The End of an Era - Evel Knievel Dead at 69
DoctorData
ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Daredevil Evel Knievel, who dodged
death in spectacular motorcycle leaps and crashes in a life full of
showmanship, died on Friday at age 69, according to his lawyer and a
message on his Web site.
"I just spoke with him last night. He seemed to be in good spirits,"
said Knievel's lawyer, Richard Fee, adding he died in the Tampa Bay
area of Florida where he recently made his home.
The front page of the tempestuous showman's official Web site --
www.evelknievel.com -- read simply "Robert Craig 'Evel' Knievel
October 17, 1938 - November 30, 2007." The site quickly became
inaccessible as it presumably was deluged by hits.
"Anybody can jump a motorcycle," he once told Esquire magazine. "The
trouble begins when you try to land it."
Knievel -- who retired in 1981 after breaking more than 40 bones in
his body, including his back seven times -- had been ill for some
time, suffering from a lung disease.
He recently gave what he said "may be the last interview I ever do" to
the December issue of Maxim magazine and battled rap singer Kanye West
for infringing his trademark in the "Touch the Sky" video, in which
West appears as "Evel Kanyevel" and wears a white jumpsuit like the
one Knievel made famous.
The two reached a settlement on Tuesday.
In his heyday, the king of all daredevils dressed like a superhero in
a red, white and blue leather jumpsuit with a cape and cane, his hair
sculpted back in a tall pompadour.
Knievel's greatest stunt turned out to be a failure when on September
8, 1974, he tried to ride a rocket-powered motorcycle across the Snake
River Canyon in Idaho.
With a pay-per-view television audience watching, the parachute
deployed when his Skycycle X-2 was only two-thirds across, sending the
cycle into the canyon wall.
It landed partly in the river but Knievel walked away with minor
injuries.
For a jump over 13 double-decker buses in London's Wembley Stadium in
1975, he was paid $1 million, a fortune at the time, according to
Maxim.
One of Knievel's motorcycles -- a 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750 -- is in
the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington,
D.C.
PAIN, TROUBLE AND TOUGHNESS
His final years were plagued by pain from his accidents, as well as
pulmonary fibrosis, a scarring of the lungs.
"God never made a tougher son of a bitch than me," Knievel told USA
Today in an interview published in January.
The reporter described Knievel, who was 68 at the time, as feeble and
reliant on an oxygen tank and an implanted drug pump to relieve his
pain.
He spent almost a month in a coma in 1968 after he crashed while
jumping the fountains at the Caesars Palace casino-hotel in Las Vegas.
There were more serious injuries when he tried to clear a tank full of
sharks in Chicago in 1976.
"If you don't know about pain and trouble, you're in sad shape," he
told Esquire. "They make you appreciate life."
Knievel's personal life was at times almost as painful as his job. He
had trouble with the law starting as a teenager, went through
bankruptcy and was estranged for years from his son, Robbie, who also
became a motorcycle daredevil.
Knievel did not quit drinking until undergoing a liver transplant in
1999.
Born in Butte, Montana, he said he was inspired at the age of 8 when
he saw an auto daredevil show.
He was dubbed "Evil Knievel" by a jailer in Montana after crashing his
motorcycle while fleeing from police. He later changed the spelling to
"Evel" as his daredevil career took off to avoid being perceived as a
bad guy.
Knievel was married twice and had four children.
(Writing by Michael Christie in Miami, additional reporting by Bill
Trott in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by John
O'Callaghan)
IbeDavid
> Found on Yahoo! News today
>
> ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Daredevil Evel Knievel, who dodged
> death in spectacular motorcycle leaps and crashes in a life full of
> showmanship, died on Friday at age 69, according to his lawyer and a
> message on his Web site.
>
> "I just spoke with him last night. He seemed to be in good spirits,"
> said Knievel's lawyer, Richard Fee, adding he died in the Tampa Bay
> area of Florida where he recently made his home.
>
REPLY: My Pastor told us a few weeks ago, that he surrendered his
life to Christ . I hope so, as, id love to see him in heaven one day.
He was quite an american icon for sure.
Ken
>
> >http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071201/ts_nm/knievel_dc_3
>
> REPLY: My Pastor told us a few weeks ago, that he surrendered his
> life to Christ . I hope so, as, id love to see him in heaven one day.
>
> - Show quoted text -
Your pastor is just as full of CRAP as you are, ya friggin HOMO
*s*
*s*
ChrisS
remembered as the longest and most courageous battle between one man
and death.
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel died in Clearwater, Fla., finally
succumbing after nearly a three-year bout with the terminal lung
disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
He was 69.
His death was preceded by more than 40 years of constant battle
against the persistent pain of broken bones and severe trauma after
jumping and crashing motorcycles like no man had ever done before. In
addition, he fought to overcome the tremendous obstacles of diabetes,
hepatitis C, a liver transplant, numerous surgeries and two strokes.
Knievel's legacy as America's Legendary Daredevil, Last of the
Gladiators and King of the Stuntmen will undeniably live on among
millions of fans, past, present and future. However, the memories of
the man apart from his legend will live on even stronger in the hearts
of his friends and family. Despite his well-known swagger of self-
confidence, the legacy he wished for most of all was simply to be an
inspiration.
"The fame of great men ought to be judged always by the means they
used to acquire it." By this maxim, nothing will ever be able to take
away or challenge the things accomplished by Evel Knievel.
Whether it was unmatched courage or just an absolute unwillingness to
give in to fear, Robert Craig Knievel was a man's man through all the
days of his life. He took great pride in the simply stated, yet most
difficult to accomplish principles: Always living up to his word,
never shirking the responsibility or consequences for his actions
regardless of the personal risk, and never, not ever, failing to stop
trying.
Knievel was born in Butte on Oct. 17, 1938, to Robert Edward and Ann
(Keough) Knievel. He and his younger brother Nic were raised by the
loving family of paternal grandparents Ignatius and Emma Knievel.
Growing up and living in Butte were some of the most valued times of
his life. His fame took him far and wide across the country and even
overseas, but Knievel never let go of the love and pride he had for
his hometown.
Growing up in a blue- collar mining town, Knievel attended Butte
public schools before serving in the Army Reserves. As a young man he
was always an exceptional athlete, hard worker and determined
individual. Knievel explored and excelled in many different
professions, if only for a short time, before finding his calling as
the ultimate daredevil.
During his prime as a bona fide celebrity, Knievel enjoyed his spoils
to the highest. He loved fast cars, private airplanes, fancy yachts
and the finest clothes and jewelry that money could buy. He was sought
out by Hollywood and remained friends with many famous people until
his death.
In the end, he had a few regrets, but he always sincerely strived to
do the right thing. He never forgot who his real friends were. He
never forgot his love for his family. And he never forgot the place
from where he came, what he'd learned or what others had done to help
him get to where he did. The red, white and blue for which he is
famous were a tribute to his Butte character as much as they were for
America. In his last years, one of the greatest honors was being able
to share his hometown with his world of fans and to participate and
take pride in the celebration of his annual event, "Evel Knievel
Days." He dearly loved his grandchildren, and he always made it a
point to stay in touch with the people he loved the most, his friends
and family. And lastly, most important to him above all was his new-
found faith in Jesus Christ. Just as he always took great care in
surrounding himself with the best people he could depend upon to help
him make his jumps during his motorcycle career, Knievel found his
greatest friend of all in preparation for his final leap from life. He
was profoundly happy that he gave his life to God, who comforted him
and gave him the strength he needed to make it through the end.
Knievel is survived by his loyal friend and wife, Krystal Kennedy-
Knievel, whom he married in 1999. She stood by his side through his
greatest struggles with health until his death. His in-laws include
Krystal's mother, Sylvia and her husband Wayne Croft; father, Glen
Kennedy; and Krystal's sister, Shawn and husband Rory with their two
children. He is also survived by his former wife and dear friend of 38
years, Linda Bork Knievel. Though they divorced, Linda and Evel had
four children that all made them proud. Son, Kelly Knievel and
daughter-in-law, Shelli with granddaughter, Lily; son, Robbie Knievel
and granddaughters, Krysten and Karmen, with great-granddaughter,
Analiese; daughter, Tracey and son-in-law Mitch McCloud with
grandchildren, Josiah, Jesse, Melody, Cody, Cole, Casey and Dusty with
wife, Rachel and great-granddaughter, Lucy; and his youngest daughter,
Alicia with son-in-law, Matt Vincent and grandchildren, Madelyn,
Jaicee, Rye; and his sixteenth grandchild expected this June.
Other surviving family members include his stepmother, Mrs. Robert
Edward Knievel; brother, Nic and his wife, Rusty; sister, Kristy and
brother-in-law, Hugh Lawrence; sister, Renee and brother-in-law, Bill
Slaughter; sister, Robin, and brother-in-law John Dick; and sisters,
Loretta Young and Kadie Bonêy. He is also survived by numerous nieces,
nephews, extended family, friends and his millions and millions of
fans.
Public services will be held for family, friends and fans at the Butte
Civic Center at 11 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 10. A private Christian burial
and graveside services will take place at the Mountain View Cemetery.
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Yeah...but you let Dr. Data beat you to it!! q-:
Big write-up in the paper here, too, since his son & a granddaughter
live nearby.
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