On June 29, 2022, outlaw biker, author, actor, and founder of the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club Sonny Barger, real name Ralph Hubert Barger Jr., died at age 83 in his home in Livermore, California.
Barger had his lawyer post one last message on his Facebook page, alerting his followers: “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.” Barger’s former lawyer, Fritz Clapp, confirmed the post, revealing that Barger had lost his brief battle with liver cancer.
Sonny Barger not only was the founder of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, but he was also the author of many books including autobiography Hell’s Angel—The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, which described his early life and the creation of the motorcycle club.
“Discover your limits by exceeding them,” Barger prompted his audiences.
Barger, although having appeared in television, books, and films, has a history of crime and violence, once referring to himself as belonging to a band of “card-carrying felons.”
In 1988, he, along with fellow Hells Angel Michael Vincent O’Farrell, was convicted of being in a conspiracy to kill members of a rival gang member in Kentucky, and was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. He also served a number of years in prison from various drugs and firearms charges.
The most notorious crime in Hells Angels history was the fight at the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamount, California. An 18-year-old concertgoer, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed and killed by a Hells Angel member after Hunter had drawn a pistol during the concert. The stabbing was caught on camera in the documentary Gimme Shelter.
In his Facebook post, Barger stated, “I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club.” According to Barger in his autobiography, his adventurous and deviant life had taught him that “to become a real man, you need to join the army first and then do some time in jail.”
Link to Article: Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83 – The Washington Post.pdf
Other Sources: Who was Sonny Barger? Biker Dies Aged 83 (msn.com)
Barger had his lawyer post one last message on his Facebook page, alerting his followers: “If you are reading this message, you’ll know that I’m gone. I’ve asked that this note be posted immediately after my passing.” Barger’s former lawyer, Fritz Clapp, confirmed the post, revealing that Barger had lost his brief battle with liver cancer.
Sonny Barger not only was the founder of the Oakland, California chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, but he was also the author of many books including autobiography Hell’s Angel—The Life and Times of Sonny Barger and the Hell’s Angels Motorcycle Club, which described his early life and the creation of the motorcycle club.
“Discover your limits by exceeding them,” Barger prompted his audiences.
Barger, although having appeared in television, books, and films, has a history of crime and violence, once referring to himself as belonging to a band of “card-carrying felons.”
In 1988, he, along with fellow Hells Angel Michael Vincent O’Farrell, was convicted of being in a conspiracy to kill members of a rival gang member in Kentucky, and was sentenced to serve five years in federal prison. He also served a number of years in prison from various drugs and firearms charges.
The most notorious crime in Hells Angels history was the fight at the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamount, California. An 18-year-old concertgoer, Meredith Hunter, was stabbed and killed by a Hells Angel member after Hunter had drawn a pistol during the concert. The stabbing was caught on camera in the documentary Gimme Shelter.
In his Facebook post, Barger stated, “I’ve lived a long and good life filled with adventure. And I’ve had the privilege to be part of an amazing club.” According to Barger in his autobiography, his adventurous and deviant life had taught him that “to become a real man, you need to join the army first and then do some time in jail.”
Link to Article: Sonny Barger, biker outlaw and founder of Hells Angels, dies at 83 – The Washington Post.pdf
Other Sources: Who was Sonny Barger? Biker Dies Aged 83 (msn.com)
