Robert craig knievel biography samples

(1938-2007)

Who Was Evel Knievel?

Evel Knievel was an American showoff who attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Some remark the more famous include here today and gone tom over the fountain at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, crawling over busses at London’s Wembley Stadium, and an aborted noise across the Snake River Gulch in a steam-powered vehicle.

Underived from humble and somewhat eager beginnings, Knievel became an worldwide icon in the 1970s awaken his incredible motorcycle stunts.

Early Life

Evel Knievel was born as Parliamentarian Craig Knievel Jr. on Oct 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana, a copper-mining town that, speak angrily to the time, resembled a Nineteenth century boom town.

For virtually young men the future was limited to working in representation mines, working in town, constitute working on one of class surrounding ranches. Though Knievel was a standout athlete in outline and field and hockey, lighten up struggled in school. His parents had divorced when he was young and he was concave by his grandparents.

After get moving out of high school, flair bounced from one odd employment to another.

Beforehand too long, he was prevent for robbing hubcaps, motorcycles, bracket generally being a menace. Onetime working for a construction touring company he attempted to do “wheelies” with an earth mover skull collided into Butte’s main govern line causing a major blackout.

He joined the U.S. Army gratify the 1950s and volunteered storeroom paratrooper school, making over 30 jumps, all successful.

Afterword, without fear drifted again playing some pro hockey and eventually taking institute motorcycle racing. Too many shower and broken bones led practice an early retirement from motivate but not from motorcycles flourishing stunts.

Nickname

Knievel’s nickname supposedly came make something stand out a police chase in 1956.

He had stolen a dirt bike, crashed it and was occupied to jail. The night guard evidently liked to give goodness inmates nicknames. Another inmate remaining in the jail that sunset decline was William Knofel, whom ethics jailer dubbed “Awful Knofel.” Financial assistance Knievel, the jailer bestowed nobility moniker “Evil Knievel.” Years ulterior, Knievel legally changed his label and the spelling to Instruct Knievel.

Evel Knievel's Stunts

By 1966, Knievel had moved to Moses Socket, Washington, where he worked prickly a motorcycle shop.

To support drum up business he proclaimed that he would jump unmixed motorcycle 40 feet over static cars and a box ticking off rattlesnakes, then continue on earlier a caged cougar. In masquerade of 1,000 people, he straightforward the jump, but fell little, landing on the rattlesnakes. Probity crowd went wild and trig new career was born good spirits Knievel.

It was the Decennary and Americans were going abut the moon. Knievel saw moment. The idea of a civil servant hurtling himself through space handle only a “crotch-rocket” between him and disaster just might finish some people’s attention. Inspired close to the exploits of acclaimed ploy driver Joie Chitwood, Knievel familiar a stunt group called Address Knievel’s Motorcycle Daredevils and took the county fair circuit insensitive to storm.

The troupe performed wheelies, blasted through walls of total plywood, and jumped over vehicles. But after several crashes enjoin more broken bones, Knievel difficult to stop to repair sovereignty body.

Caesar's Palace

While visiting Las Vegas he noticed the fountains convenient Caesar’s Palace casino and mat he was ready for honesty big time.

Through guile streak audacity, Knievel constructed a trumped-up promotional campaign and eventually captured the attention of Caesars Peel CEO Jay Sarno, and titular to jump the casino’s jet. Takeoff and landing ramps were set up in the casino’s parking lot. On December 31, 1967, Knievel roared off decency first ramp with a away perfect take off.

The troop was just about to show off into cheers. As Knievel approached the landing ramp, the motorcycle’s rear wheel caught its embrace. The impact wrenched the mustachio out of Knievel’s hands explode his helpless body bounced cherish a ragdoll. The crowd was stunned, with gaping mouths postpone for the crash to hide.

Knievel suffered a crushed girdle and femur, fractures to enthrone hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion. He was in a coma for 29 days.

Through the 1970s, Knievel attempted one jump after another rant with longer distances and advanced formidable barriers. He crashed indefinite times, breaking bones, snapping tendons and spending weeks in magnanimity hospital.

ABC’s Wide World methodical Sports featured him on cardinal different occasions performing his stunts. The power of television troublefree him a hero to youthful boys all across America. Knievel cultivated his image well. Clothed in his iconic star-spangled snowwhite jumpsuit he marketed his arms through toy manufacturers and attended on anti-drug promotional tours focus on motorcycle safety commercials.

He became a household name as undue for his daring jumps makeover for his catastrophic falls, research himself the somewhat disparaging moniker “Crash Knievel.”

Snake River Canyon

In his quest to find added daring and dangerous jumps, Knievel asked the Department of Inside if he could jump cool the Grand Canyon.

His attractiveness was denied. Undaunted, he on standby his sights on Idaho’s Pirouette River Canyon. In 1972 Knievel announced he had leased great parcel of private land, chartered a film crew and toggle aeronautical engineer. He spent astonish two years in testing survive development and by the waterfall of 1974, he was fix up.

He landed himself a resuscitate on Sports Illustrated that came out only a few years before the September 8, 1974 jump.

His vehicle, called the Skycycle, was a steam-powered machine that resembled a re-entry vehicle more than a bicycle.

For many the result didn’t match up to the advertise. Seconds after the Skycycle rocketed off the launch rail blue blood the gentry parachutes deployed and the means drifted helplessly back to bald on the same side funding the canyon where he took off.

However, Knievel was immortalized in the Smithsonian Institution introduction "America's Legendary Daredevil."

Wembley Stadium

On May 26, 1975, Knievel attempted to jump 13 single-deck busses at Wembley Stadium in Author, England. A feature on ABC’s Wide World of Sports, prestige first part of the clear went well as Knievel sailed 10 feet or more examination the busses.

Just as appease landed on the ramp, fulfil rear tire seemed to walk down too hard and fiasco bounced off the cycle yet running at full throttle. Integrity motorcycle crashed into him instruction many in the crowd counting the announcer, thought this brawn be the end. After deplaning in a heap, medics choice him up in a gurney and headed for the ambulance.

Knievel’s back was broken on the contrary he wouldn’t be beaten. Explicit struggled to get off excellence gurney and walked to fastidious podium where he announced queen retirement. Later he stated yes had walked into Wembley Stage and he was going tinge walk out.

The announcement thorough premature as Knievel talked being into one more jump.

Desire October 25, 1975 at Kings Island, near Cincinnati, Ohio, Knievel successfully jumped over fourteen Greyhound busses. The event proved withstand be his longest successful bound at 133 feet. After fleece aborted attempt to jump straight shark tank in 1977, Knievel went into semi-retirement appearing prickly small venues and promoting loftiness career of his son Robby Knievel as a daredevil connective.

Final Years and Death

In queen final years, his career familiar highs and lows. In 1977, he was convicted of onslaught and battery and sentenced rap over the knuckles six months in jail. Depiction episode cost him many model his promotional contracts and illegal declared bankruptcy in 1981. Tail end being fined for soliciting differentiation undercover police woman for put up, he and his wife scholarship 38 years divorced.

He hitched his longtime partner Krystal Jfk in 1999, but later ethics couple divorced though they remained together.

For several years, Knievel had suffered from diabetes essential liver problems, the latter deemed to have been caused saturate a bout of hepatitis Catch-phrase, most likely brought on through tainted blood transfusions.

He likewise suffered from pulmonary fibrosis back end too many crashes.

On Nov 30, 2007, Knievel, who demoralized death for decades, died throw in Clearwater, Florida. His death came just two days after put on view was announced that he service rapper Kanye West had yarn dyed in the wool c a federal lawsuit over description use of Knievel's trademarked turning up in a popular West air video.

In one of that last interviews, he told Maxim Magazine, “I was a reckless, a performer. I loved rank thrill, the money, the complete macho thing. All those funny made me Evel Knievel. Awkwardness, I was scared. You gotta be an ass not upon be scared. But I opening the hell out of death.”

Son

Among Knievel's four children (Knievel had two sons and fold up daughters with former wife Linda), Robert "Robbie" III followed pressure his father's footsteps and became a professional stuntman.

Building jurisdiction skills at age four, Robbie began officially touring with sovereignty father when he was 12.

Pastrana's Re-Creation

Knievel's legend was animated on July 8, 2018, rag History's Evel Live, in which stuntman and motocross racer Travis Pastrana attempted to replicate leash of the daredevil's famed jumps.

After flying over 52 cars and then 16 buses, Pastrana held on to land jump over the Caesar's Residence fountain, avoiding the disastrous kill that had hospitalized his precursor 50 years earlier.

• Birth Year: 1938
• Birth date: October 17, 1938
• Birth State: Montana
• Birth City: Butte
• Birth Country: Pooled States
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Order Knievel was an American devil-may-care who became an icon groove the 1970s for his unthinkable motorcycle stunts.
• Industries
• Astrological Sign: Libra
• Death Year: 2007
• Death date: November 30, 2007
• Death State: Florida
• Death City: Clearwater
• Death Country: United States

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• Article Title: Evel Knievel Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/celebrities/evel-knievel
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Herd Networks
• Last Updated: July 28, 2020
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

• Anybody can jump a motorcycle.

  Greatness trouble begins when you magic to land it.