Sonny Barger: Hell's Angel founder dead at 83

Motorcycle gang member spent time with Rolling Stones, Jack Nicholson and writer Hunter S Thompson

Sonny Barger and his wife Sharon are shown after his release on $100,000 bond in San Francisco, California, August 1, 1980. AP

Barger's death was announced late Wednesday, June 29, 2022, on his Facebook page. San Francisco Examiner / AP

Barger promoting his new book 'Dead in Five Heartbeats', a novel. Reuters

Barger autographs the artificial leg of Kenny Little at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership in Quincy, Illinois. Getty / AFP

Barger, served as national president of the notorious gang. Getty / AFP

Barger signs autographs at a Harley-Davidson motorcycle dealership in Quincy, Illinois. Getty / AFP

Hells Angels motorbike gang members in Switzerland. AFP

Gang members ride through Bern, Switzerland. AFP

The gang has offshoot chapters all over the US and parts of Europe. AFP

Members ride across London Bridge in March 2022. AFP

Members ride through London in March 2022. AFP

Members ride across London Bridge in March 2022. AFP

Members ride across London Bridge in March 2022. AFP

The Grateful Dead moved into an apartment across the street from members of the Hell's Angels in the 1960s. Getty

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones warily eye the Hell's Angels at the Altamont Speedway in California, where they had been hired as security in 1969. Getty

The racetrack could not accommodate the 300,000 that the concert attracted. Getty

Crowd member Meredith Hunter was killed by a Hell's Angel at the concert. Getty

Sonny Barger of the notorious biker gang the Hell’s Angels has died, his Facebook page said on Thursday. He was 83.

In 1957, Barger became a founding member of the international motorcycle club's original group, based out of Oakland, California.

“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 Facebook post read.

“Please know that I passed peacefully after a brief battle with cancer.”

The Hell's Angels lived in a row of house in the Haight-Ashbury neighbourhood in San Francisco, California in the 1960s. Reuters

Known for their outlaw lifestyle, the Hell’s Angels became associated with rock and roll and counterculture, with gang members living in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury befriending the famed band The Grateful Dead.

Their loud, drug-fuelled parties, tendency towards violence and alarming appearance elicited both fear and curiosity.

Hell's Angels founder Sonny Barger and his wife Sharon are shown after his release on $100,000 bond in San Francisco, 1980. AP

Rolling Stone magazine writer Hunter S Thompson spent a year riding along with their posse of rumbling choppers, calling them “the hundred-carat headline” in his 1967 book Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga.

As endorsed offshoots of the group began springing up across the country, Barger became the group’s face in the media and in 1969 was part of the “security” team hired for one night by the Rolling Stones for $500 worth of beer.

The free concert at California’s Altamont Speedway drew more than 300,000 spectators and became deadly when a Hell’s Angel stabbed a concertgoer, Meredith Hunter.

The killing was documented in Gimme Shelter by filmmakers Albert and David Maysles.

Barger had a recurring role in the TV series Sons of Anarchy about a fictional biker gang, playing Lenny “The Pimp” Janowitz.

He spent time in and out of prison on various weapons and guns charges and was convicted of conspiracy to kill rival gang members in 1988.

After contracting throat cancer, his vocal chords were removed and he thereafter need an electronic device for speech.

“Although I’ve had a public persona for decades, I’ve mostly enjoyed special time with my club brothers, my family and close friends,” Barger’s post said.

“Keep your head up high, stay loyal, remain free and always value honour.”

The Rolling Stones performing in Abu Dhabi in 2014 — in pictures

Mick Jagger (left), Charlie Watts (centre) and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones perform during a concert in Abu Dhabi on February 21, 2014. Reuters

The Rolling Stones's Ronnie Wood on the guitar and Charlie Watts on drums, at du Arena, Yas Island on February 21, 2014 . Getty Images

The Rolling Stones performing in Abu Dhabi February 21, 2014. Lee Hoagland / The National

Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones perform at du Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi on February 21, 2014. Getty Images

The Rolling Stones perform at du Arena in Abu Dhabi on February 21, 2014. Photo: Flash Entertainment

Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones performs at du Arena, Yas Island on February 21, 2014. Getty Images

The Rolling Stones arrive in Abu Dhabi at Al Bateen's Executive Airport DhabiJet terminal on February 18, 2014. Photo: HK Strategies

Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones performs on February 21, 2014 at du Arena, Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. Getty Images