Jesse G. James
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| Jesse James | |
.jpg) Jesse G. James at the 2007 Scream Awards |
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| Born | Jesse Gregory James April 19, 1969 Lynwood, California, United States |
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| Spouse(s) | Sandra Bullock (2005-present) Janine Lindemulder (2002-2004) Karla James (1991-2002) |
Jesse Gregory James (born April 19, 1969) is an American television personality and CEO of West Coast Choppers, a manufacturer of custom-made motorcycles. James is the host of Motorcycle Mania and the former series Monster Garage on the Discovery Channel.
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[edit] Early life
Jesse Gregory James was born in Lynwood, California to Larry and Carol James, the younger of two children. Jesse James claims to be related to "the outlaw Jesse James" from his great grandfather's cousin. James states he grew up in Long Beach, California, but that he did not spend his entire childhood there. James' parents divorced while he was still in grade school in South Gate, California and he and his sister, Julie, moved to Riverside with their father, Larry James, then attended Arizona Middle School and La Sierra High School where he played football, James went on to play 2 years of football in college. Jesse moved into a girlfriend's parents' house when he was 15.[1] During his teen years Jesse did work as a bodyguard and was eventually hired by Rick Rubin to tour with bands collecting money from promoters.[2]
[edit] Career
[edit] Custom motorcycles and cars
After several years as the bodyguard with Danzig, and occasionally for other heavy metal bands such as Slayer and Soundgarden,[3] Jesse opened West Coast Choppers in his mother's garage in 1992. The company grew quickly and soon moved to a larger facility for select customers and companies. About 200 bikes have been built at West Coast Choppers. West Coast Choppers is also sponsoring race teams in Top Fuel Drags and Super Late Model NASCAR. James recently bought custom car business Austin Speed Shop and has expanded into the custom car business. James has also built and is racing an off-road Trophy Truck and a Figure-8 race car.
[edit] Other business ventures
He is the owner of the Cisco Burger restaurant, which opened on April 28, 2006, just down the street from West Coast Choppers. The 1950s style hamburger stand - named after his beloved pit bull who is now deceased - features Kobe beef burgers, low-fat burritos, organic vegetables, and biodegradable wrappings. Jesse also has partial ownership in the South Austin Speed Shop in Austin, TX.
Other business ventures include the Chopperdogs fan club and the Jesse's Girl clothing line. Since 2006, James has nationally published Garage magazine.[4]
[edit] Television
In 2000, the Discovery Channel made the documentary Motorcycle Mania, which chronicled Jesse's everyday life. Following the success of the documentary, the Discovery Channel approached Jesse with an offer to host a new show called Monster Garage where James and a crew of mechanics modified vehicles under a short deadline.
Jesse later established Payupsucker Productions, under which he produced shows like History of the Chopper, Iraq Confidential with Jesse James and Green Scream, in which Jesse plans to break the land speed record with an eco-friendly hydrogen car.
Through James' show "History Of The Chopper" there are also glimpses of his involvement with the Hells Angels and other 1% outlaw motorcycle clubs.
He appeared on the second season of Celebrity Apprentice. Each celebrity played to raise money for a favorite charity; James selected to play for the Long Beach Education Foundation.[5]. Due to his poor performance in raising funds, James was fired by Donald Trump on the second-to-last show which aired May 3, 2009.
His show Jesse James is a Dead Man premiered on Spike TV on May 31, 2009. The show features James doing death defying stunts. The first episode set a ratings record for Spike, drawing the largest audience ever for an unscripted series on the network, with 2 million viewers.[6]
The show is produced by Spike TV, BASE Productions and Jesse's company PayupSucker Productions. [7]
In honor of this Marvel created a special one-shot comic book where he evades death once again after considering retirement. This comic book is available at most comic book stores for free.
Jesse has also appeared on an episode of street customs where he had his pick up truck customised by West Coast Customs
[edit] Personal life
James has three children—a daughter, Chandler, and a son, Jesse James, Jr.—with his first wife, Karla. He also has a daughter, Sunny, born in January 2004 with his second wife, Janine Lindemulder, a pornographic star/producer, and a former Penthouse model,[8] though he left Lindemulder when she was 7 months pregnant. [9]
On July 16, 2005, James married actress Sandra Bullock, whom he met when she arranged for her 10-year-old godson, a fan, to tour the set of Monster Garage.[10]
[edit] References
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The references in this article or section may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Please help by checking whether the references meet the criteria for reliable sources. Further discussion may be found on the talk page. |
- ^ http://www.marksfriggin.com/news09/5-18.htm
- ^ http://www.marksfriggin.com/news09/5-18.htm
- ^ "Biography:Jesse James, TV Personality / Mechanic". Infoplease. http://www.infoplease.com/biography/var/jessegjames.html.
- ^ Quick, Rebecca (July 26, 2006). "Chopper fame revs up business empire". On the Money (MSNBC). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14041593/. Retrieved on March 12, 2009.
- ^ NBC (January 1, 2009). NBC Announces the 16 All-Star Celebrities Ready to Take on Donald Trump in the Boardroom when The Celebrity Apprentice Premiers Sunday, March 1. Press release. http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.aspx?id=20090108nbc01.
- ^ "Jesse James sets Spike TV ratings record". The Live Feed. June 2, 2009. http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/06/jesse-james-premiere-ratings.html.
- ^ http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/good_day_la/Jesse_James_Is_A_Dead_Man_20090529
- ^ Chiu, Alexis (March 14, 2007). "Sandra Bullock Adores Family Role". People. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20014931,00.html. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
- ^ http://lukeford.com/2008-09-06/porn-star-janines-ex-husband-is-in-his-own-trouble/
- ^ "Sandra Bullock Marries Biker Boyfriend". People. July 19, 2005. http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1083855,00.html. Retrieved on March 12, 2008.
[edit] External links
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