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| 'Easy Rider'; Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper on the choppers built in Watts |
Thanks to a bit of prompting from a reader in New Zealand, the dormant-but-brewing story of the
'Easy Rider' motorcycles continues, following revelations in the
'Black Chrome' exhibit in Los Angeles that the designer and builders of the most famous motorcycles in the world were, in fact, black men, and further, the implication that the 'Chopper' (extended-fork, elaborated customs) was invented by black bikers in Los Angeles.
If the chopper was indeed born in Watts, as suggested, then we are 50 years overdue for some acknowledgement. The story resonates with Rock n' Roll's 'invention'; as
Elvis Presley shook his way through
Big Mama Thornton tunes, created a movement, and struck it rich, Big Mama got nary a nod, nor did any of the artists whose work Elvis mimicked, borrowed, or covered. Which doesn't detract from Elvis' genius, but it does bring up some nasty cultural baggage which was too uncomfortable to address, back in the day.
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| Elvis Presley with his H-D Panhead |
Similarly, swastika-emblazoned
'1%er' bikers in the 60s and 70s were flirting with or embracing the ragged edge of
white supremacist ideology, and unlikely to praise the likes of Cliff Vaughs and
Ben Hardy as inspiration for their choppers. It wasn't just bikers of course; the whole of the 60s Hippie counterculture has been criticized by black civil rights activists for '
dropping out' of the struggle for an end to the violence against black men in the South, or any political involvement beyond saving their own skin from being shipped to
Vietnam.
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| From Rich Ostrander (Dr Sprocket), via Occhiolungo: two riders in LA, ca.1950; that's Lucius P. Dawkins on the Vincent. Any i.d. for the HD rider? |
Many young black men were motorcyclists before the WW2, and after military service, had a similar experience to other two-wheel enthusiasts in SoCal; '
gimme a bike, and some room to ride'. The adrenaline and/or amphetamine rush of the War (with the US, Britain, Germany, and Japan handing out 'speed' like candy to their soldiers - another subject needing illumination) was best substituted with the physical thrill of riding a bike.
Over time,
black bikers modified their machines and formed gangs, in chronologic parallel with their Anglo counterparts.
'Bob-jobs' (whose rear fender was 'bobbed' short) were lightened for better performance, but over time, and as tastes changed, customized bikes became more elaborate and decorated, with 'raked' frames (increased steering head angle) and extended forks; the
'Chopper'. The question of 'who did it first' is interesting, and I'd like to see the photographic evidence for a proper history of Custom motorcycle development.
CLIFF VAUGHS AND 'EASY RIDER'; MORE THAN JUST THE BIKES:
The origin story of the '
Easy Rider' motorcycles, 'Captain America' and 'Billy's bike' (as they're now known), has been clouded by the very fact of their fame, the absence of their creator, and the odd, at times haphazard circumstances of the making of the film. Credit has at times been given to
Dan Haggerty ('
Grizzly Adams'), and many web and print stories repeat this misunderstanding; Haggerty did some repair to the machines and was their 'handler' at times, and possibly even re-created the '
ER' bikes, after they were used in most of the filming, and stolen before the movie was complete. [
The Vintagent posted the story of
Ben Hardy and the building of the 'ER' bikes, in March 2009.]
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| Cliff Vaughs today |
Credit for the design of the '
Easy Rider' bikes (and other important aspects of the film, including the title!) is claimed by Cliff Vaughs, a civil rights activist, filmmaker, and biker (in the
Chosen Few MC - a racially integrated club since 1960). Vaughs was a member of the
SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), a direct-action civil rights group, and a figure in many of the famous sit-ins, freedom rides, and marches in the 1960s South. He participated in, and photographed, many of the legendary civil rights confrontations of the era, although he missed the
March on Washington because he was "building a chopper" in his backyard. Vaughs was also a documentary film maker, and made "
What Will the Harvest Be?", about the rise of Black Power in the South, which included interviews with
Martin Luther King,
Stokeley Carmichael, and
Julian Bond, and was aired on
ABC-tv in the mid-60s. From documentaries, he moved into film production by the late 1960s. He was also, clearly, a motorcycle nut, and considered
Ben Hardy his mentor in building, maintaining, and riding his machines.
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| Cliff Vaughs being dragged by National Guard troops at Cambridge, MD, May 2, 1964. Incredibly, this photo was taken (and c.) by photographer Danny Lyon, whose photo essay of time spent with the Chicago Outlaws MC is documented in his fantastic book 'The Bikeriders'. I look forward to exploring the story of these two 'outlaw' bikers, one black one white, in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. |
When asked about his involvement with the 'Easy Riders' choppers, Cliff Vaughs sent the following statement to
The Vintagent:
"I was working in the News Department at KRLA when Henry Fonda’s son, Peter, was arrested for possession of marijuana. I was mildly amused that so much interest was engendered by the incident, considering the number of citizens detained and incarcerated for smoking “pot". |
| Peter Fonda with his father, Henry. It must be the the late 60s; Dad has a paisley shirt. |
We chatted for a while at the courthouse and I called in my story. He was interested in my hobby: designing and building motorcycles. It turned out that we lived in the same neighborhood, West Hollywood. I told him I was usually found in my back yard enjoying my hobby.
He came by a few days later accompanied by Dennis Hopper, whom I hadn’t seen since his performance in “Rebel Without A Cause” with James Dean. We talked and I learned that they [Fonda and Hopper]
had been planning to develop a movie that centers on motorcycles. I agreed that the themes of the western were careworn but an American adventure with the protagonists riding motorcycles instead of horses was apt. We adlibbed a story line: two friends (not quite “bikers”), traveling across America seeking adventure. I offered the name “Easy Rider”, taken from the Mae West performance of “Where Has My Easy Rider Gone”, in the production “She Done Him Wrong”… The title had been an adornment of my house, on the wall; a tapestry with a hidden message sent to me by Susan Mansour, erstwhile friend.
We had several discussions about the project at my home in West Hollywood and agreed that we would have to develop interest in the movie outside my parlor. We were not particularly known well enough to raise interest or financing. Peter and Dennis had a long background in the industry; they would raise the money. I would design and build the motorcycles and develop the visual themes. Captain America and Bucky [Captain America's sidekick], costumes, colors: red-white-blue. I was accorded the title of Associate Producer. We named our company Pando. |
| Captain America and his sidekick, Bucky, the original name for Dennis Hopper's character, before it was decided that trouble with Marvel Comics was best avoided |
Through Pando, I was instrumental in hiring Baird Bryant as Director of Photography and agreed to have Paul Lewis as Production Manager. Subsequently, Les Blank, Virgil Frye, Karen Black, Seymour Cassel, Francine Reid, Larry Marcus, were included. Jack Nicholson was hired after the New Orleans “shoot”. I never met Raphaelson and Snyder (?) who backed the film. Neither did I formally meet Terry Southern, credited with the screenplay. From my apercus the production proceeded admirably until the New Orleans shoot when there was a dispute about how much film was being used by the Director, Dennis Hopper. I was summarily fired from the production. The critics praised the film. Dennis was awarded “Best New Director” for ER.
There were no African Americans in the film as actors or participants in the production.
I didn’t have any contact with the production long after 'ER' was released. The casualty rates on motorcycle accidents were so high that I asked Peter Fonda for a letter of intent to fund “Not So Easy”[1973], an educational film on how to ride a motorcycle safely. Filmfair financed the film with full support of Harley Davidson. Harley Davidson provided Evel Knievel, who was under contract to them at the time. I had Evel Knievel’s Coliseum jump on film, and a performance by the LAPD motorcycle drill team. Two of my cronies from Hollywood Chosen Few appeared on film: "Rabbit", and “Billy Diamond” (deceased). It was required viewing at judicial traffic school for quite some time.
