Indian Larry is dead at 55

Larry Desmedt - known nationally as Indian Larry - who dedicated his life to becoming "the best chopper builder in the world," died Monday of injuries suffered two days earlier while doing a stunt in Charlotte, North Carolina.

His wife, Bambi the Mermaid of Coney Island, said the stunt that killed him was not a particularly dangerous maneuver.

Read Wolfgang Saxon's superb New York Times obituary of this one-of-a-kind artist of "the big roar."
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Indian Larry, Motorcycle Builder and Stunt Rider, Dies at 55

Larry Desmedt, a New York-based custom motorcycle builder and biker better known nationally as Indian Larry, died on Monday in Charlotte, N.C., of injuries he suffered doing a stunt on Saturday at an appearance there.

He was 55 and lived in the East Village.

His death was announced by Timothy White, a photographer and friend.

He said Mr. Desmedt had gone to Charlotte for the filming of a new segment in a series shown on the Discovery Channel, "The Great Biker Build-Off."

Indian Larry, who had his workshop in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was a legend among biking enthusiasts and other custom builders.

He regarded his craft as a form of art and, Mr. White said, got his nickname from the classic brand of a motorcycle he rode years ago.

He had gone to Charlotte for the shooting on Saturday of an episode of "Biker Build-Off," in which he has successfully competed with other riders of custom-made two-wheelers.

The accident happened afterward in a parking lot, with a crowd of thousands watching.

Mr. White said Indian Larry, wearing a protective suit but not a helmet, was standing on his bike as he went down the parking lot in a crowd-pleasing routine and may have been blinded by the sun; he fell and hit his head.

He died early Monday at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte.

Larry Desmedt was born in Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y.

His wife, Bambi, and Mr. White described him as a lone wolf, who was a familiar figure to fans across the country but never joined a motorcycle gang.

He was known among bikers as a metal sculptor and highly skilled mechanic.

His first motorbike was a 1939 Harley Knucklehead he bought for $200 when he was a teenager, he said in a Rolling Stone interview.

Within hours, he had taken it apart, and it took him nine months to put it back together.

Later he went to California to apprentice himself to one of his heroes, the hot rod builder Ed (Big Daddy) Roth.

He spent a wild youth and was a frequent subject of his friend the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, who was attracted to his "crash and burn" way of life.

But in 1991 he decided to become "the best chopper builder in the world,'' according to a autobiography scheduled for publication by Crown in 2005, and devoted himself to becoming what he called a motorcycle artist.

His most famous motorcycle, called Grease Monkey, was named Easy Rider magazine's chopper of the year.

Besides his wife, a performer billed as Bambi the Mermaid of Coney Island, Mr. Desmedt leaves his mother, Dorothy Desmedt, and a sister, Tina Wells, both of Middletown, N.Y.

It was not a particularly dangerous maneuver he performed on Saturday, Bambi Desmedt said.

"It was showing off, his way of blowing off steam after the bigger stunts," she added, "winding down."
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Note: on February 12, 2005 I finally watched the "Biker Build-Off" episode featuring Indian Larry v Mondo.

It was filmed during the summer of 2004, with filming for the episode as originally envisioned ending on Saturday, August 28.

Later that afternoon, after the voting was completed, Indian Larry went out and demonstrated some stunt riding.

He fell, hit his head, and died two days later.

My thoughts on watching this show for the first time are noted in this February 13, 2005 entry.