After staged photo outside Johnny's Bar was published in Life Magazine in 1947, followed by a Harper's Magazine's article "The Cyclists Raid" and the Marlon Brando movie "The Wild Ones" hit the theaters, the legend of the outlaw biker was born. However the events in Hollister in 1947 bore little resemblances to the movie or the article, the bikers did not run amok nor become violent. But as we have learned from the movies, "when the legend becomes the fact, print the legend."
Hollister Independance Rally Attracts 40,000 Bikers
After staged photo outside Johnny's Bar was published in Life Magazine in 1947, followed by a Harper's Magazine's article "The Cyclists Raid" and the Marlon Brando movie "The Wild Ones" hit the theaters, the legend of the outlaw biker was born. However the events in Hollister in 1947 bore little resemblances to the movie or the article, the bikers did not run amok nor become violent. But as we have learned from the movies, "when the legend becomes the fact, print the legend."