Evel Knievel Official". Evel Knievel. Archived from the original on November 16, 2021 . Retrieved November 16, 2021. Hill, Napoleon; Stone, W. (2007). Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude. Gallery Books. ISBN 978-1416541592. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023 . Retrieved March 27, 2022. Fans were amazed then horrified in 1967 when he flung his motorcycle 151ft over the fountains of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, only to land in a spectacularly bone-crunching crash.

Knievel and his brother were raised in Butte by their paternal grandparents, Ignatius and Emma Knievel. At the age of eight, Knievel attended a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show, which he credited for his later career choice as a motorcycle daredevil. Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, on November 30, 2007, aged 69. He had been suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for many years. [76] A longtime friend reported that Knievel had trouble breathing while at his residence in Clearwater and died on the way to hospital. The friend said, "It's been coming for years but you just don't expect it. Superman just doesn't die, right?" [77]

Also added to your bag:

Greenberg, Brad A. (April 13, 2007). "Evel Overcome With Good; Daredevil Knievel's testimony triggers mass baptisms at Crystal Cathedral". Christianity Today. ISSN 0009-5753. OCLC 1554505. Archived from the original on June 16, 2007 . Retrieved June 20, 2007.

Montana Newsmakers: 'Evel' Knievel". Great Fall Tribune. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013 . Retrieved August 28, 2011. Knievel and his daredevils debuted on January 3, 1966, at the National Date Festival in Indio, California. The second booking was in Hemet, California, but was canceled due to rain. The next performance was on February 10, in Barstow, California. During the performance, Knievel attempted a new stunt in which he would jump, spread-eagled, over a speeding motorcycle. Knievel jumped too late and the motorcycle hit him in the groin, tossing him 15 feet (4.6m) into the air. He was hospitalized as a result of his injuries. When released, he returned to Barstow to finish the performance he had started almost a month earlier. I am ready to leave my loved ones,” he said. “My wealth, my fame will amount to naught. My grudges, frustrations, resentments and jealousies will finally disappear.”Further information: Skycycle X-2 Knievel's Skycycle X-2 and canvas jumpsuit on display at the Harley-Davidson Museum in September 2010 Knievel after the Snake River Canyon jump Jordan, Pat (November 16, 2007). "Evel Never Dies". Maxim Magazine. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015 . Retrieved August 6, 2015. 'You can't ask a guy like me why,' Evel snaps. 'I wanted to fly through the air. I was a daredevil, a performer. I loved the thrill, the money, the whole macho thing. All those things made me Evel Knievel. Sure, I was scared. You gotta be an ass not to be scared. But I beat the hell out of death. It would all go by so fast, in a blur. One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi. You're in the air for four seconds, you're part of the machine, and then if you make a mistake midair, you say to yourself, "Oh, boy. I'm gonna crash," and there's nothing you can do to stop it, not at all.'

Knievel sought to make more money from his image. He was no longer satisfied with just receiving free motorcycles to jump with. Knievel wanted to be paid to use and promote a company's brand of motorcycles. After Triumph, the British motorcycle brand he had been jumping with, refused to meet his demands (it was part of the bankrupt BSA group that was merged with Norton in 1972), Knievel started to propose the idea to other manufacturers. American Eagle Motorcycles, the brand under which Italian Laverda machines were sold in the US, was the first company to sign Knievel to an endorsement deal. Knievel then used the new lightweight racing motorcycle Harley-Davidson XR-750 from December 1970 until his final jump in January 1977. Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel, American Showman, Daredevil and Legend, Leigh Montville, ASIN: B00CVE3EN8, 2011, Doubleday The years of crashes, mult­iple brain trauma and broken bones took their toll and when he retired in 1980 Knievel claimed his body was “nothing but scar tissue and surgical steel”. On January 31, 1977, Knievel was scheduled for a major jump in Chicago, Illinois. The jump was inspired by the 1975 film Jaws. Knievel was scheduled to jump a tank full of live sharks which would be televised live nationally. However, during his rehearsal, Knievel lost control of the motorcycle and crashed into a cameraman. [41] Although Knievel broke his arms, he was more distraught over what he claimed was a permanent eye injury to cameraman Thomas Geren. The cameraman was admitted to the hospital and received treatment for an injury near his eye, but received no permanent injury. The footage of this crash was so upsetting to Knievel that he did not show the clip for 19 years until the documentary Absolute Evel: The Evel Knievel Story. Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons, Robbie and Kelly. In 2010, Robbie announced he would recreate the jump. [37] Stuntman Eddie Braun announced he was working with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. [38] Braun's jump took place on September 16, 2016, and was completed successfully. [39] Wembley jump [ edit ]

Quick Overview

Leigh, Montville (2011). Evel: The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend. Knopf Doubleday Publishing. p.80. ISBN 978-0385533676. Archived from the original on January 14, 2023 . Retrieved February 1, 2017. Knievel first received national exposure on March 18, 1968, when comedian and late-night talk show host Joey Bishop had him on as a guest of ABC's The Joey Bishop Show. Bornhop, Andrew (August 7, 2015). "Doug Danger Breaks Knievel's Record Daredevil jumps 22 cars at Sturgis, on Evel Knievel's 1972 Harley XR750". Cycle World. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016 . Retrieved September 20, 2016.