The greatest daredevil of all time is off to the Astrodome in the sky:
Evel Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose exploits made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.
Knievel’s death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.
Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.
From burglary to Snake River Canyon, the guy did it all.
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24 Responses to “Evel Knievel, 1938-2007”Search
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DANG! He was living on borrowed time anyway. My childhood wouldn’t have been complete without Evel!
RIP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYGGCVE2lKY
However, Abe Vigoda is doing just fine!
http://www.abevigoda.com/ffb.php
Borrowed time is right Faster! I have many good memories from his prime. RIP, Mr. Knievel!
Remember this one?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gg9Hrp0CVms
However, this probably his greatest leap ever…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZVNOGtEINw
Wow… but I can’t believe you guys missed Kevin DuBrow’s passing.
I saw Evel at the old Doug Sanders Golf Tournament here in town. He had two caddies, both ample breasted blondes. What a life!!
I am saddened too. RIP indeed.
He definitely played the game of life to the fullest. RIP
Daniel, Kevin DuBrow banged his head a little too hard apparently
Daniel, someone did make note of that the other day.
Remember the Evel Knievel pinball game? The action figure, the Evel Knievel Super Stunt Set with motorcycle and flaming jump of death???
http://www.backtobasicstoys.com/item/productid/6270
I did this… The Evel Knievel Face Jump!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEUVm-Ja6lY
Evel was responsible for at least one of my trips to the emergency room! Schwinn bicycles, plywood and old tires…. and a great over the handle bars face-plant!
I just noted “from burglary” ? What is that about ?
He had a life of crime before becoming a daredevil. Supposedly he bought his first bike with the proceeds from cracking the safe in the Butte County courthouse.
Dude had some big brass ones.
#4 Faster - What church is that?
T-Hawkk
Crystal Cathedral in Ca. It’s one of those big mega churches…. too big for my tastes!
http://www.crystalcathedral.org/
I see they have a banner with Evel on it…..
R.I.P.
Dang, I thought the guy was tough. Now hearing about his ailments, I KNOW HE WAS!!! R.I.P…My Idol…/hoping his son is smarter than daddy….
# 14 Matt
I did not know that. Thank You. He turned his life around.
We learn more every day.
Evel, May you rest in peace.
Yeah, looks like he did. Dropped the crime, became a Christian this year.
The guy had an amazing life. His epitaph should be “one tough bastard.”
Requiescat in pace, Evel!
In the 3rd to 6th grade,there were a group of boys in my class that IDOLIZED every movement Evel made. They talked about him incessantly; I had no idea what the bru-ha-ha was all about. Lucky for these kids, their daddies had lots of money and bought them mini-bikes. They thought they were “all that” because they were mini-Keniviels. I thought they were all a pain in the Captain’s Quarters.
Finally, I saw Evel on the Saturday edition of the Wide World of Sports and I was hooked. He jumped something and didn’t make it well and fell all over the place. There is nothing like watching slow motion Knievel played over and over again as he breaks another dozen or so bones. The best part? He gets up and with help from his crew, walks to the cameras and says, “don’t ever do this at home”!
Lucky for me, I discovered Evel before his Snake River jump. Unfortunately for me, I am forever confused as to my Dad’s birthday (Sept 7 or
because the jump was the day after my bday. That’s how much I anticipated the jump.
Not long ago I saw a great documentary on Evel. When you see the entire thing, you begin to appreciate just how much this guy lived. He even mentioned in an interview segment that people (I’m paraphrasing here)”think they can spend money; they have no idea how to really do it. Give me 15 million and I’ll have it gone in 48 hours.”
All of those kids in the X-Games owe him Big time. I don’t think there would be an X-Games without Evel setting the stage for them.
What a guy…
And he did it all on what, an 800lb street bike? These X-Game kids today wouldn’t make a pimple…
He had a line I bastardize all the time to illustrate my point… “If you have a ten dollar head, put it in a ten dollar helmet.” Works well for a lot of situations. (Got a $50 wife, put her in a $50 car.)
thanks Evel,
you’ve made soooo many people look absolutely brilliant.