When it premiered in , few could have predicted that American Chopper would shape the future of reality TV, but programs like Cake Boss , Pawn Stars , and the slew of home-renovation and cooking shows that crowd the dial today all fit the competition-driven, drama-rooted model that didn't exist until Chopper roared onto the dial.
Perhaps the hardest thing to believe about American Chopper— and a lot of weird stuff has happened on and off screen—is that all the fighting, cursing, crying, welding, and painting was real. Here's the untold truth from behind the scenes of the show. So the day before I was set to go into rehab, I got totally plastered. I drank a half-gallon of wine, a pint of brandy, and I took six Valiums. Paul Jr. Fights between the Pauls were a regular occurrence on the show, driving much of the onscreen drama.
But the most heated argument ever captured on camera happened in , when a chair-throwing Paul Jr. On one hard, it's exactly the type of nerve-wracking drama the show's network, TLC, wants, but in this case, the row became irreconcilable, with Paul Sr. As fans know now, it didn't turn out that way. In an interview with Forbes , American Chopper creator Craig Piligian revealed that he'd initially centered the show on another bike shop in New Hampshire, but after a phone conversation, he decided they didn't have "the right mindset," so he changed his plans.
Within two days, Piligian and his crew were shooting with the Teutuls, and it wasn't long after that that Piligian had another realization. The bike was a by-product of the relationship with the father and the son. It just came out of nowhere and was hugely successful. It was the first family docu-soap," he said.
Piligian even admitted that after a while, he was molding American Chopper after I Love Lucy , meaning he viewed the show as more of a sitcom than reality show in which they would make simple conflicts the center of each episode. Mikey doesn't show up. That's what we built the show around. Simple loglines. It was the inspiration for the whole show," he said. So, what was the logline for the infamous chair-throwing meltdown: 'Production company ruins family for ratings'?
After the fight, Paul Jr. In response, Sr. And things got uglier from there. Paul Sr. Again, Jr. It's really kind of sad, because despite their constant bickering, the show displayed moments of great kindness and reconciliation between the father and son. It would appear, at least for now, that a decent relationship between the two was impossible.
No stranger to the courtroom at this point, Sr. According to Law , Derbyshire claims that instead of using his invested funds towards production of the show, Paul Sr. The action on American Chopper went down at Orange County Choppers, a top-notch motorcycle customization shop in southern New York state. Audiences became transfixed with not only the motorcycle miracles made from metal and paint, but with the real-life employees of OCC, chief among them impressively mustached and often contentious shop boss Paul Teutul, Sr.
American Chopper rode off into the sunset in and its spinoff, American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior, departed in , only to return to TV in American Chopper returned to TV in , a beneficiary of a television-wide "reboot" craze in which a variety of old, familial favorites shot new seasons of episodes. It's amazing that even happened for American Chopper, seeing as how the previous attempt to revive the show, Orange County Choppers: American Made, was mired in lawsuits. In other words, fraud. Derbyshire also said in his filing that Teutul delayed production by taking a long fishing trip and when he did show up to shoot, wouldn't do scenes with Hells Angels higher-up Rusty Coones, which was contractually obligated.
Derebyshire says Teutul also made product placement deals without his approval. In July , Paul Teutul, Sr. Teutul and lawyers representing the bike builder and Orange County Choppers attempted to reach an agreeable outcome with attorneys for JTM Motorsports. That company alleged that Teutul had promised to promote their business, and in exchange, they'd work on his Corvette for free.
Teutul apparently didn't understand the meaning of the word "mediation" — two sides maturely and peacefully "mediate" their disagreement so as to come to an agreement without the costly, timely ordeal of a full court case. That's when Teutul tired of the process, stood up and screamed at JTM to give him back his car along with a profane epithet and then "basically leaned over the table and lunged.
In what could be considered odd timing or some bizarre guerrilla marketing, just a day before the American Chopper reboot premiered in March , Paul Teutul, Sr. While that technically means Teutul makes more money than he spends, he wouldn't have enough to pay off his crushing debts. It seemed as if Teutul would receive some legal protections with bankruptcy status, but the story wasn't over.
In April , the trustee in charge of Teutul's case asked the court to dismiss the bankruptcy petition on the grounds that Teutul never supplied the right documentation. According to that filing, Teutul "failed to provide" the trustee "with copy of a federal income tax return or transcript" for and and more proof that his financial situation "indicates a negative cash flow.
About four months before he filed for bankruptcy and the whole world suddenly knew about his daunting financial problems, Paul Teutul, Sr.
The October listing touted the acre property's waterfalls, stocked pond, wooded areas, not to mention the many outbuildings designed to house farm animals. Which is to say nothing of the main house — a log and brick palace — or the pool, gazebo, hot tub, and volleyball court.
The trustee in charge of his bankruptcy case said Teutul seemed assured that his home would sell and solve all his money woes, but it doesn't seem to have worked out that way, at least not yet. American Chopper fans came for the bikes but stayed for the fights.
Paul Teutul, Sr. That makes for great, addictive reality television, but things still had to get done around the shop at Orange County Choppers. Although the main characters were his father and older brother, Michael featured often in the series, gaining massive popularity, and soon became a star with his funny comments, and the public just loved him. He featured in 55 episodes of the award-winning series, before its cancellation in Paul Sr.
Paul Jr. Feud From the start of the show, Paul Sr. However, as the show progressed, their feud became more series, and Mikey, caught in between, tried to make peace between the two, but failed utterly and as a result both Paul Jr.
Formation of Paul Jr. Designs After the two brothers left their father and his company, Paul Jr. Life After American Chopper Mikey decided to leave American Chopper in , and since then has been focused on his career as a painter. He has already exhibited a few of his creations, and has continued to paint until the present day. His career started when he was only 14 years old, and with a business already at a high level, it was rather easy for Michael to secure himself financially.
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