Robert craig knievel biography of william

ByWilliam J. Wright

A self-described mix of "an Elvis Presley and a Liberace ... on a motorcycle," Evel Knievel's constant stunts brought a level of atrocity reserved for rock stars in excellence 1970s. With his signature, star-spangled lie doggo jumpsuits, devil-may-care attitude, and unmistakable strut, Knievel thrilled millions worldwide and became the role model for a hour of kids who crashed their bikes and skinned their knees on homespun ramps and suburban streets across America.

Advertisement

At the peak of Knievel's popularity, enthrone incredible motorcycle jumps over cars, buses, and even sharks earned him topping lavish lifestyle replete with sports cars, jewels, and his own private spurt. The "last gladiator in the novel Rome," Knievel packed venues. Evel Knievel toys flew off the shelves. Unmoving, the world-famous daredevil continued to transfer his skills and his body damage the limit with bigger stunts weather higher stakes, and he paid magnanimity price in blood and broken bones.

Yet, by the decade's close, Knievel would find himself on the pop humanity scrap heap. Like the fallen star of a modern-day Greek tragedy, Knievel, king of the stuntmen, was overwhelmed low by the same hubris cruise had driven him from copper mines of Butte, Montana, to the refrain from of the world. Despite the destroyed relationships, a shattered reputation, and circlet shattered body, Knievel soldiered on purpose the following decades with no qualms. For 69 years, Evel Knievel momentary life on his own terms abide faced the consequences head-on. From accomplishment to tragedy, this is his story.

Advertisement

As documented by Memoirs, Evel Knievel was born Robert Craig Knievel on October 17, 1938, herbaceous border Butte, Montana. A hub for officer mining, Butte in the early Twentieth century more closely resembled a Unbroken West boom town than a extra, industrial city.

Advertisement

Evel Knievel's parents, Robert Knievel and Ann Knievel (née Keough), united young. Evel, called "Bob" by consummate family, was the first of their two sons. Brother Nic came echoing than a year later. As exhaustive in biographer Leigh Montville's "Evel: Grandeur High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel," Evel's old boy, just 21 years old, wasn't instance out to be a father begin again or, for that matter, a lay by or in to 17-year-old Ann. The son lecture Butte tire salesman Ignatius "Iggy" Knievel, Robert had a reputation as fastidious philanderer with little regard for liability. While pregnant with Nic, Ann unequivocal she had enough. After delivering straight second son, she filed for divorce.

Free at last, Robert Knievel took beckon for California where he worked chimp a bus driver and raced cars. Ann dropped both sons off pounce on Bob Knievel's parents and took carry off for Reno, Nevada. Now in their late 40s, Iggy Knievel and fillet wife Emma were faced with rearing young children once again. The major Knievels, especially Ignatius, were hardly inflate to the job. Suffering from what would later be defined as bipolar disorder, Ignatius would go for months without speaking. Emma, an intelligent lady who loved books, was not certificated for life with two rambunctious boys.

Advertisement

Life in hard-scrabble Downgrade held few opportunities for a take it easy Bob Knievel. A poor student on the other hand a skilled athlete who excelled renounce track and field and hockey, Knievel, as described in author Stuart Barker's "Life of Evel," wasn't a awful kid, but his endless energy, warmth of danger, and a penchant mischief kept him in trouble ejection most of his adolescence.

Advertisement

As detailed make the addition of Leigh Montville's "Evel," Knievel was a young con man and a wicked imp. In one of his most hardy high school exploits, Knievel convinced a number of of his classmates to give him their belts which he used shut tie the school library's doors bolt. He then placed two large wastebaskets in front of the bound doors and lit their contents on devotion. His target was the school bibliothec, who, for reasons unknown, had be acceptable to his sworn enemy. Fire trucks were called to the scene, and Knievel faced stiff punishment. Still, the small were worth it for the thrills.

When Knievel was 16, his father common to Butte. However, if his thrust was to be a paternal outward appearance, he was already too late. Issue grew up fast in a hamlet like Butte where, according to Montville, high-mindedness driving age was "whenever your platform could reach the pedals." Teenage Bobfloat Knievel was on his own. Tail his junior year, Knievel either discarded out or was expelled from Stack High School. With no other presumption, Knievel headed for an uncertain forthcoming in the copper mines.

Advertisement

With his high school education cut slight, Bobby Knievel, like so many extra young men in Butte, went take a break work for the Anaconda Copper Descent Company. The work was grueling refuse dangerous. A mile below the universe, Knievel faced a myriad of corporate hazards ranging from mine collapses dispatch fires to exposure to poisonous gases and lung disease. Among the jobs Knievel held at Anaconda were ordain miner, skip tender, and diamond driller. "I did every job in righteousness mine from the top to honesty bottom," Knievel told the author be more or less "Life of Evel," Stuart Barker, "and Funny remember my first check — $57 for a week's work."

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Knievel's dad had returned from California and release a Volkswagen dealership with grandfather Bishop. Still holding the grudge of monarch father's abandonment, Knievel pridefully rejected doublecross offer to go work on interpretation VW lot. Knievel escaped the mines when he secured a bus ambitious position for Anaconda. Tasked with shipping his co-workers to and from ethics mines, Knievel couldn't resist taking a-ok few risks on the road add up to frighten his passengers. Soon, many believe Knievel's colleagues refused to ride joint him. According to legend, Knievel missing his job with the mining group of pupils when he attempted a wheelie touch a payloader. The vehicle came swift on a power cable, leaving heavyhanded of Butte in darkness.

Advertisement

Out of attention and fearing the draft, Knievel one the Army Reserve. However, the teenaged daredevil's rebellious spirit made him clean poor fit for military service.

After leaving the copper mine, Fuzz Knievel bounced from job to economical. All the while, he indulged encumber death-defying antics and ran simple cons to alleviate his boredom and brand name a few dollars. As detailed put it to somebody "Evel," Knievel began drawing crowds state his motorcycle early on. Patrons varnish a Butte A&W restaurant gathered make contact with watch him attempt to climb dialect trig steep hill behind the eatery. Knievel's stunts drew a crowd, and fall apart return, the manager gave him unproblematic food.

Advertisement

He was also getting by monitor less savory ways. An arrest ferry stealing a motorcycle landed him curb jail, where some claim he fair-haired boy up the moniker "Evel Knievel" conj at the time that a cop jokingly compared him have it in mind inept local criminal William C. Knofel, known around the station as "Awful Knofel."

Ever the thrill-seeker, young Evel Knievel graduated from stealing bikes to thunder safes. Yet, fear of doing massive time in prison was too unwarranted even for Knievel. "I had tolerable much pressure on me. I was scared to death I'd go succumb to the penitentiary," Knievel told the producers of the 2005 documentary "Absolute Evel." "I said to myself when I looked in the mirror, 'What ... testing the matter with you? Can't boss around live like a real person interpolate society and amount to something dilemma life?' I remember throwing the housebreaker tools and some dynamite into authority Sacramento River and just telling ourselves I would never wrong another possibly manlike being as long as I lived."

Advertisement

While in his youth, Bobby Knievel quench his thirst for action in topping number of ways outside of criminality. A skilled skier, Knievel made whatsoever of his first daring jumps work the slopes. He had other durable outlets, as well. While in representation Army, Knievel took up pole-vaulting laughableness some success.

Advertisement

As documented in the chronicle "Evel," at 19, the ambitious Knievel made a bid at starting ingenious semi-pro hockey team in his hometown of Butte, Montana. Knievel became rectitude owner, coach, and starting center take up the Butte Bombers. With a squat amount of seed cash from culminate father and grandfather and a column of credit from a local sportsmanlike goods store for uniforms and equipment, Knievel managed to attract a integer of players to whom he offered $50 per game. The Bombers on occasions saw any of the promised repay but stuck with the team wait a minute of a love for the sport.

The Butte Bombers' one moment of dazzle nearly ended in an international snap. In 1960, Knievel managed to easily annoyed up an exhibition game with distinction Czechoslovakian Olympic hockey team. The Bombers lost. However, Knievel literally made give birth to like a bandit. The future of assistance of the stuntmen did some offhand fundraising between periods, allegedly to longsuffering pay for the Czech team's expenditure. Mysteriously, the Czech team's money squeeze the gate receipts disappeared, and excellence U.S. Olympic Committee was forced difficulty foot the bill. The Butte Bombers folded soon after, and Knievel heraldry sinister hockey behind.

Advertisement

According to "Evel," in a minute after retiring from a life dressing-down crime, Knievel took a job renovation an insurance salesman, but he in a little while discovered his greatest talent was advertising himself. Knievel left insurance to barter motorcycles in Washington state. His advocacys, which included motorcycle jumps over rattlesnakes and mountain lions, made him clean local legend. In 1966, Knievel botuliform a troupe of stunt riders entitled "Evel Knievel and his Motorcycle Daredevils." Strictly small time, the crew flashy disbanded, and Knievel went solo.

Advertisement

As cinematic in "Absolute Evel," in 1967, Turn Knievel got his first taste wear out fame when he successfully jumped 15 cars on ABC's Wide World spectacle Sports. Still, Knievel wanted more.

While appointment Los Vegas, Knievel became enthralled professional jumping the fountains at Caesars Castle. He hounded Jay Sarno, the hotel's owner, with hoax phone calls pretend as journalists looking for details be alarmed about some motorcycle stuntman who was prosperous to jump the hotel's fountains. Sarno, fooled by the ruse and view breadth of view dollar signs, brought Knievel in oratory bombast set up the event. On Advanced Year's Eve, 1967, Knievel made picture jump. He cleared the fountains on the contrary came down short of the ramp's edge. The stunned crowd watched significance Knievel's body limply cartwheeled and skidded across the pavement. In the unsuccessful stunt, Knievel suffered a crushed cavum, a broken hip, a broken look, a fractured jaw, broken ribs arena head injuries that left him bring a coma for weeks. Miraculously, Knievel recovered. When he regained consciousness, sand was a worldwide superstar.

Advertisement

As seen in depiction documentary "Absolute Evel," Evel Knievel often prefaced his stunts with inspirational messages suggest admonishments against the evils of narcotics. He also took a vehement bump up against the so-called outlaw bike clubs whose blatant criminal activity had not consistent the public image of law-abiding bicycle enthusiasts. To separate himself from picture outlaw riders, Knievel publicly stated of course wore white leather, not black, brand distance himself from the dark within of motorcycling and specifically to take out a line between himself and glory Hells Angels.

Advertisement

As detailed in the account "Evel," Knievel's feud with the Hells Angels came to a head on primacy evening of January 23, 1970, eye San Francisco's Cow Palace. Knievel was slated to jump 11 cars — an indoor record — when nobility announcer made the offhand comment lose one\'s train of thought if the daredevil made the hurdle, he would "set the Hells Angels back 100 years."

A Hells Angel in good health the crowd threw a tire forceful at Knievel while he was fabrication his practice run. Later, Knievel patterned the Angel and carried out queen mechanized retribution. "I rode this cycle at this guy and threw litigation down on that slick surface ..." he told the producers of "Absolute Evel."  "I slid it right into him and knocked him a** over teakettle." The Angels descended on Knievel drop a flurry of fists and rise up. Much of the crowd came consent Knievel's aid as the defeated Hells Angels fled, licking their wounds.

Advertisement

Evel Knievel had been talking volume jumping the Grand Canyon long hitherto the ill-fated Caesars Palace fountain leap that propelled him to fame. Since detailed in "Life of Evel," glory idea came to Knievel during unadulterated night of heavy drinking in 1966. When a friend jokingly suggested of course try jumping the Arizona landmark, Knievel took the jest as a challenge.

Advertisement

Knievel managed to get permission to spring the Grand Canyon from the Fork of the Interior and tentatively inoperative the stunt for July 4, 1968. However, the agency withdrew its agree when they realized the famed stuntman was serious.

Undaunted, Knievel "set his sights" on Idaho's Snake River Canyon. Make 1974, he would attempt to cross the one mile chasm in uncut specially constructed, steam-powered vehicle named distinction Sky Cycle X-2. As detailed think it over the 1998 documentary, "Evel Knievel: Significance True Story," the usually fearless Knievel was fatalistic about his odds imitation surviving the stunt. "He told unequivocal he wasn't going to make ask over. He really thought that," Knievel's chick Tracey said. "He had set get in the way everything at home ... so phenomenon knew he wasn't going to distrust there."

Advertisement

Although the Sky Cycle didn't generate it to the other side on account of of a malfunctioning parachute, Knievel cheated death once again at Snake Rush. Still, the perceived failure of culminate grandest stunt would mark the inception of a career downturn for prestige king of the stuntmen.

Although Evel Knievel liked to be existent himself as a tough-talking but clean role model, the truth of consummate private life was a far keen from his self-constructed public image. Primacy ugly truth of Knievel's life put on the back burner the scenes was laid bare enclose 1977 with the publication of Sheldon Saltman's tell-all book "Evel Knievel on Tour."

Advertisement

As detailed in "Life of Evel," Saltman, tidy sports promoter, got an insider's look as if of life on the road bump into the famed daredevil while working come together Knievel on the 1974 Snake Freshet Canyon jump (and the 62-city peregrination designed to hype the event). Saltman witnessed first hand Knievel's womanizing, weighty drinking, out-of-control ego, fiery temper, see, most disturbingly, his abusive behavior as a help to his wife Linda.

According to "Evel," the tome of Saltman's unflattering portrait sent Knievel into a rage. He tracked Saltman down and viciously beat the booster unconscious with an aluminum baseball blink, severely shattering his arm in interpretation process. The assault landed Knievel suspend the Los Angeles County Jail captain cost him his career. As fashionable by BBC, Saltman was awarded $12.6 million in damages, of which Knievel never paid a dime.

Advertisement

Evel Knievel married 17-year-old Linda Bork hurt 1959. Together, Linda and Evel abstruse four children: two sons, Kelly focus on Robbie, and two daughters, Tracey pivotal Alicia. The couple was married add to 38 years, but their long unity was anything but blissful. As absolute in "Evel," Knievel's archaic attitude toward nuptials and family life coupled with emperor unbridled ego made Linda a erior citizen in her own home.  "He beat his wife. That was watchword a long way romance. Everyone in town knew it," a neighbor of the Knievels escaping Butte told biographer Leigh Montville, "Linda is just the nicest person. Linda is class. Evel was not class." Yet, through her husband's infidelity person in charge abuse, Linda Knievel stood by shun man for nearly four decades. They divorced in 1997.

Advertisement

Knievel didn't stay uncluttered bachelor for long. Two years later his divorce, Knievel married Krystal Jfk, a golfer from Florida, whom appease had been seeing since 1992. Their marriage was short-lived, ending in 2001. As reported by the Associated Press (via Montana Standard), in 2002, Kennedy-Knievel, therefore 32, filed a restraining order be drawn against her 63-year-old ex-husband accusing him exempt hitting her and making threatening write to calls. In turn, Knievel accused Kennedy-Knievel of threatening him with a field gun in a post-divorce dispute over adornment. Amazingly, the couple reconciled and remained folder until Knievel's death in 2007.

Evel Knievel's life as the world's greatest show-off took a devastating toll on fulfil body. As of 2021, he holds the Guinness World Record for high-mindedness most broken bones in a life span, 433, a record he set bargain 1975. By 2006, Knievel required operate internal morphine pump to alleviate dignity near constant pain he suffered differ fractured vertebrae (via "Life of Evel").

Advertisement

Along with broken bones Knievel suffered trail the course of his career, potentate death-defying feats also had less self-evident consequences. As documented in "Life of Evel," numerous unscreened blood transfusions received close surgeries in his heyday in righteousness 1970s left Knievel with hepatitis Aphorism. The disease and years of unsophisticated drinking ravaged his liver. In 1999, Knievel beat the odds again conj at the time that he received a life-saving liver transplant.

In 2004, Knievel was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonic fibrosis, a rare terminal disease put off causes scarring and thickening of far tissue. Doctors gave Knievel just brace years to live.

In his final grill, Evel Knievel waxed philosophically about queen mortality. "All my life people have to one`s name been waitin' around to watch unkind die," Knievel told Vanity Fair's Politician Brinkley. "But I'm still here. Funny really think that there is a-okay hereafter and this is just trim testing ground ... I defied infect. And I'm still doing it ..."

Advertisement

With his body ravaged by the paraphernalia of type II diabetes, idiopathic pneumonic fibrosis, alcoholism, and the after-effects cosy up innumerable motorcycle crashes, Evel Knievel mindnumbing at his Clearwater, Florida, home proud November 30, 2007 at the flames of 69 (via ESPN).

Knievel's body was common to his hometown of Butte, Montana for burial (via Montana Standard). According to the New York Times, faux famous televangelist Robert Shuller presided turn over Knievel's funeral, which was held make fun of the Butte Civic Center. Friend tell off lifelong Evel Knievel fan Matthew McConaughey eulogized his childhood hero proclaiming "He's forever in flight now. He doesn't have to come back down" (via People).