Cycle News Staff | July 4, 2023
Peter Starr, the legendary motorcycle filmmaker, author and lifelong motorcycle enthusiast, lost his 18-year battle with cancer on July 3, 2023, while staying at the home of a friend in Colorado, according to news from the TrailBlazers MC.
Film Producer Peter Starr
Born in Coventry, England, on November 2, 1942, he moved to the United States in the mid-1960s and spent six years as a rock-and-roll DJ and two years as a record producer before turning to filmmaking. His first film, “Bad Rock,” was about the ISDE qualifier in Oregon.
A pioneer of filming and televising the sport motorcycling in the USA, Peter Starr produced and directed more than 40 television specials on motorcycling and motorsports.
Starr’s most famous film, “Take it to the Limit,” won Gold and Silver Awards at the Chicago and Houston International Film Festivals.
“It was the first documentary that was produced in Dolby Stereo,” Starr said. “But it also was the first that had a string of hit songs as a part of it. When we were negotiating the music rights for the film, no one had done that before for a documentary, and because of that everyone we talked to was very accommodating. Today, those rights would cost you at least $1 million.”
The film also starred riders who, at the time, were at the top of the sport, like Mike Hailwood, Barry Sheen, Roger DeCoster, Russ Collins.
Starr was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2004 and used his network and skills to increase awareness of the disease and raise funds for its treatment options.
Photo Courtesy of MotoStarr
He was honored with 14 major international awards and is in the Trailblazers Hall of Fame and AMA Hall of Fame.
Starr championed the message to both riders and non-riders that motorcycles are fun, exciting, practical and liberating.
RIP, Peter Starr
