Hells Angel's Violent Outburst Threatens to Derail Iconic Music Documentary

In 1978, the filming of the iconic music documentary The Last Waltz was nearly derailed by a violently disgruntled Hells Angel. The film, co-produced by the Band's guitarist Robbie Robertson, who passed away in 2023, captured the Band's farewell performance in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Day 1976, featuring a star-studded lineup of guests including Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan.

However, as Robertson reveals in his new memoir, Insomnia, one of the guest performers, a Hells Angel poet named Sweet William, became enraged after his poem was edited for the film. Sweet William and his Hells Angel friend locked the production assistants in the theater, making demands for cash, drugs, and the inclusion of his full poem. The situation escalated, with Sweet William threatening to harm the assistants if his demands were not met.

Faced with this crisis, Robertson and director Martin Scorsese had to think quickly to defuse the situation without involving the police, as that could have provoked further violence from the Hells Angels. In a bold move, Robertson suggested letting the head of the Oakland Hells Angels, Sonny Barger, review the footage and decide if the edits were acceptable. This tactic worked, and Sweet William ultimately agreed to have his poem removed from the film entirely, allowing the production to move forward.