"American Chopper" Father-Son Bickering Makes Reality Show
Billie
LOS ANGELES - Building $200,000 motorcycle masterpieces is the hook to lure
viewers to "American Chopper," but it's the father-son bickering that
kick-starts the Discovery Channel's reality show.
Each week, Paul Teutul Sr. and son Paul Jr. fire up torches and grinders to
begin work on their latest creation, which they design either for show or
private clients. Weeks of drafting a plan, painting, chrome-plating and
assembly are crammed into one or two hour-long episodes.
But the real tension of the show, which airs Mondays (10 p.m. EDT), revolves
around the verbal jousting and name-calling between anal-retentive Paul Sr.,
owner of Rock Tavern, N.Y.-based Orange County Choppers, and son "Paulie," the
shop's creative whiz.
The tattooed Teutul — his bulging arms swinging from broad shoulders poking
out of a tank top — doesn't hesitate to spew rapid-fire insults such as
"Knucklehead!" and or a sarcastic "Picasso!" when his son leaves a mess or
misses a deadline.
The 54-year-old father with the gray, walrus mustache is an obsessive clean
freak: "I just don't get it. What's so hard about keeping things organized?"
He's also the boss: "And don't forget who writes the checks around here."
Paulie, 28, manages to take the ridicule in stride, explaining that creating a
work of art takes vision, concentration and time. Pausing to consider leftover
tools and debris would stunt the process.
"Be a professional," Teutul barks.
It's a wonder they don't start throwing punches.
"I've gone off on him off-camera, too," Teutul said in a telephone interview
from his New York shop. "I don't hold back. But I blow up for about 15 minutes,
then it's over. We get along a lot more than you think."
Clark Bunting, general manager of the Discovery Channel, said: "I would argue
the center of the show is the father-son relationship, and they also happen to
build bikes."
Jay Leno, who's got an Orange County Choppers bike in the works and is a big
fan of "American Chopper," said the Teutuls are really loving.
"In an hour of the show, they may get on each other's case for three minutes.
But then you have another 57 minutes left, so no more (confrontations) than
anyone else," the "Tonight" show host said.
The Leno bike design is still being worked out and a future episode will focus
on it.
The Teutuls recently visited Leno at the hangar-sized garage in Burbank where
the comic keeps his stable of more than 150 cars and motorcycles.
"That was really something," Paulie said.
When the Teutuls showed up on the "Tonight" show recently, they rode in on a
pair of custom beauties, one of them their famous Black Widow Bike. Other
theme-bike creations include their Jet Bike, Comanche Helicopter Bike and
Fireman Bike, built in memory of the firefighters killed in the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attack in New York City.
The Teutuls unveiled the Fireman Bike at a New Orleans motorcycle show, and the
warm reception tugged the emotions of the gruff dad.
"You know what? I cried. I'm not afraid to admit it," Teutul said.
Orange County Choppers has also built custom bikes for Wyclef Jean and other
celebrities, including professional sports stars. But the Teutuls try to
respect their clients' privacy and don't name-drop. Most of the theme bikes
they build are used for display at motorcycle events.
Besides "the Pauls," the show's other characters include Teutul's 24-year-old
son Mikey, who's described as "phone-answerer and trash taker-outer and so much
more," and Paulie's childhood friend Vinnie DeMartino, a custom bike
fabricator.
The senior Teutul's passion for bike-building began in the 1970s after he saw
the movies "Easy Rider" and "The Wild One." He opened his Orange County
Choppers shop four years ago near their home 80 miles north of New York City.
It quickly became internationally renowned with a stream of magazine cover
stories, and last year Orange County Choppers was recognized by American Iron
Magazine as one of the top 12 bike builders.
"American Chopper" is now the most popular show for Discovery, which reaches
86.4 million households, Bunting said. And it'll be a major part of a Discovery
Channel motorcycle marathon on Labor Day.
"That Monday night is a thing of beauty," Bunting said of Discovery's "Full
Throttle Mondays" lineup that includes "Monster Garage" and "Monster House."
"`American Chopper' really breaks through."
http://www.discovery.com
http://www.orangecountychoppers.com
"STUPIDITY IS NOT A HANDICAP. Park elsewhere!"
me
this show. The guys are true artists when it comes to fabricating bikes ,
and of course the putdowns and tension between them make the show hilarious
!!
"Billie " <pusss...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20030820195102...@mb-m21.aol.com...
> By JEFF WILSON, Associated Press Writer
>
> LOS ANGELES - Building $200,000 motorcycle masterpieces is the hook to
lure
> viewers to "American Chopper," but it's the father-son bickering that
> kick-starts the Discovery Channel's reality show.
>
> Each week, Paul Teutul Sr. and son Paul Jr. fire up torches and grinders
to
> begin work on their latest creation, which they design either for show or
> private clients. Weeks of drafting a plan, painting, chrome-plating and
> assembly are crammed into one or two hour-long episodes.
>
> But the real tension of the show, which airs Mondays (10 p.m. EDT),
revolves
> around the verbal jousting and name-calling between anal-retentive Paul
Sr.,
> owner of Rock Tavern, N.Y.-based Orange County Choppers, and son "Paulie,"
the
> shop's creative whiz.
>
poking
> out of a tank top - doesn't hesitate to spew rapid-fire insults such as
Sophie
"me" <m...@cox.net> wrote in message news:fFA1b.15077$Zw4.11059@lakeread03...
> I admit that I know absolutely nothing about motocycles, but love watching
> this show. The guys are true artists when it comes to fabricating bikes ,
> and of course the putdowns and tension between them make the show
hilarious
> !!
My husband and I like it too. I was so glad the other son, Michael, was
good at shooting in that one episode. He sure is the black sheep, poor kid.
I was thrilled to finally see the mom too - lol.