Clif was a true old style, L.A. Hustler and had many wonderful and wacky ideas. After being a Motorcycle Stuntman and traveling the World, doing his one man show with Joeiy Chitwood Auto Thrill Shows, he developed an Indoor M/C racing Show that toured the whole U.S. following the New Cars Shows that were and are still hugely popular. Most of these shows were held in the City Auditorium that had a central space that was a Basketball or Ice Hockey Ring depending on the season.
Clif has six riders, all on Special Cubs, who put on a race on slick cement or ice if need be. They raced at the Shows on the weekends, twice or three times a day , depending on the crowds. It was a gag race, using the Wrestling formula of Hero, Villan and Sap. They had short heat races and the racers would go out individually and do hot laps and stunts to keep the show peculating along.The riders knew the routine and could play any part. The crowds loved it and Clif put it on for many years. They were a big draw to the Car Show, hence its longevity.
Clif was a Los Angeles lad and a regular fixture at Ernie Pico's big bustling Bike Shop, Big City Sales. He ran the Show out of there, which was a congregation point for racers and bikers of all stripes. Don Hawley worked for Ernie as a mechanic for many years. Ernie, tired of Don running off to the bar with customers, built a chain link fence around Don's work area and locked him in and out to keep him concentrating on work. Don liked the idea when he saw how much more money he was making with this arrangement. According to Ernie, Don was a fantastic mechanic who rarely had a comeback. I never had so much fun as listening to Ernie telling Hawley stories. He would be laughing so hard, they took a while to be told. Those guys really had some fun in those days. They were all Alpha Males living life large. It was a bare knuckles, post WWII existence that blossomed through the late 40s, through the 50s and had settled down by the mid sixties. I know all these old characters would be appalled if they looked at todays mess with snowflake, skinny jeans wearing, man bun toting, covid coward, soy sucking losers.
