The "King of the Daredevils".is dead at the age of 69. In the 70’s, Evel Craig Knievel brought the spirit of P.T. Barnum to daredevil motorcycle jumps. Dressed in his signature red, white and blue jumpsuit, Knievel would race his motorcycle up steep ramps and over obstacles like in 1968 the fountains in front of Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. Or in 1975 jumping above a row of 13 double-decker buses at London’s Wembley Stadium. Often he crash landed, thrilling viewers while breaking dozens of bones. His most famous stunt was an attempted jump I 1974 over Idaho’s Snake River Canyon in a rocket-powered motorcycle in 1974. The attempt failed when the craft’s parachute opened prematurely, but Knievel survived. He retired in 1981 and his son Robbie Knievel succeeded him as the family motorcycle daredevil. Evel Knievel received a liver transplant in 1999, due to hepatitis C presumably contracted through blood transfusions after his many crashes. Evel was diagnosed with the incurable disease pulmonary fibrosis a couple of years ago. He said that he was prepared to accept that and that he has lived a full life and enjoyed it all. Evel Knievel will forever remain the "King of the Daredevils”
10 Responses to “Good Bye Evel Knievel.”
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True Icon….. Who would have guessed back in the 70’s that he’d make it this long?
Thanks for the ride, Bobby….
C Ya Evel……you were for real ride on
THE 4 MAIN UNIVERSAL WORDS TO DESCIBE MOTORCYCLING
ALL AROUND THE WORLD
even DOWNUNDER HERE IN OZ!
*HARLEY DAVIDSON
*EVEL KNIEVEL
*EASY RIDER
*HELLS ANGELS
GLAD HE MADE THE LIST,
LIVE to JUMP – JUMP to LIVE
I agree with J,
a true icon is gone. Also I didn’t believe, back in time, that Evel would die that way, but…..
Our generation (yes, also here in Europe) will always remember that name.
May he ride forever ! !
I am saddened by the passing of this truly legendary icon. I remember growing up watching Evel doing his jumps on Wide World of Sports. I remember wanting to be like him and going outside and building ramps out of left over cinder blocks and a sheet of plywood. Riding down the hill in the back yard, hitting the ramp, and flying through the air. It was like a piece of heaven on earth. I also remember the occasional racking myself on the goose-neck. Thank you Evel for the fond memories. Your legend will live on forever as one of the best show men in history.
i am and always have been a collector of his sayings,videos,toys,,,,and dreams, the man was a prophet to me. i am a motorcyclist and always have been since six years old and a lot of how i live and why the love of bikes is in me from that early age was because of that man, i am currently in germany on business and when the news came to me on my phone, i announced it to all that could hear that he had passed..in a small basement bar in the middle of cölögne, germany..every man and woman present poured one out on the floor for the man..russian, german, american…it doesnt matter he will always be bigger than life and seeing the respect and admiration for a man who rode motorcycles, lived fast and jumped far..all the world will miss you..”color me lucky” was always painted on his helmets..i consider myself lucky for having lived in time when we could all chant ..evel..evel..evel..and we would fly our bicycles through the air…you will be missed.
Don’t we all have memories of strapping on a cape (mom’s towel/sheet) and jumping on our bikes to peddle down the driveway towards a flimsy built wooden ramp and jumping into space for those brief seconds…imagining to be Evel? And like Mike from A-1, i too took to motorcycles due to this seemingly “super-human” that defied gravity and death repeatedly. Hopefully he got his affairs in order before his sudden death. Rest in Peace Evel…
Evel was an icon in the motorcycling world who put biking into the mainstream consciousness decades before the words “Discovery Channel” or “Biker Buildoff” were conceived of. Fearless? He earned the description – and our respect.
God speed, Evel.
Evel has made his last big jump. I’m proud to keep my original Evel Knievel lunchbox in my office to remind me who the REAL motorcycle people are in this world. There will never be anyone again like him again. It took big balls to jump a big HD while the boys (includig his son) today are doing it on 200 lb. dirt bikes. Big deal! Yes, God speed Evel!
A real motorclycle guy… compared to those morons at OCC!