving him and his older sister Shirley to be raised by their Pentecostal grandmother and alcoholic father, a day laborer on the Oakland docks. "[7] On January 23, 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld Barger's convictions, stating that granting him amnesty "would greatly intrude into the law enforcement functions of the executive branches of federal and state governments". Barger had liked the discipline, masculine camaraderie, and learning how to disassemble weapons. [5] The author Hunter S. Thompson called Barger "the Maximum Leader" of the Hells Angels,[6] and Philip Martin of the Phoenix New Times described him as "the archetypical Hells Angel", saying he "didn't found the motorcycle clubbut he constructed the myth". Three men drug dealers Kelly Patrick Smith, Willard Thomas and Gary Kemp, an acquaintance of Ivaldi were found shot to death in a house near San Leandro the day after Agero's murder, and the body of a woman, Karen S. Long, was discovered in the trunk of a car in Oakland on May 26. Everybody hated us. He and Tait discussed retaliation against the Outlaws on several occasions, and Tait encouraged Barger to travel to Alaska to provide guidance to the Anchorage Hells Angels chapter on retributive action. Please ignore rumors and hoaxes. [14] Barger took umbrage with what he felt was the Stones' refusal to take responsibility for the catastrophe and he said in the days after the concert: "Mick Jagger, like, put it all on us. Though law enforcement saw the Angels as more of a gang than a club, in the 1960s the media latched on to Barger (pronounced Bar-gurr), selling the outlaw image to the world as a form of countercultural protest that took celluloid form in films such as Easy Rider (1969). Sonny Barger, figurehead of Hells Angels, dies at 83 [83][84] Although the Outlaws failed to kill either man, a number of Hells Angels-owned businesses in southern California were firebombed. Early in his biking career, after having his skull fractured by police, Barger added a 1% patch to the Angels outfit, in response to the head of the American Motorcyclist Association claiming 99% of motorcyclists were law-abiding. Credit: Pete Rosos. [110] Barger remained married to Zorana until his death in 2022. [19], According to George Wethern who later testified against the club and entered the Federal Witness Protection Program in his 1978 book A Wayward Angel, Barger convened a meeting of the leaders of the Hells Angels and other California motorcycle clubs in 1960 in which the various clubs parleyed over the mutual problem of police harassment. According to a post on Facebook, which includes a. Please, The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. As the longtime president of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, Sonny Barger, who has died aged 83, was the epitome of the outlaw biker. He stated following his conviction: "I think we won very handily in there. After the spate of publicity the Hells Angels received in 1965, Barger had the club's name copyrighted. According to the post, Sonny Barger passed away from cancer while being surrounded by his wife, Zorana, and other close family members. [23] The indictments followed two car bombings targeting law enforcement officers in northern California, which were blamed on the Hells Angels. Owen. Barger served a total of 13 years in prison, following a conviction for heroin trafficking in 1974, and a 1988 conviction for conspiracy to bomb the clubhouse of a rival motorcycle gang, the Outlaws. [7] Barger and the Hells Angels became associated with the counterculture phenomenon of the 1960s. We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. [71] Barger and three other defendants were also convicted on the misdemeanor charge of knowingly converting a copy of a government document, while five others were acquitted of all charges. [62] Wearing their "colors", the bikers rode their motorcycles past the residence of assistant county prosecutor James Bates, visited the neighbors of jurors after obtaining a list of prospective jurors in the case, and circled the courthouse in black vans with "Hells Angels" painted on the side. I've asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing," a . [3] After forming the Oakland chapter, Barger was instrumental in unifying various disparate Hells Angels chapters and had the club incorporated in 1966. Concert goers and musicians alike were subjected to violence from the Hells Angels, including Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane, who was knocked unconscious, and audience member Meredith "Murdock" Hunter, who was stabbed to death. Sonny Barger, founder of the Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels and the public face for the motorcycle club in the aftermath of the Altamont tragedy, has died at the age of 83. Noel suffered a broken rib and back, and a lacerated spleen. His criminal record began in 1963 after he was arrested for possession of marijuana. Birthday, "Hells Angels founder Sonny Barger dies at 83", "Sonny Barger, famous Hells Angel and bestselling author, dead at 83 of cancer", Hells Angels motorcycle club leader Sonny Barger dies at age 83, Hells Angels want to hold Sonny Barger memorial service at Oakland Coliseum, "An estimated 7,000 attend funeral for Hells Angels leader Ralph "Sonny" Barger at Stockton 99 Speedway", "Tucker Carlson gives speech at Sonny Barger's funeral in Northern California", "Look Homeward Angelcycle Icon Sonny Barger Kick-Starts Life as a Free Man by Violating Parole", "Hell's author; Legendary bad-ass biker Sonny Barger and his roaring Harley are burnin' up the highways on a uh book tour? The ten defendants went on trial at Louisville federal court beginning in July 1988, accused of plotting to bomb the clubhouse of the Outlaws' Louisville chapter, located in the city's Portland neighborhood, in retaliation for the killing of John Cleave Webb. [70] Under a special arrangement approved by U.S. District Judge Edward H. Johnstone, defense attorneys subpoenaed each of the codefendants as witnesses, entitling them to per diem witness fees. Barger was represented by defense attorney Stephen Miller, and Barger's wife worked on the defense team as a paralegal. Christie believed Bowman was persuaded to abandon a truce with the Hells Angels by one of his lieutenants, Kevin "Spike" O'Neill, who thought agreeing to a ceasefire would make the Outlaws appear weak. It was just too bad that Irish [OFarrell] and I were convicted, but we will probably win an appeal. Sonny Barger, counterculture force and face of the Hells Angels, dies Hells Angels founder Ralph Hubert "Sonny" Barger, Jr., laid to rest at LIVERMORE, Calif. Sonny Barger, the leather-clad fixture of 1960s counterculture and figurehead of the Hells Angels motorcycle club who was at the notorious Rolling Stones concert at Altamont. [106] The marriage ended in divorce. Barger temporarily resigned as president of the Oakland chapter in June 1970 to fight the charges, but returned to the position within months after his successor, John "Johnny Angel" Palomar, was sentenced to a ten-year prison term for shooting a bartender. [12][113][114] His death was announced in a Facebook post reading: If you are reading this message, you'll know that I'm gone. [22] Amidst claims by the Hells Angels' attorneys, Jack Berman and Herman Mintz, of insufficient evidence and an illegal search by arresting officers, all five defendants pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of unlawful imprisonment. Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83 For decades, he was the public face of a nationwide counterculture tribe of bearded, denim-clad road warriors memorialized in. In 1987, he was again arrested on federal conspiracy charges of drug and gun running in California, but found himself on trial in Louisville, Kentucky, accused of supplying explosives to destroy the Outlaws motorcycle gang there in a territorial dispute. On November 30, 2010, Barger made a guest appearance as Lenny "The Pimp" Janowitz on the season 3 finale of the FX television series Sons of Anarchy, about a fictional outlaw motorcycle club, allegedly based on the Hells Angels. They got exactly what they wanted a dark scary atmosphere to play 'Sympathy for the Devil'Just because you sing well doesn't mean you can act like a bunch of assholes to your fans and that's what they did that night at Altamont". The Modesto native is credited with creating the first Oakland chapter of the Hells Angels, an outlaw . Sonny Barger Funeral | Sonny Barger, Face of the Hells Angels, Dies at 83 | Sonny Barger Obituary.Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, pas. As the longtime president of the Hells Angels motorcycle club, Sonny Barger, who has died aged 83, was the epitome of the outlaw biker. [7] He authored five books, and appeared on television and in film. His mother, Kathryn (nee Ritch), ran off with a bus driver when Sonny was four; he was raised by his grandmother and his father, an alcoholic who took his young son with him on crawls through the seamens bars. "[6] Barger appealed his convictions, contending that the government's investigative conduct had deprived him of his Fifth Amendment right to due process, that he had been incited to commit crimes by Anthony Tait and the government, and that the district court erred when it sentenced him pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act guidelines. [21][66] Traveling the country at government expense, Tait made documented purchases of firearms, explosives, and drugs from various Hells Angels chapters. When the overall president was sent to prison in 1958, Sonny, aged 20, replaced him, and moved the mother chapter to Oakland.