Motorcycle incident doesn’t deter Hutton from pursuing ‘Art’

Actors Dennis Hopper, Jeremy Irons, Laurence Fishburne, Lauren Hutton and the rest of the Guggenheim Motorcycle Club were on their way through Boulder City in 2000 when a horrible accident occurred near Hoover Dam. The accident resulted in a flood of media coverage and left one celebrity in a two-week coma.

The Guggenheim Motorcycle Club formed in 1998 and was composed of 20 celebrities and high-end art curators. The group is known for riding BMW bikes and a shared love of art. So, it was no surprise the club was going to ride alongside 100 other bikers through Arizona, into Boulder City, and head to Las Vegas to celebrate an upcoming exhibit titled “The Art of the Motorcycle.”

As the club approached Hoover Dam, Hutton decided to accelerate in an attempt to catch up to Hopper. At 110 mph, she took a curve too fast and crashed her red BMW F65. Hutton was flown to a Las Vegas trauma hospital.

Hutton, the original vice president of the Guggenheim Motorcycle Club, has been an avid rider since the 1960s. She learned to ride from actor and professional race car driver Steve McQueen while working as a cocktail waitress in New Orleans. Stuntmen on the movie “Little Fauss and Big Halsy” later helped Hutton perfect her riding skills. The group would ride dirt bikes through the Arizona desert between takes. Hutton next mastered her skills by riding with Evel Knievel for the movie “Viva Knievel!”

Hutton’s wreck at Hoover Dam resulted in a punctured lung, broken rib, shattered leg and forearm, and left her in a two-week coma. The actress/model credits Hooper with saving her life. She told ABC News she was wearing only a cloth jacket the day of her accident. During a break, Hopper had insisted Hutton wear his leather jacket and encouraged her to swap helmets with Irons for better head protection.

Thomas Krens, the Guggenheim’s senior adviser for international affairs, witnessed Hutton’s crash. A member of the motorcycle club, he was in charge of the New York and Las Vegas “The Art of the Motorcycle” exhibits.

A year after Hutton’s accident, she participated in a ride from California to Las Vegas to celebrate the official 2001 opening of Krens’ motorcycle exhibit inside The Venetian. At Krens’ request, Hutton rode on the back of Hopper’s bike for the entire trip.

“The Art of the Motorcycle” ran in Las Vegas for 2½ years and had more than 2 million visitors. Many bikers who came across the country to see the exhibit also made Boulder City and Hutton’s former crash site must-see pit stops.

The Guggenheim Motorcycle Club continues to ride. In fact, Hutton (now 72), Fishburne and Krens made a tribute ride through the Adirondacks last year in memory of Hopper, who died in 2010 at age 74.

As a side note, I had the pleasure of working with Hopper for different cinema events in Las Vegas and have no doubt he kindly insisted on Hutton swapping jackets with him right before her crash.

Boulder City continues to be a popular weekend stop for motorcyclists. Like Hopper and Hutton, bikers often pass through and our local businesses benefit tremendously. It is not at all unusual to see BMWs, Harley-Davidsons, and Indian motorcycles lining parking spaces in the historic district while their owners shop at local stores and eat at the city’s restaurants. I’ve even spotted a $78,000 fully customized Arch Motorcycle parked outside the World Famous Coffee Cup.

To this day, Boulder City continues to embrace all visitors regardless if they arrive by tour bus, a road trip on four wheels or riding through on two wheels with a pack of 100 bikers at their side.

Tanya Vece is an entertainment and music writer who resides and volunteers in Boulder City. You can follow her adventures on Instagram@hollywoodwriter.