
Jesse James
American television personality and custom motorcycle builder
- Entries
- 9
- On the record
- 2
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Jan 27, 2011
The record
Jesse James is a custom motorcycle builder who launched West Coast Choppers in 1992 from his mother's garage, according to an Access Hollywood profile, and became known on television as host of the Discovery Channel's Monster Garage, which CNBC reported was wrapping up in June 2006. By then his businesses included Garage Magazine, the production company Pay Up Sucker Productions, the Cisco Burger restaurant and four clothing lines, two of them sold through West Coast Choppers.
His later television work included Spike TV's Jesse James Is a Dead Man and a third-place finish on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2. He married Sandra Bullock on July 16, 2005. In late 2009 he asked a court to review whether his daughter with his ex-wife, Janine Lindemulder, would be safe with her mother, and in December a court commissioner awarded custody to him and Bullock, limiting Lindemulder to daytime visits.
In January 2011 Us Weekly published photos that former West Coast Choppers employees had posted online, one showing him in a car beside a man giving a Nazi salute. An earlier 2004 photo had shown him in a Nazi hat; he denied claims of anti-Semitism at the time, and a friend quoted by the magazine said the imagery was part of biker culture rather than a sign of neo-Nazi views.
Roles and honours on the record
- 1992 Founder of West Coast Choppers, started in his mother's garage and later based in Long Beach, California source
- until 2006 Host of Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel source
- as of 2006 Publisher of Garage Magazine; owner of Pay Up Sucker Productions and the Cisco Burger restaurant source
- as of 2010 Host of Spike TV's Jesse James Is a Dead Man source
- as of 2010 Third-place finisher on NBC's The Celebrity Apprentice 2 source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Issued statement to People apologizing to wife and children; said most reported allegations were untrue. Biggest cheating scandals ranked: Clinton's $90,686 fine tops
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
- 1992 Reported He launched West Coast Choppers from his mother's garage; the shop later moved to Long Beach, California, Access Hollywood reported. Access Hollywood profile via TODAY.com
- 2005-07-16 Reported He married actress Sandra Bullock, Access Hollywood reported. Access Hollywood profile via TODAY.com
- 2006-07-26 Reported CNBC reported that Monster Garage, one of Discovery's highest-rated shows, was wrapping up in June 2006, and that his exclusive bikes sold for up to $150,000. CNBC report via NBC News
- 2009-10-29 Filed In court papers he asked for a review of whether his five-year-old daughter would be safe with her mother, his ex-wife Janine Lindemulder, who was seeking to regain custody; he had held sole guardianship while she served a jail term, CBS News reported. CBS News / AP report
- 2009-11 Reported Through his attorney Marilyn Slifman he said his sole concern was his daughter's safety and best interests and that Sandra Bullock was not a party to the litigation, ABC News reported. ABC News report
- 2009-12-09 Ruled Court commissioner Thomas Schulte awarded custody of the girl to James and Bullock, limited Lindemulder to daytime visits and denied her request for overnight visits, ABC News reported, citing court papers. ABC News report
- 2011-01-26 Reported Us Weekly published photos posted by former West Coast Choppers employees, one showing him beside a man giving a Nazi salute; after a 2004 photo of him in a Nazi hat, he had denied claims of anti-Semitism. Us Weekly report via TODAY.com
- 2011-01-27 Reported Slate reported that an unnamed friend told Us Weekly the photos did not make him a neo-Nazi, saying he was into history and that the swastika imagery was part of biker culture. Slate report
