Ep 31 - Wino Willie, Hollister and the beginning of the Wild Image of Bikers

He was a side gunner on a B-24 Liberator in the Pacific Theater on an aircraft named "Pacific Tramp" Fueled with a zest largely unknown outside of WWII combat vets, Wino Willie Forkner and other early members of the Boozefighters Motorcycle Club partied with other clubs and the citizens of Hollister at its famous 1947 Gypsy Tour. Prominent at that party, Wino Willie was used later to teach the cast of "The Wild One", a movie inspired vaguely by that event, how to dress and act as bikers. Although the movie in general did not depict Wino's values, its impact enshrined Hollister as the birthplace of the American biker, and Wino Willie Forkner as its model. As befits a social catalyst, Wino Willie remained unchanged amidst the changes he helped provoke. On May 02, 1996|MICHAEL KRIKORIAN of the LA Times Sat down with Wino WIllie and JD who founded the Legendary Boozefighters M/C. I'll put the article link in the show notes if you want to take a look at it. In the Article Michael was able to capture the true meaning of how everything started out for us bikers. Before there was Sonny and the Hells Angels, before there was Marlon Brando and "The Wild One," there was Wino Willie and J.D. and a South-Central Los Angeles motorcycle club called the Boozefighters. On the Fourth of July, 1947, the Boozefighters invaded the Central California hamlet of Hollister and, as Life magazine memorialized it, took over the town. The incident set off a growing fascination with outlaw bikers, culminating in Brando's legendary "The Wild One" in 1954, with one exchange that still reverberates: "What are you rebelling against, Johnny?" Brando's character was asked. "Whatdaya got?" he snapped. The Day That Kicked Bikers' Wild Image Into High Gear http://articles.latimes.com/1996-05-02/news/mn-65134_1_wild-west For daily biker news head on over to Insane Throttle Biker News http://www.harleyliberty.com If you're an Amazon shopper click our link to go to our Motorcycle Superstore -https://www.amazon.com/shop/insanethrottle If you would like to be a supporter of Motorcycle Madhouse you can do so through our Patreon Account https://www.patreon.com/insanethrottle