Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in the 1970s
Born	Robert Craig Knievel, Jr. October 17 1938(1938-10-17) Butte, Montana, US
Died	November 30 2007 (aged 69) Clearwater, Florida, US
Nationality	American
Occupation	Stunt performer
Religious beliefs	Christian (2007)
Spouse(s)	Linda Joan Bork (1959–1986) Krystal Kennedy (1999–2001)
Children	Kelly, Tracey, Alicia, Robbie
Website www.evelknievel.com

Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel, Jr. (October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007) was an American motorcycle daredevil, a well-known figure in the United States and elsewhere since the late 1960s, and arguably the most iconic motorbike stuntman of all time. Knievel's nationally televised motorcycle jumps, including his 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon at Twin Falls, Idaho, represent four of the top 20 most-watched ABC's Wide World of Sports events of all time.

His achievements and failures got him into the Guinness Book of World Records several times, including his record 40 broken bones. Knievel's daredevil persona was parodied as "Super Dave Osborne," a fictional character played by Bob Einstein, whose signature is to perform outrageous stunts which invariably go awry and result in his grievous injury.

In his later life Knievel made a much-publicized conversion to Christianity.

Early life

Robert Knievel was born in Butte, Montana, the first of two children born to Robert and Ann Knievel. Robert and Ann divorced in 1940, just after the birth of their second child, Nic. Both parents decided to leave Butte and their two children to get a new start. The children were raised 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 to become a motorcycle daredevil.

Knievel dropped out of high school after his sophomore year and got a job with the Anaconda Mining Company as a diamond drill operator in the copper mines. He was promoted to surface duty where his job was driving a large earth mover. Knievel was fired when he made the earth mover pop a motorcycle-type wheelie and drove it into Butte's main power line, leaving the city without electricity for several hours. With a lot of time on his hands, Knievel began to get into more and more trouble around Butte. After one particular police chase in 1956 in which he crashed his motorcycle, Knievel was taken to jail on a charge of reckless driving. When the night jailer came around to check the roll, he noted Robert Knievel in one cell and William Knofel in the other. Knofel was well known as "Awful Knofel" ("Awful" rhyming with "Knofel") so Knievel began to be referred to as Evel Knievel ("Evel" rhyming with "Knievel") (Also intentionally misspelling it both because of his last name and because he didn't want to be looked upon as "evil"). The nickname stuck.

Always looking for new thrills and challenges, Knievel participated in local professional rodeos and ski-jumping events, including winning the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association Class A Men's ski jumping championship in 1957. In the late 1950s, Knievel joined the U.S. Army. His athletic ability allowed him to join the track team where he was a pole vaulter. After his army stint, Knievel returned to Butte where he met, and married his first wife, Linda Joan Bork. Shortly after getting married, Knievel left Butte to play minor pro hockey, joining the Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1959. (hockeydb.com however has no record of this [2][3].) Realizing that he wasn't talented enough to make it into the National Hockey League and that the real money in sports, at the time, was in owning a team, Knievel returned to Butte and started the Butte Bombers, a semi-pro hockey team. To help promote his team and earn some money, he convinced the 1960 Olympic Czechoslovakian hockey team to play his Butte Bombers in a warm-up game to the Olympics. Knievel was ejected from the game minutes into the third period and left the stadium. When the Czechoslovakian officials went to the box office to collect the expense money that the team was promised, workers discovered the game receipts had been stolen. The U.S. Olympic Committee ended up paying the Czechoslovakian team's expenses in order to avoid an international incident.

Life of crime

After the birth of his first son, Kelly, Knievel realized that he needed to come up with a new way to support his family. Using the hunting and fishing skills taught to him by his grandfather, Knievel started the Sur-Kill Guide Service. He guaranteed that if a hunter signed up with his service and paid his fee that they would get the big game animal that they wanted or he would refund their money. Business was very brisk until game wardens realized that he was taking his clients into Yellowstone National Park to find their prey. As a result of this poaching, Knievel had to shut down his new business venture. Having few options, he turned to a life of crime, becoming a burglar. It is rumored that Knievel bought his first bike after breaking into the safe of the Butte courthouse.

In December 1961, Knievel, learning about the culling of elk in Yellowstone Park, decided to hitchhike from Butte to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness and to have the elk relocated to areas open to hunters. He presented his case to Representative Arnold Olsen, Senator Mike Mansfield and Kennedy administration Interior Secretary Stewart Udall. As a result of his efforts, the slaughter was stopped, and the animals have since been regularly captured and relocated to areas of Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

Knievel decided to go straight after returning home from Washington. He joined the motocross circuit and had moderate success, but still couldn't make enough money to support his family. In 1962, Knievel broke his collarbone and shoulder in a motocross accident. The doctors said he couldn't race for at least six months. To help support his family, he switched careers and sold insurance for the Combined Insurance Company of America, working for W. Clement Stone. Stone suggested that Knievel read Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude, a book that Stone wrote with Napoleon Hill. Knievel credited much of his success to Stone and his book.

Knievel did very well as an insurance salesman (even going as far as to sell insurance policies to several institutionalized mental patients) and wanted to be quickly rewarded for his efforts. When the company refused to promote him to vice-president after a few months on the job, he quit. Needing a fresh start away from Butte, Knievel moved his family to Moses Lake, Washington. There, he opened a Honda motorcycle dealership and promoted motocross racing. Times were tough in the early 1960s for Japanese imports. People still considered them inferior to American built motorcycles, and there were still lingering resentments stemming from World War II, which had ended fewer than 20 years earlier. At one point, Knievel offered a $100 discount to anybody who could beat him at arm wrestling. Despite his best efforts the store eventually closed.

The Daredevil

Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over crazy obstacles including Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s began as nothing more than a last resort attempt to provide for his family.

The beginning: rattlesnakes, mountain lions

Because he did not have any way to support his family, Knievel recalled the Joie Chitwood show he saw as a boy and decided that he could do a similar show using a motorcycle. Promoting the show himself, Knievel rented the venue, wrote the press releases, set up the show, sold the tickets and served as his own master of ceremonies. After enticing the small crowd with a few wheelies, he proceeded to jump a 20-foot-long box of rattlesnakes and two mountain lions. Despite coming up short and having his back wheel hit the box containing the rattlesnakes, Knievel managed to land safely.

Knievel realized that to make any real money he would have to hire more performers, stunt coordinators and other personnel so that he could concentrate on the jumps. Flat broke, he went looking for a sponsor and found one in Bob Blair, a distributor for Norton Motorcycles. Blair offered to provide the needed motorcycles, but he wanted the name changed from the Bobby Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils Thrill Show to Evil Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils. Knievel didn't want his image to be that of a Hells Angels rider, so he convinced Blair to allow him to use Evel instead of Evil.

The first show of Knievel and his daredevils was on January 3, 1966, at the National Date Festival in Indio, California. The show was a huge success. Knievel got several offers to host his show after their first performance. The second booking was in Hemet, California, but was cancelled because of rain. The next performance was on February 10, 1966 in Barstow, California. During the performance, Knievel attempted a new stunt where he would jump, spread eagle, over a speeding motorcycle. Knievel jumped too late and the motorcycle hit him in the groin, tossing him 15 feet into the air. Knievel ended up in the hospital because of his injuries. When released, he returned to Barstow to finish the performance he had started almost a month before.

Jumping cars

Knievel's daredevil show broke up after the Barstow performance because injuries prevented him from performing. After recovering, Knievel started traveling from small town to small town as a solo act. To get ahead of other motorcycle stuntmen who were jumping animals or pools of water, Knievel started jumping cars. He began adding more and more cars to his jumps when he would return to the same venue in order to get people to come out and see him again. Knievel hadn't had a serious injury since the Barstow performance, but on June 19 in Missoula, Montana, he attempted to jump 12 cars and a cargo van. The distance he had for takeoff didn't allow him to get up enough speed. His back wheel hit the top of the van while his front wheel hit the top of the landing ramp. Knievel ended up with a severely broken arm and several broken ribs. The crash and subsequent stay in the hospital were a publicity windfall.

With each successful jump, the public wanted him to jump one more car. On May 30, 1967, Knievel successfully cleared 16 cars in Gardena, California. Then he attempted the same jump on July 28, 1967, in Graham, Washington, where he had his next serious crash. Landing his cycle on a panel truck that was the last vehicle, Knievel was thrown from his bike. This time he suffered a serious concussion. After recovering for a month, he returned to Graham on August 18 to finish the show, but the result was the same, only this time the injuries were more serious. Again coming up short, Knievel crashed, breaking his left wrist, right knee and two ribs.

Knievel finally got some national exposure when actor and television talk show host, Joey Bishop, had him on as a guest of The Joey Bishop Show. The attention not only brought larger paydays, but also female admirers for Knievel.

Caesars Palace

While in Las Vegas, Nevada to watch Dick Tiger fight a middleweight title fight, Knievel first saw the fountains at Caesars Palace and decided to jump them. To get an audience with the casino's CEO Jay Sarno, Knievel created a fictitious corporation called Evel Knievel Enterprises and three fictitious lawyers to make phone calls to Sarno. Knievel also placed phone calls to Sarno claiming to be from ABC-TV and Sports Illustrated inquiring about the jump. Sarno finally agreed to meet Knievel and the deal was set for Knievel to jump the fountains on December 31, 1967. After the deal was set, Knievel tried to get ABC to air the event live on Wide World of Sports. ABC declined, but said that if Knievel had the jump filmed and it was as spectacular as he said it would be, they would consider using it later.

Knievel used his own money to have actor/director John Derek produce a film of the Caesars' jump. To keep costs low, Derek used his then-wife, actress Linda Evans, as one of the camera operators. It was Evans who filmed Knievel's famous landing. On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed a single $100 dollar bet on the blackjack table (which he lost), stopped by the bar and got a shot of Wild Turkey and then headed outside where he was joined by several members of the Caesars staff, as well as two scantily clad showgirls. After doing his normal pre-jump show and a few warm up approaches, Knievel began his real approach. When he hit the takeoff ramp, he felt the motorcycle unexpectedly decelerate. The sudden loss of power on the takeoff caused Knievel to come up short and land on the safety ramp which was supported by a van. This caused the handlebars to be ripped out of his hands as he tumbled over them onto the pavement where he skidded into the Dunes parking lot. As a result of the crash, Knievel suffered a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion that kept him in a coma for 29 days.

After his crash and recovery, Knievel was more famous than ever. ABC-TV bought the rights to the film of the jump, paying far more than they originally would have, had they televised the original jump live. Ironically, when Knievel finally achieved the fame and possible fortune that he always wanted, his doctors were telling him that he might never walk without the aid of crutches, let alone ride and jump motorcycles. To keep his name in the news, Knievel started describing his biggest stunt ever, a motorcycle jump across the Grand Canyon. Just five months after his near fatal crash, Knievel performed another jump. On May 25, 1968, in Scottsdale, Arizona, Knievel crashed while attempting to jump fifteen Mustangs. Knievel ended up breaking his right leg and foot as a result of the crash.

On August 3, 1968, Knievel returned to jumping, making more money than ever before. He was earning approximately $25,000 per performance, and he was making successful jumps almost weekly until October 13, in Carson City, Nevada. While trying to stick the landing, he lost control of the bike and crashed again, breaking his hip once more. During his recovery, Knievel had the X-1 Skycycle built by NASA aeronautical engineer Doug Malewicki to promote his Grand Canyon jump. More showpiece than actual motorcycle, the X-1 had two rocket engines capable of producing thrust of more than 14,000 pounds force (62 kN) bolted to the side of a normal motorcycle. Knievel also had all the trucks he used to go from one jump to the next painted to promote the Grand Canyon jump.

Snake River Canyon

By 1971, Knievel realized that the United States government would never allow him to jump the Grand Canyon, so he considered several other stunts that might match the publicity that jumping the canyon would have been generated. While flying back to Butte from a performance tour, Knievel looked out the window and saw the Snake River Canyon. After finding a location near Twin Falls, Idaho, that was both wide enough, deep enough and on private property, Knievel leased 300 acres (1.2 km²) for $35,000 to stage his jump. He set the date for Labor Day, 1972.

On January 7 - 8, 1971, Knievel set the record by selling over 100,000 tickets to back-to-back performances at the Houston Astrodome. On February 28, 1971 he set a new world record by jumping 19 cars in Ontario, California. On May 10, 1971 Knievel crashed while attempting to jump 13 Pepsi delivery trucks. His approach was complicated by the fact that he had to start on pavement, cut across grass, and then return to pavement. His lack of speed caused the motorcycle to come down front wheel first. He managed to hold on until the cycle hit the base of the ramp. After being thrown off he skidded for 50 feet (15 m). Knievel broke his collarbone, suffered a compound fracture of his right arm and broke both legs.

Knievel continued to jump and promote his Labor Day assault on the Snake River Canyon. On March 3, 1972 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, Knievel got into a scuffle with a couple of Hells Angels in the audience. After making a successful jump, he tried to come to a quick stop because of a short landing area. Knievel was thrown off and run over by his own motorcycle, ending up with a broken back and a concussion.

ABC Sports was unwilling to pay the price Knievel wanted for the canyon jump, so he hired Bob Arum's Top Rank Productions to put the event on pay-per-view cable. Arum partnered with Invest West Sports, Sheldon Saltman's company, in order to secure two things: 1.) the necessary financing for the jump and 2.) the services of Sheldon Saltman, long recognized as one of America's premier public relations and promotion men, to do publicity so that Knievel could concentrate on his jumps. Knievel then hired former NASA engineer Robert Truax to design and build the X-2 Skycycle. During two test jumps, the rocket failed to make it all the way across the canyon. Knievel said that there would be no more tests and that he would go ahead with the scheduled jump on September 8, 1974.

The launch at the Snake River Canyon was at 3:36 p.m. local time. The steam that powered the engine needed a temperature of 700 °F (370 °C). Upon take-off, the drogue parachute accidentally deployed when the three bolts holding the cover for the chute sheared off with the force of the blast. The deployed chute caused enough drag that even though the skycycle made it all the way across the canyon the wind began to cause it to drift back as the skycycle turned on its side, descending into the canyon. Wind had pushed the skycycle across the river enough so that as it hit, it landed half in and half out of the water; a couple feet less and Knievel would have drowned. He survived the jump with only minor injuries.

Later daredevil career

On May 26, 1975, in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London, Knievel crashed while trying to land a jump over 13 city buses (the term "London Buses" used in earlier publicity had led to many believing the attempt was to be made over the higher double-deck type). After the crash, despite breaking his pelvis, Knievel addressed the audience and announced his retirement. After recuperating, Knievel decided that he had spoken too soon, and that he would continue jumping. On October 25, 1975, Knievel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island, Ohio. This event scored the highest viewer ratings in the history of ABC's Wide World of Sports. After this jump, he again announced his retirement. Of course, it only lasted until Evel jumped on October 31, 1976 at the Seattle Kingdome. He only jumped seven Greyhound Buses. The jump was a success. Despite the crowd's pleasure, Knievel felt that it was not his best jump. He apologized to the crowd for the jump.

Knievel made only a few daredevil appearances after that, jumping for the final time in March 1981 in Hollywood, Florida.

Family life

Evel Knievel's first lesson in life was that of enduring pain and not giving up. At the age of six months, he lost both his parents, who wished to erase every memory of their marriage, including Evel and younger brother Nic. Being raised by his grandmother, he stated, "All (my grandmother) wanted was to talk with me and to rub her feet. I just hate myself for not spending (more) time with her and telling her 'I love you' one more time," Evel says. "The saddest thing is when a guy is paying so much attention to the world and everything going by that he can't take the time for his own mother," which is what he considered his grandmother. His youngest son, Robbie, has walked in his father's footsteps, and performed the same jump at Caesar's Palace. Kelly, Evel's oldest son, owns a construction firm in Las Vegas. His family includes daughters Alicia and Tracey, 11 grandchildren and ex-wives Linda Knievel and Krystal Kennedy, who remained his caregiver and companion despite their brief, troubled marriage.

Marketing the image

Knievel sought to make more money off of his image. 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 Motorcycles, the motorcycle that he had been jumping with, refused to meet his demands, Knievel started to propose the idea to other manufacturers. American Eagle Motorcycles was the first company to sign Knievel to an endorsement deal. At approximately the same time, Fanfare Films started production of The Evel Knievel Story, a 1971 movie starring George Hamilton (actor) as Knievel.

Knievel kept up his pursuit of getting the United States government to allow him to jump the Grand Canyon. To push his case, he hired famed San Francisco defense attorney Melvin Belli to fight the legal battle to obtain government permission. ABC's Wide World of Sports started showing Knievel's jumps on television with regularity. His popularity, especially with young boys, was ever increasing. He became a hero to a generation of young boys, many of whom were injured trying to imitate his stunts. Hall of Fame race car driver, A. J. Foyt, made him part of his pit crew for the Indianapolis 500 in 1970. His huge fame and notoriety caused him to start traveling with a bodyguard.

Later in the decade, the merchandising of the Knievel image reached additional media. Ideal Toys released a bendable Knievel action figure in 1974. In 1977, Bally marketed its Knievel pinball machine as the "first fully electronic commercial game."

Knievel made several television appearances, including a guest spot on The Bionic Woman where he played himself. He was a frequent guest on talk shows such as Dinah! and Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. On January 31, 1977, during a dress rehearsal for a CBS special on live daredevil stunts at the Chicago International Amphitheatre, Knievel crashed, breaking both arms and his collarbone. In the process, a misplaced cameraman was injured, losing an eye. In June 1977, Warner Bros. released Viva Knievel!, a movie starring Knievel as himself and co-starring Lauren Hutton, Gene Kelly and Red Buttons. The movie was a box office flop.

Attack on author

While Knievel was healing from his latest round of injuries, the book Evel Knievel on Tour was released. Authored by Knievel's promoter for the Snake River Canyon jump, Sheldon Saltman, the book painted a less than perfect picture of Knievel's character and alleged that he abused his wife and kids and that he used drugs. Knievel, with both arms still in casts, flew to California to confront Saltman, a Vice Ppresiden at Twentieth Century Fox. Outside the studio commissary, one of Knievel's friends grabbed Shelly and held him, while Knievel attacked him with an aluminum baseball bat, declaring, "I'm going to kill you!" According to a witness to the attack, Knievel struck repeated blows at Saltman's head, with the victim blocking the blows with his left arm. Saltman's arm and wrist were shattered in several places before he fell to the ground unconscious. It took numerous surgeries and permanent metal plates in his arm to eventually give Saltman back the use of his arm. He had been a left-handed competitive tennis player before the brutal attack. Saltman won $13 million judgement in a civil suit, but was unable to collect because Knievel had declared bankruptcy.

Sheldon Saltman's book was pulled from the shelves by the publisher after Knievel threatened to sue. Saltman later produced documents in both criminal and civil court that proved that, although Knievel claimed to have been insulted by statements in Saltman's book, he and his lawyers had actually been given editorial access to the book and had approved and signed off on every word prior to its publication. On October 14, 1977, Knievel pleaded guilty to battery and was sentenced to three years probation and six months in the county jail, during which he publicly flaunted his brief incarceration for the press as just one more publicity stunt.

Timeline of Jumps

• 1965

Moses Lake, Washington

1966

• January 23—Indio, California; National Date Festival Grounds
• February 10—Barstow, California
• June 1—Post Falls, Idaho; State Line Gardens
• June 19—Missoula, Montana; Missoula Auto Track
• August 19—Great Falls, Montana; Great Falls Speedway
• October 30—Butte, Montana; Naranche Memorial Drag Strip

1967

• March 5—Gardena, California; Ascot Park Speedway
• May 30—Gardena, California; Ascot Park Speedway
• July 28—Graham, Washington; Graham Speedway
• August 18—Graham, Washington; Graham Speedway
• September 24—Monroe, Washington; Evergreen Speedway
• November 23-26—San Francisco, California; Civic Center
• December 2—Long Beach, California; Long Beach Arena
• December 31—Las Vegas, Nevada; Caesar's Palace

1968

• May 25—Scottsdale, Arizona; Beeline Dragway
• August 3—Meridian, Idaho; Meridian Speedway
• August 26—Spokane, Washington; Interstate Fairgrounds Speedway
• September 7—Missoula, Montana; Missoula Auto Track
• September 13, 15—Salt Lake City; Utah, Utah State Fair
• October 13—Carson City, Nevada; Tahoe-Carson Speedway

1969

• April 24-27—Los Angeles, California; Sports Arena

1970

• January 23—Daly City, California; Cow Palace
• April 5—Kent, Washington; Seattle International Raceway
• May 10—Yakima, Washington; Yakima Speedway
• June 19—Vancouver, British Columbia; Pacific Coliseum
• July 4—Kent, Washington; Seattle International Raceway
• August 16—Long Pond, Pennsylvania; Pocono International Raceway
• December 12—Los Angeles, California; Lions Drag Strip

1971

• January 8-9—Houston, Texas; Astrodome
• February 27-28—Ontario, California; Ontario Motor Speedway
• March 26-28—Chicago, Illinois; Chicago International Amphitheatre
• July 8-11—New York City, New York; Madison Square Garden
• July 15, 17—Buffalo, New York; Lancaster Speedway
• July 29-30—Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; Pocono Downs
• August 27-28—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Spectrum
• September 5-6—Agawam, Massachusetts; Riverside Park
• September 16-18—Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Great Barrington Fair
• September 25-26—Hutchinson, Kansas; Kansas State Fair
• October 21—Portland, Oregon; Oregon Memorial Coliseum

1972

• January 23—Tucson, Arizona; Tucson Dragway
• February 11-13—Chicago, Illinois; Chicago International Amphitheatre
• March 2-3—Daly City, California; Cow Palace
• March 24-26—Detroit, Michigan; State Fairgrounds Coliseum
• April 8-9—Plymouth, California; Emerson Ranch
• June 11—Atlanta, Georgia; Lakewood Speedway
• June 17-18—Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Oklahoma State Fairgrounds
• June 24-25—East St. Louis, Illinois; St. Louis International Raceway
• July 9—Haubstadt, Indiana; Tri-State Speedway
• July 16—Coon Rapids, Minnesota; Minnesota Dragways
• July 30—Castle Rock, Colorado; Continental Divide Raceways
• September 1-2—Monroe, Washington; Evergreen Speedway

1973

• January 5-7—Las Vegas, Nevada; Convention Center
• January 19-21—Dallas, Texas; Convention Center
• February 18—Los Angeles, California; Memorial Coliseum
• February 23-25—Cleveland, Ohio; Convention Center
• March 2-4—Uniondale, New York; Nassau Coliseum
• March 16-18—Atlanta, Georgia; Lakewood Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall
• March 23-25—Chicago, Illinois; Chicago International Amphitheatre
• March 30-April 1—Detroit, Michigan; State Fairgrounds Coliseum
• April 13-15—St. Paul, Minnesota; St. Paul Civic Center
• April 27-29—Cincinnati, Ohio; Cincinnati Gardens
• June 22-24—Union Grove, Wisconsin; Great Lakes Dragaway
• July 29—Providence, Rhode Island; Lincoln Downs Race Track
• October 6-7—Kaukauna, Wisconsin; Wisconsin International Raceway
• October 20—Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; JFK Stadium

1974

• February 17—North Richland Hills, Texas; Green Valley Raceway
• March 29—Portland, Oregon; Oregon Memorial Coliseum
• April 13—Fremont, California; Fremont Raceway
• April 20—Irvine, California; Orange County International Raceway
• April 28—Kansas City, Missouri; Kansas City International Raceway
• May 5—Tulsa, Oklahoma; Tulsa International Speedway
• May 25-27—West Salem, Ohio; Dragway 42
• August 20—Toronto, Ontario; Exhibition Stadium
• September 8—Twin Falls, Idaho; Snake River Canyon

1975

• May 26—London, England; Wembley Stadium
• October 25—Kings Mills, Ohio; Kings Island

1976

• October 11—Worcester, Massachusetts; Fitton Field
• October 29-30—Seattle, Washington; Kingdome

1977

• January 31—Chicago, Illinois; Chicago International Amphitheatre

1979

• February 21—Orange, New South Wales, Australia; Towac Park
• February 23—Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia; Showgrounds
• February 24—Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; RAS Showground
• February 26—Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia; Eric Weissel Oval

1980

• March—Puerto Rican tour
• October 4—Pontiac, Michigan; Silverdome

1981

• January 31-February 1—St. Petersburg, Florida; Sunshine Speedway
• March 1—Hollywood, Florida; Miami-Hollywood Speedway

Bankruptcy, Tax-evasion, Arrest for Solicitation, Firearms violation

With no income, Knievel eventually had to declare bankruptcy. In 1981, Saltman was awarded a $13 million judgment against Knievel in a civil trial but never received money from Knievel's estate. In 1983, the IRS determined that Knievel failed to pay $1.6 million in taxes on earnings from his jumps. In addition to the back taxes, they demanded another $2.5 million in interest and penalties. Then the State of Montana sued Knievel for $390,000 in back taxes.

In 1986, Knievel was arrested for soliciting an undercover policewoman posing as a prostitute in Kansas City, Missouri. Knievel's wife, Linda, left him and returned home to Butte.

In 1994, in Sunnyvale, California during a domestic disturbance call, police found several firearms in Knievel's car. He was convicted and ordered to perform 200 hours of community service for a weapons violation.

Knievel made several attempts to reconcile with his estranged son, Robbie, even appearing with him at a couple of jumps. After Robbie's successful jump of the Caesar's Palace fountains, the two went their separate ways yet again. Knievel made somewhat of a marketing comeback in the 1990s, representing Maxim Casino, Little Caesar's and Harley-Davidson among other companies. In 1993, Evel Knievel was diagnosed with hepatitis C, apparently contracted during one of his numerous reconstructive surgeries. Knievel required a liver transplant in 1999 as a result of the condition.

In 1995, he received two traffic citations in Pinellas County for having an expiration overdue by four months and for driving without a valid license.

Final years

In 1999, Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.

On November 19, 1999, on a special platform built on the fountains at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip near the site of Evel’s jump New Year's Eve 1967, Evel married long time girlfriend, 30-year-old Krystal Kennedy of Clearwater, Florida. They were divorced in 2001.

On July 28, 2006, at "Evel Knievel Days" in Butte, Montana, his son Robbie jumped 196 feet in a tribute to his father. Robbie also appeared on stage with his father, Evel.

In December 2006, Knievel sued rapper Kanye West for trademark infringement in West's video for Touch the Sky. Just days before Knievel's death in November 2007, the case was amicably settled for an undisclosed sum of money.

Conversion to Christianity

On April 1, 2007, at the age of 68, Knievel announced to a worldwide audience that he had "lived the life of a sinner" and that he "believed in Jesus Christ" for the first time. He professed his personal faith in Christ to more than 4000 people who gathered inside the Crystal Cathedral for Palm Sunday services in Orange County California, and to millions via an Hour of Power telecast of the service to over 100 countries.

Knievel spoke about his 68-year rebellion against Christianity as simply a refusal to surrender his lifestyle of "the gold and the gambling and the booze and the women." He explained his conversion experience by saying, "All of a sudden, I just believed in Jesus Christ. I did, I believed in him!" Knievel said he knew people were praying for him, including his daughter's church, his ex-wife's church, and the hundreds of people who wrote letters urging him to believe.

Knievel recounted how he "rose up in bed and, I was by myself, and I said, 'Devil, Devil, you bastard you, get away from me. I cast you out of my life….' I just got on my knees and prayed that God would put his arms around me and never, ever, ever let me go." At his request, he was baptized before the congregation and TV cameras by Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Founding Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. Christianity Today reported that "…Knievel's testimony triggered mass baptisms at the Crystal Cathedral."

Death

Knievel died in Clearwater, Florida, on November 30, 2007, at the age of 69. He had been suffering from hepatitis C, diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis for many years.

Legacy

Although Evel Knievel endured a life in which he resorted to extreme behavior, he will always be known as America's darling daredevil, who inspired the youth into believing that anything is possible, became a role model for many, and ultimately evolved into the epitome of the American dream. His earth-shattering jumps and relentless dedication impel many to consider him one of a kind. Never one to quit, Knievel would get back onto his bike following devastating injuries to complete previous shows for his beloved fans. He is best remembered for his numerous, often prolonged bouts with death—following perilous injuries—and his many victories.

Evel Knievel: the Rock Opera

In 2003, Knievel signed over exclusive rights to Los Angeles composer Jef Bek, authorizing the production of a rock opera based on Knievel's life. the production opened in Los Angeles in September of 2007.

Six Flags Evel Knievel Roller Coaster

Evel Knievel partnered with Six Flags St. Louis to name a new wooden coaster after "America's Legendary Daredevil." The amusement park in Eureka, Missouri, outside of St. Louis, Missouri, will open the ride in 2008.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Greenberg, Brad A. "Evel Overcome With Good; Daredevil Knievel's testimony triggers mass baptisms at Crystal Cathedral." Christianity Today. (April 13, 2007).
• Mansour, David. From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. (2005): 267. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel. ISBN 0740751189.
• Saltman, Sheldon. Evel Knievel on tour. Dell, 1977. ISBN 0440166608

External links

All links retrieved March 23, 2024.

• Official Website
• Evel Knievel on ABC's Wide World of Sports
• Evel Knievel at the Internet Movie Database

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