![]() ![]() Actors had used motorcycles on film to their advantage and audiences responded. By the closing of the 1960s, biker-era audiences had seen it all when it came to motorcycles in film. They were used by actors like Marlon Brando to create drama and suspense, and they were used by screen legends such as Steve McQueen to create action and thrills. Bikes were used by comedians such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin to make people laugh. Since the early days of films, motorcycles have played an important role. Here are excerpts freom an article Joe wrote for us last year:īill’s profession as an actor and his early association with motorcycles catapulted him to biker stardom for several reasons, but the basic explanation is that there simply wasn’t anyone like him. He wrote about Smiths life in his 168-page biography, The Words and Images of a Hollywood Legend: William Smith. It got to a point that if you were watching a biker movie in the early part of the 1970s, then most likely, William Smith was in it, says American freelance writer Joe Zimmerman. With a rumoured budget of around $85,000 and a two-week production schedule, Run, Angel, Run! grossed an estimated $13 million at the box office, solidifying Bill as the go-to biker guy. However, his claim to fame as the king of the biker films began with the first of many biker films with Run, Angel, Run! in 1969. His film credits included Conan’s father, Corin, in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie Conan The Barbarian and Clint Eastwood’s fighting revival in Any Which Way You Can. He has performed in TV series such as Perry Mason, Combat, Batman, Hawaii Five-0, I Dream of Jeannie, The Rockford Files, CHiPS, Hunter and Rich Man, Poor Man. They were part of an impressive list of nearly 300 film and television appearances. ![]() He had a successful career in television as Joe Riley, on the western comedy TV series Laredo where he rode horses, along with his appearances on Wagon Train and The Virginian. When his family moved to California, the 17-year-old started riding motorcycles which served him well in his career as an actor. By the time he reached his teens he was a skilled rider. He is the editor of ‘ To Solitude Consigned’: The Tasmanian Journal of William Smith O’Brien,1849-1853 (1994) and has previously published books on Young Ireland and Tasmania, Arthur Griffith and Sinn Féinn, the Tasmanian Labour Party, Irish influences in New Zealand and the ideological differences between paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland.The “king of biker films”, William Smith, has died of natural causes, aged 86, after a long battle with alzheimers disease.īorn on 24 March 24 1933, in Columbia, Missouri, on his family’s ranch, Bill was riding horses before he could walk. RICHARD DAVIS, born in India and educated at Trinity College Dublin, is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Tasmania, Australia. Davis does justice to O’Brien’s complex political philosophy and rounded identity.’ – Brendan O Cathaoir, The Irish Times ‘This is the definitive biography of William Smith O’Brien. Davis provides an in-depth anlysis of his long and varied political career and argues that O’Brien was a far more consistent political thinker and active nationalist than previously understood. Revolutionary Imperialist is the first full biography of the leader of the 1848 Rebellion, painting a convincing picture of O’Brien’s private nature and public personality. Disilllusioned by parliament, dismayed at Ireland’s imminent disintegration during the Great Famine, and pressured by Young Irelanders of the Irish Confederation, O’Brien strove to reunite with fellow-nationalists loyal to the memory of Daniel O’Connell. This scion of an ancient dynasty and tireless campaigner for Catholic Emancipation and Repeal of the Union had advocated a host of improving laws and policies in a parliamentary and political career spanning more than twenty years. An aristocratic Protestant landlord, O’Brien nevertheless commanded unrivalled respect amonst all Irish classes. 2010.īy 1848 all peaceful means of giving Ireland an equal place within the British Empire seemed exhausted and William Smith O’Brien found himself a reluctant revolutionary leader. Published in Australia by: Crossing Press, P.O. Revolutionary Imperialist: William Smith O’Brien 1803-1864 by Richard Davis
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