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Motorcyclist/daredevil Evel Knievel takes his last and ultimate jump into the afterlife at age 69. He had suffered from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis in his lungs.
EVEL KNIEVEL DIES AT 69 By Mitch Stacy - Associated Press Writer Last Updated 1:43 pm PST Friday, November 30, 2007
CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Evel Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69.
Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs.
Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills.
Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.
Although he dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, Knievel always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. In later years he still made a good living selling his autographs and endorsing products. Thousands came to Butte, Montana, every year as his legend was celebrated during the "Evel Knievel Days" festival.
"They started out watching me bust my a$s, and I became part of their lives," Knievel said. "People wanted to associate with a winner, not a loser. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner."
His death came just two days after it was announced that he and rapper Kanye West had settled a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video.
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What can I say, the guy embodied the American spirit even if he didn't always live up to its ideals. I remember when they interviewed him before Robbie cleared the fountains at Caesar's for him in 1989 (although I'm told it didn't go that smoothly, that they argued over whether or not he should use a landing ramp), the crowd just went absolutely crazy. You do have to give him credit for giving the country hope when we were in need of heroes. So his spirit will live on.
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Kanye West is a b*tch! That is so sad. I guess now we should be on a lookout for a movie about him with either Vince Vaghn, Ben Stiller, the Wilson bros., or Will Ferrell....just a matter of time. My ex tried to be him when he was little and was found one day hanging by his clothes on the side of a 3 story wall after a botched Knievel attempt with his bike.
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quote:Originally posted by evilash: ...That is so sad. I guess now we should be on a lookout for a movie about him with either Vince Vaghn, Ben Stiller, the Wilson bros., or Will Ferrell....just a matter of time...
In the early 70's, there was a b-movie about him with George Hamilton as Evel. That was long before his unsuccessful attempt at Snake River Canyon.
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