Another one gone ! http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071201/ap_on_re_us/obit_knievel (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071201/ap_on_re_us/obit_knievel)

I remember many , many moons ago that the whole famoly & I sat around the tube when he almost made it all the way across the Grand Canyon in his rocket. He will be missed. :(

I liked Evel's real motorcycle jumps better than the rocket motorcycle thing. He was very good at what he did. He would make 50 perfect jumps before he would make one mistake and crash. He broke 40 bones in his body as a result of a few crashes. He knew what he could and could not do. Alot of people called him a crazy, but, he really only took carefully calculated risks. May you rest in peace, Evel.

He made the last, greatest leap into eternity... God's Speed.

Ride that skycycle, baby!

Was there an EK kit, or just the action figure?

Was there an EK kit, or just the action figure?


Yep. There were three kits put out by "Addar". All Snap together.1973-74. One was the "EVIL KNIEVEL'S wheelie" Just Evil on his bike and the others were "The Ramp Jump" and the "Sky cycle X2". Again, all were produced by "Addar", which was an off shoot of our beloved Aurora. There was also a series of "Rubber type" action figures. Along with his Motorcycle. You put Evil and his bike on a kind of platform, and using the hand crank, you reved up the bike. Then once it was fully reved, it would de tach and pop wheelies, jump your cat...etc. Fun Times. Of course, they also made the rocket so you could jump your own Snake River.It's another Sad day.

Regards,
BEATLEPAUL

EVEL was such a part of my childhood.....God speed Evel!
I'm glad Robbie is continuing with his fathers legacy!

he was cool. i copied him jumping fences and building ramps as a kid. yes i had a lot of crashes. lol May you rest in peace, Evel.

Too young! Yes, I grew up with Evel and will miss him.

Yep. There were three kits put out by "Addar". All Snap together.1973-74. One was the "EVIL KNIEVEL'S wheelie" Just Evil on his bike and the others were "The Ramp Jump" and the "Sky cycle X2". Again, all were produced by "Addar", which was an off shoot of our beloved Aurora. There was also a series of "Rubber type" action figures. Along with his Motorcycle. You put Evil and his bike on a kind of platform, and using the hand crank, you reved up the bike. Then once it was fully reved, it would de tach and pop wheelies, jump your cat...etc. Fun Times. Of course, they also made the rocket so you could jump your own Snake River.It's another Sad day.

Regards,
BEATLEPAUL

There was also a flying Centuri kit of the sky cycle

http://members.cox.net/retrojayrocket/licensed.html

Here's a link to a slide showing some of Evel's jumps.

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1689856,00.html?xid=feed-netzero-featured

In 1971, when I was in 7th grade, Evel and Billy Jack were big.

The George Hamilton movie was a classic matinee, with Kansas City Bomber.

Yup, in the early 1970's, I was riding my bike up and down hills of dirt out in the fields where I lived next to. We all thought we could be like Evel on our bicycles and would get airborn as much as physically possible and never hurt ourselves.

Today, every one of those empty fields is filled in with houses and office buildings. Now, that I live in Wichita, we have a BMX track that looks like fun. But, I don't feel so lucky anymore.

Well, I guess Mr. Knievel won't be resting in peace after all. Or at least his estate won't: Beating Victim Goes After Knievel Estate (http://news.aol.com/story/_a/beating-victim-goes-after-knievel-estate/20071203162409990001)

Beating Victim Goes After Knievel Estate

By JOHN ROGERS,
Posted: 2007-12-03 19:34:45
Filed Under: Nation News (http://news.aol.com/nation)

LOS ANGELES (Dec. 3) - Of all the bones Evel Knievel broke over the years, the costliest may have been the left arm of a PR man by the name of Shelly Saltman.

Saltman won $12.75 million in damages against Knievel after the motorcycle daredevil attacked him with a baseball bat in 1977 in a rage over a book Saltman had written about the showman.

With interest, the still-uncollected sum has grown to more than $100 million by Saltman's estimate, and he intends to try to collect it.

"We are going hot and heavy after his estate," Saltman told The Associated Press after Knievel died Friday at 69. "What he tried to do to me and how it hurt my family, I'm owed that."

Whether Knievel's estate has that kind of money is unclear.

Knievel's son Kelly would not discuss the size of his father's estate or comment on the dispute. The daredevil's longtime friend and promoter, Billy Rundle, declined to discuss the incident in detail. Knievel's widow, Krystal, was not granting interviews.

Although little remembered today, the incident made headlines worldwide when the death-defying motorcyclist approached Saltman in the parking lot of 20th Century Fox on Sept. 21, 1977, and suddenly started swinging a bat. Saltman, then a studio executive, raised his arm protect his head, a move he says doctors told him probably saved his life.

His arm was shattered and is held together to this day with a steel plate and screws.

Knievel, who broke nearly 40 of his own bones during his many motorcycle stunts, served six months in jail and would never again enjoy the public acclaim he had when he tried unsuccessfully to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon on a jet-powered motorcycle in 1974 - an event Saltman had promoted.

"I've always felt pity for him," said Saltman, 76. "Because of this foolish act, he ruined his career."

Knievel complained at the time that Saltman's book, "Evel Knievel on Tour," insulted his family and portrayed him as "an alcoholic, a pill addict, an anti-Semite and an immoral person."

Saltman compiled the book from tape-recorded interviews with Knievel and others, and maintains it was an accurate and affectionate, if unvarnished, account of Knievel's life.

"I wrote a book about a man who at the time I greatly admired," he said.

He and Knievel never spoke after the attack, Saltman said, though he said the showman approached him over the years through third parties, expressing remorse and offering to settle the judgment. Saltman said the offers were a "pittance" and he turned all of them down.

The Snake River jump might not even have been the most bizarre of Saltman's promotions. Saltman was also the man behind the scenes at Muhammad Ali's 1976 bout with Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki. The two fought to a draw, with Ali punching and Inoki kicking.

But for better or worse, Saltman knows his name will always be linked with Knievel's.

"My first thought was that I do hope the poor man is finally at peace," he said upon learning of Knievel's death.


2007-12-03 16:26:19

I broke my right arm twice and had plates and screws in it after the second break. I'd break it a third time for just the $12 million. Mr. Saltman is being a little greedy at the $120 million level, although, he does deserve somthing for the violence.

sad to see evel go. a thought did occur to me while reading his obit, and all the media hype about his life and death;
Why didnt you see the Health Care industry stand up and pay for a decent funeral and memorial for him?
After all, he was responsible for an entire generation of broken arms, wrists, legs and ankles. everyone in my class tried to be just like him.
And the emergency room visits had to spike after his stunts were aired on 'wide world of sports'.

see you in Butte Montana for Evel Knievel days! :tongue:

I was on an airline recently and opened up the SkyMall magazine. They have the Knievel Signature Racing Set for sale. Here is a link (http://www.skymall.com/shopping/detail.htm?pid=102524531&c=&v=7305662&vendorDirect=true). I remember playing with the Evel Knievel bike set as a kid and it did actually work.

CJT,
Just for the record, none of my 7 broken bones and 4 concussions ever came from trying to mimic Evel. However, the doctors and nurses used to compare all my bone breaking escapades with Evel's. I used to tell them, unlike Evel, I was not getting paid alot of money to break my bones. :P
Roland