Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 US daredevil Evel Knievel dies Legendary US daredevil Evel Knievel has died at the age of 69, his granddaughter has said. Knievel had suffered ill-health, including diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis - an incurable lung condition - for several years. He underwent a liver transplant, after nearly dying of hepatitis C, in 1999. Knievel gained cult status performing death-defying stunts in the 1960s and 70s, including an attempted motorcycle jump over Snake River Canyon in Idaho. He regularly drew huge crowds when he attempted to jump over rows of parked vehicles with his motorbike. By the time he retired in 1980 Knievel had broken nearly 40 bones. R.I.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted November 30, 2007 Author Share Posted November 30, 2007 Evel Knievel always insisted reports suggesting every bone in his body had been broken during his career were an exaggeration. But, in the 20 years that his motorcycle stunts thrilled crowds across the US, he certainly damaged most of them. Born in the town of Butte, Montana on 17 October 1938, Robert Craig Knievel Jnr was brought up by his grandparents after his parents divorced. At the age of eight he attended a motor cycle stunt show, which sowed the seeds for his future career. He dropped out of school and went to work in the local copper mines, virtually the only source of employment in the area. He was fired after he demolished some local power lines he had been using while trying to perform a stunt in an earthmoving machine. Snakes and lions With time on his hands, the young Robert frequently found himself on the wrong side of the law. After being locked up for yet another offence, an exasperated police officer referred to him as "that evil Knievel". The name was to stick, albeit with a change of spelling. After his army service, Knievel tried a number of ways of working off his excess energy. He had become a successful pole vaulter while in the military and, when he left, he took up minor league ice hockey. However he was never quite good enough to make a professional player. He joined a motocross team but, as a sign of things to come, he crashed and broke a collarbone in 1962. Following a spell as an insurance salesman Knievel started conducting motorcycle stunt displays. His first ever performance, for which he sold all the tickets himself, saw him jump a motorcycle over a series of cages containing rattlesnakes and mountain lions. High profile accidents Knievel soon discovered that to pull in the crowds he needed more performers and, with the aid of a local sponsor, he set up a team. The sponsor wanted him to adopt the name Evil Knievel, but accepted Robert's suggestions that the spelling should be Evel, as he did not want to be mistaken for a Hell's Angel gang member. The new stunt team performed in a series of shows in California, each more successful than the last. Knievel discovered that his increasingly high profile brought him all the things he really wanted: the money, the girls and, above all the fame. It was the craving for the latter that drove him to attempt even more dangerous stunts. Now, as a solo act, he was jumping over rows of cars, adding more vehicles each time to persuade the crowds to return. A series of accidents resulted in long hospital stays, and even more publicity. In 1968 he attempted a massive jump over a series of fountains outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Coma Unable to persuade TV companies to cover the stunt he hired his own cameraman to record the event. The resulting crash put him in a coma for 29 days and elicited massive bids for the film from the now-eager media. After authorities vetoed his plan to leap across the Grand Canyon he set up an attempt on the narrower Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Strapped into a rocket-powered bike Knievel plunged into the river below after a parachute opened prematurely. This time he escaped with minor injuries. British fans also got their chance to see Knievel in action in 1975 when he attempted to jump over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium. But the rear wheel clipped the last bus in the row and he somersaulted onto the ramp with the bike crashing down on top of him. A concussed Knievel, nursing more broken bones, announced his retirement over the stadium's PA system. World record Despite this he was back five months later, this time successfully clearing 14 buses in Ohio and setting a new world record. It was his last major appearance. Even in retirement he could not keep out of the spotlight. The publication of a book written by his former publicist Sheldon Saltman, which painted a less than rosy picture of his family life, angered Knievel. Despite having both arms in plaster he attacked Saltman with a baseball bat. He was jailed for six months. By now his health was declining, a result of the battering his body had received over the years and his fondness for the bottle. He contracted hepatitis, probably as a result of the many operations he had undergone, and in 1999 he had a liver transplant. His fondness for flamboyant white leathers earned him the title "Elvis on a motorbike" and many saw him as one of the last great heroes. As the working class boy who gave up crime and made it big, he epitomised the mid-20th Century American dream. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 175 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 RIP, what a legend, a childhood hero of mine, I tossed myself off many a ramp as a child in his honor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31592 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 (edited) R.I.P. Evel, we hardly knew ye. Edited December 1, 2007 by ewerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6701 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 RIP you crazy bone-breaking fool... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fop 1 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magma 0 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyluke 2 Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 (edited) Disappointingly mundane way of shuffling off the mortal coil. RIP. Edited November 30, 2007 by luckyluke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Radgina 1 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Legend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ketsbaia 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 RIP One of those names that never dies. I'm too young to remember seeing him but as far back as I can remember the name Evel Knievel was in my head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 31592 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 (edited) Evel Knievel is planning his most challenging stunt yet. He's going to jump 15 double decker buses. Apparently the guys driving his hearse aren't best pleased. Edited December 1, 2007 by ewerk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 RIP, what a legend, a childhood hero of mine, I tossed myself off many a ramp as a child in his honor. (God Jimbo, I did wonder for a minute what on earth you were about to say there) Sad news, funnily enough I was just reading the Hammond book, who talks about Evel being his hero. RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom 14021 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 R.I.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Besty 4 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 R.I.P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Author Share Posted December 1, 2007 RIP, what a legend, a childhood hero of mine, I tossed myself off many a ramp as a child in his honor. (God Jimbo, I did wonder for a minute what on earth you were about to say there) Sad news, funnily enough I was just reading the Hammond book, who talks about Evel being his hero. RIP Hammond has made a documentary about him earlier in the year. Should make a good obituary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toonraider 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 RIP, what a legend, a childhood hero of mine, I tossed myself off many a ramp as a child in his honor. (God Jimbo, I did wonder for a minute what on earth you were about to say there) Sad news, funnily enough I was just reading the Hammond book, who talks about Evel being his hero. RIP Hammond has made a documentary about him earlier in the year. Should make a good obituary. I will look out for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammynb 3640 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 I saw him in the early 80s when he toured here, I think it was about a dozen buses he jumped. Things must of been desperate as he was doing the travel around the country sort of tour in every regional city and town where he could part a bus or twelve. I think I've still got the model jet car I bought from the merchandise tent somewhere. RIP big fella, sit back and have a few with your old mate Dale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazarus 0 Posted December 1, 2007 Share Posted December 1, 2007 Anyone heard of the super dave piss take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smooth Operator 10 Posted December 2, 2007 Share Posted December 2, 2007 Heard he was holding on until he resolved his dispute with Kanye West over Kanye depicting him in one of his video's. He's got the ripers touch at the minute has Kanye, first his mother, and then Knievel so soon after their settlement. RIP anyway, used to ride my BMX about prentening to be him! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Gloom 22524 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 legend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleftpeg 0 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 If there's any justice, his funeral should see his coffin propelled through a ring of fire and over 12 cars before nestling into a newly dug grave. It's what he would have wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RlCO 0 Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Richard Hammond documentary on right now, feturing Evel pretty much before he carked it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@yourservice 67 Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Richard Hammond documentary on right now, feturing Evel pretty much before he carked it. Seen it last night and thought what a rip off merchant he was.. Hammond couldn't get away quick enough at the end,everyone on here says he was a legend but after last night i thought he was total fake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted December 24, 2007 Author Share Posted December 24, 2007 Despite being morbidly ill, he did come across as a bit of a c**t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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