Evel Knievel

Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel (born October 17, 1938 in Butte, Montana) is an American stuntman, best known for his public displays of long distance, high-altitude motorcycle jumping which often resulted in serious injuries, particularly during the 1970s. The consummate salesman, he was able to turn his popularity into a marketing juggernaut with products ranging from radios to toy action figures. His achievements and failures got him into the Guinness Book of World Records several times including his record thirty-five broken bones.

Caesar's Palace

While in Las Vegas, Nevada to watch Dick Tiger fight a middleweight title fight, Knievel first saw the fountains at Caesar's Palace, and decided to jump them. To get in to see Caesar's Palace CEO Jay Sarno, Knievel created a fictitious corporation called Evel Knievel Enterprises and three fictitious Jewish 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.

Related Topics:
Las Vegas - Nevada - Dick Tiger - Middleweight - Caesar's Palace - CEO - Jay Sarno - Jewish - ABC-TV - Sports Illustrated - December 31 - 1967 - Wide World of Sports

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Knievel used his own money to have actor/director John Derek produce a film of the Caesar's jump. To keep costs low, Derek used his then-wife, Linda Evans as one of the camera operators. It was Evans that filmed Knievel's famous landing. On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed a bet on the roulette 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 Caesar's 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 received 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.

Related Topics:
John Derek - Linda Evans - Casino - Roulette - Wild Turkey - Showgirl - Dunes - Coma

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After his crash and recovery, Knievel was more famous than ever. ABC-TV bought the rights to the film of the jump and had to pay far more than if they had televised the jump live. Ironically, when Knievel finally achieved the fame and possible fortune that he always wanted, his doctors were telling him that he may never walk with out crutches again, 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.

Related Topics:
Grand Canyon - May 25 - 1968 - Scottsdale - Arizona - Mustang

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On August 3 1968, Knievel returned to jumping, making more money than ever before. He was earning approximately $25,000 per performance. Everything was going great for Knievel, 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, once again breaking his hip. During his recovery, Knievel had the X-1 Skycycle built by NASA aeronautical engineer Doug Malewicki to promote his Grand Canyon jump. More a show piece than actual motorcycle, the X-1 had two jet 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.

Related Topics:
August 3 - 1968 - October 13 - Carson City - NASA - Doug Malewicki

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~