Hells Angels icon a part of California culture
A life from the early days in the Bay Area, to world-wide fame and notoriety.
Barger died from cancer after a long life on the road, on motorcycles, and also in court rooms and jails.
A lot of jail-time
I read one of his books and besides the descriptions of biker life and mentality, I was also struck with the amount of his life taken up in later years by being arrested, jailed, dealing with lawyers, paying lawyers and generally being absorbed in a lifestyle few of would ever chose.
Book at amazon
The Guardian Obituary. Good overview of the life of this celebrity biker.
Tucker Carlson at the funeral What the...? - In this San Francisco web site.
A Trial in Kentucky 34 Years Ago The strange saga involving Hunter S. Thompson
The View from Australia Fame around the world.
Funeral pre video Motorcycles after dark.
Photos You'll have to click the > on the right-side of the photo slide show to see the pics.
Or, take look below:
Iconic Leader of Hells Angels in California
One of the first presidents of Hells Angels dies of liver cancer. He gained fame in movies, books and ultimately in the criminal court system with his leadership in the Hells Angels.
Barger gained fame through many avenues, including now-famous books that featured some of his exploits and life. These include:
"Hells Angels," by Hunter S. Thompson. The book launched Thompson's most famous period of work.
Wild drug laced parties and California counter-culture galore in this one, by Tom Wolf
Top photo - "Oakland chapter Hell's Angel PREZ Ralph ' Sonny' Barger and taken care of business crowd" by ATOMIC Hot Links is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.