Thursday, June 6, 2013

CA - Ex-Hells Angels President Scheduled To Speak At Documentary Premiere

OF THE WIRE
George Christie is - "The Last American Outlaw" - premiering June 8, 2013 in Ventura, California.

Ex- Ventura Chapter President George Christie Jr. will offer insight into his 35 year tenure as the founder and president of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (H.A.M.C.) Ventura Chapter during a live question and answer session immediately following the world premiere screening of a new biographical documentary covering segments of Christie’s life and times as the most notorious American Hells Angel second only to Sonny Barger.

Barger, however, could be considered second to Christie in one area at least: of the two top Angels, only Christie was and is formerly one of the last living members of the Angels' “Filthy Few” – the elite core group that would go and had gone to any lengths necessary for the club, a distinction he held before his retirement from the club last year.

Veteran U.K. filmmaker Nick Mead will present “The Last American Outlaw”. June 8th at the Bell Arts Factory in Ventura, CA at 8pm. The Bell Arts Factory is a former mattress factory converted into a popular haven for working artists in nearly all mediums and has become a mecca for the creative arts. For that reason it was chosen as the ideal venue for the premiere public screening as well as its proximity – literally right around the corner – from the former Hells Angels Clubhouse – a Ventura landmark - reluctantly so for many - for nearly four decades.

George Christie embodied a new breed of biker outlaw, one that made him a threat to law enforcement from the local level to the federal level. He was well-read and educated, erudite with an extraordinary grasp of criminal and constitutional law. Immersed for decades in the underground world of renegade bikers, he became an authority on the human condition. He developed into a master negotiator within various chapters of the club as well as an ambassador of sorts between rival outlaw clubs and the Hells Angels; avoiding outright wars through dialogue and communication. Christie possessed the steel nerves and confidence necessary for that kind of role, and he could back up his play with a fierce mastery of the fighting arts beyond any recognizable degree on the west coast. Make no mistake, George Christie was feared in the outlaw biker world.

Yet, at any given time in his mechanics garage on the bookshelf one might find Harley-Davidson Manuals sitting next to volumes on military strategy. Or you might see Anthony Scaduto’s early Bob Dylan Biography sitting next to an oil-stained carburetor schematic leaning against a hardcover bound copy of “Hamlet” (“...liked it, but a bit too wordy”) Christie once quipped. Christie was the antithesis of the stereotypical Neanderthal brute animal biker; he was handsome, well-groomed, impeccably dressed and possessed a dynamic presence. He was glib, sharp, forthright, and affable. He would find himself going head to head with seasoned newsman Mike Wallace on CBS “60 Minutes” holding his own on Wallace’s turf. These attributes quickly made Christie the de facto national spokesman for the Hells Angels nationwide. And as the longest running President of any Hells Angels Chapter – spanning seven U.S. Presidencies (Ford through Obama) Christie witnessed the Hells Angels M.C. grow from two dozen chapters in the United States to over 100 chapters in 29 countries worldwide, with licensed trademarks and copyrights - along with a formidable bevy of attorneys that would make any Fortune 500 company envious. The Angels could either stomp you or sue you, many preferring the former to the latter.

But it was in 1984, when Christie ran the Olympic Torch in Ventura, that he became known world-wide, and suddenly on the Washington D.C. radar of many Federal agencies. Christie even had the audacity to challenge the Kennedy dynasty - and Eunice Kennedy Shriver - on the issue of the Special Olympics. Openly and brazenly a Hells Angel was treading in an area reserved for the establishment – and it has relentlessly targeted George Christie Jr. ever since. His many friendships with popular culture icons over the decades ranged from the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia to Academy Award nominee Mickey Rourke. And now, after hanging up his patch, no longer a member of the Hells Angels, George Christie is stepping out from the shadows back into the light.

“Don’t expect any club secrets to be revealed, though..” exclaimed publicist James A. Golff.

“I remember a guy from the U.S. Attorney’s Office once said to me George probably knows where Jimmy Hoffa is buried but will never tell,” Golff further mused: “As for the H.A. (Hells Angels) – George will take those secrets to the grave. That's just the way it is."
THE LAST AMERICAN OUTLAW
SATURDAY JUNE 8, 2013 8PM
BELL ARTS FACTORY
432 N Ventura Ave
Ventura, CA 93001
(805) 643-1960
Limited Seating

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/5/prweb10782136.htm