Iconic daredevil Evel Knievel died on Friday, November 30th at his home in Clearwater, Florida, at the age of 69. Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after he'd contracted Hepatitis C from a blood transfusion after one of his many motorcycle accidents, but he ultimately succumbed to diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis.
Knievel, born Robert Craig Knievel, earned his daredevil reputation for such wild stunts as motorcycle jumps over Greyhound buses, live sharks, a failed attempt at both Idaho's Snake River Canyon, and a botched one at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. By the time he retired, in 1980, he had suffered nearly 40 broken bones. His 47-year-old son Kelly Knievel told the Associated Press, "I think he lived 20 years longer than most people would have" after so many injuries. "I think he willed himself into an extra five or six years."
Knievel began his career in 1965, riding through fire walls, jumping over live rattlesnakes and mountain lions and being towed at 200 m.p.h. behind dragster race cars with his troupe, Evel Knievel's Motorcyle Daredevils. The following year, he went solo, charging $500 to jump over two cars, then eventually lengthening the obstacles for more outrageous jumps.
Just two days prior to his death, rapper Kanye West had met with Knievel at his home to settle a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in one of West's music videos.
Over the last 25 years, Knievel made a career out of selling his autographs and endorsing products, focusing on the yearly Evel Knievel Days Festival in Butte, Montana, which thousands would attend. "They started out watching me bust my ass, and I become part of their lives," he said of his fans. "People wanted to associate with a winner, not a loser. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner."
"The phrase one-of-a-kind is often used, but it probably applies best to Bobby Knievel," said U.S. Rep. Pat Williams, D-Mont., who grew up with Knievel in Butte, Montana. "He was an amazing athlete... He was sharp as a tack, one of the smartest people I've ever known and finally, as the world knows, no one had more guts than Bobby. He was simply unafraid of anything."
Knievel divorced his wife Linda Joan Bork in the early '90s, after over 30 years of marriage. They had four children -- Kelly, Tracey, Alicia and Robbie, who followed in his father's footsteps as a daredevil. He also had 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He married Krystal Kennedy-Knievel in 1999 and divorced a few years later, although they remained friends.
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