Even if you’re not familiar with the world of motorcycle stunt performers, you’ve probably heard of Evel Knievel. His name alone has become synonymous with daredevilry and recklessness, because Evel himself was a daredevil and shockingly reckless! He enthralled generations of fans in America and around the world with his death-defying stunts.

A young Robert Knievel, decked out in hockey gear. Source: evilknievel.com

Before he became a stunt performer and a daredevil motorcyclist, Robert Craig Knievel was born in Butte, Montana on October 17, 1938. He and his younger brother Nicholas were raised by their grandparents after their parents split.

Knievel recalled a childhood memory of attending a Joie Chitwood Thrill show when he was eight years old. He decided that, one day, he would try his hand at performing stunts.

Only he'd use a motorcycle instead of a car.

Knievel would eventually drop out of high school and find himself doing time. The warden at this jail was known for giving out knicknames, and dubbed Robert's cellmate "Awful" Knoefel.

As you may have already guessed, Robert was dubbed "Evil" Knievel by the warden. Knievel liked the name and stuck with it, but changed "Evil" to "Evel" so as not to be associated with Hells Angels. Nevertheless, he knew in his gut this new name would take him far.

Knievel, donning a jacket with his professional name. Source: bbc.co.uk

Evel Knievel's first show was entirely self-promoted and sponsored. He handled everything from the press releases to the hosting, and managed to attract a small crowd. The show itself started off with a couple of wheelies and escalated to jumping a twenty-foot long box filled with rattlesnakes and a box with two mountain lions. Knievel had a slightly rough landing but ended the show virtually unscathed.

That show became the turning point in his life.

A shot of the first Evel Knievel show on January third, 1966. Source: Evel Knievel Archives via Facebook.com

Evel Knievel and His Motorcycling Daredevils held their performance on January 3^rd, 1966. The crowd went wild as Kinievel popped some wheelies, crashed through plywood walls and jumped two pickup trucks! It promised to be the first of many exciting shows for the group.

Unfortunately, their performance the following month would leave Knievel hospitalized. Knievel attempted to jump, spread-eagle, over a speeding motorcycle. He miscalculated, and his jump time was off and the motorcycle ended up striking him in the groin; Knievel was then violently tossed in the air. He was hospitalized immediately afterwards, but returned to the venue to complete the show upon his release.

This team broke up after a repeat and successful performance of this show, and Knievel decided to embark on a solo career.

Evel jumps over a row of cars in Gardena, California on March 3rd, 1967. Source: Wayne Kelley, Los Angeles Times

To stand apart from other professionals in this industry, Evel Knievel opted to jump over cars instead of water or animals. With each jump, he added more cars. With each new car, he drew a larger crowd to his show.

Knievel got through most of these stunts relatively injury-free, but a performance in Missoula, Montana on June 19^th , 1966 would end his lucky streak.

Knievel attempted to jump over 12 cars and one cargo van and failed, resulting a horrific crash that left him with a severely broken arm and several broken ribs. Despite the resulting fatal injuries, this accident did wonders to Knievel's career due to the strong media reaction.

Following his recovery, Knievel hit the ground running again and and performed outstanding shows to an ever-growing crowd. Every time he nailed a jump, the spectators wanted more. More cars, more jumps and more wild stunts.

Knievel certainly delivered.

On May 30^th, 1967, Evel successfully jumped over 16 cars during a show in Gardena, California. He tried to replicate this stunt in Graham, Washington two months later. Unfortunately, Knievel hit the panel truck at the end of the lineup and wound up with a serious concussion.

Evel may have been down, but he was far from out. An appearance on 'The Joey Bishop Show' helped him rake in more dough and exposed him to a larger —and predominately female—audience.

Evel Knievel takes a leap of faith outside Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, 1967. Source: lasvegassun.com

When Knievel first saw the fountains outside the Caesars Palace Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, he knew he had to jump over them. And in typical Knievel fashion, he went to extremes to make it happen.

Knievel established a fake organization, Evel Knievel Enterprises, and created three fictitious lawyers to call up Caesars Palace CEO Jay Sarno in order to gain an audience. Knievel himself even phoned up Sarno, posing as a reporter from ABC-TV and Sports Illustrated. Eventually, Sarno and Knievel met up and agreed to hold the event on New Year's Eve, 1967.

Knievel recruited actor and director John Derek as a producer. Derek recruited his then-wife Linda Evans as a camera operator. The goal was to capture the event and submit it to ABC for future viewing.

On the day of the jump, Knievel hit the takeoff ramp perfectly. Sadly, his landing didn't go as expected. When Evel took off, his motorcycle slowed down unexpectedly and he couldn’t stick the landing. The handlebars were torn from his hands, and he stumbled over them onto the pavement. Knievel skidded into the Dunes parking lot and wound up with a crushed pelvis and femur, a fractured hip, wrist and both ankles and a concussion. He was in a coma for almost a month afterwards.

But this disaster wasn't all for naught. ABC not only aired Knievel's treacherous stunt; they wrote Knievel a significantly higher paycheck than he'd originally asked them for.

It was—and still is—the most notorious motorcycle crash ever.

Evel Knievel makes his record-breaking jump at King's Island, 1975. Source: Tom Hubbard, The Enquirer

Contrary to popular belief (and by rumors he started himself, Evel Knievel never actually jumped the Grand Canyon. Sure, he fought a lengthy legal battle to try to make it happen, but the concept just never got off the ground (no pun intended). Still, Knievel would go on to perform larger-than-life feats:

• From January 7th through the 8th, 1971, he organized two back-to-back performances at the Houston Astrodome in Texas. Over 100,000 tickets were sold, and attendees watched in amazement as Knievel made a record-setting jump over 13 cars.
• Knievel broke his own record a month later on February 28^th when he jumped over 19 cars at the Ontario Motor Speedway in California. This particular record was held for 27 years.
• His next record-setting jump was at Kings Island, Ohio, where he jumped over 14 Greyhound buses! This record was held for 24 years, and it was Knievel's longest successful jump at a span of 133ft.

Evel Knievel died of complications from Idiopathic Pulminory Fibrosis on November 30th, 2007. He was 69 years old. His legacy lives on in the world of American Pop Culture. From museum exhibits to tribute jumps, television commercials to possible biopics, Evel Knievel will be honored and remembered forever.

Source: evelknievel.com