This article will explore the life and career of extreme-sports sensation, evel Knievel. It will also explore his criminal background and daredevil appearances. Whether you’re a fan or not, you’ll find the information you need here. This article is a quick reference for anyone interested in learning more about this legendary athlete. While we don’t have all the details, we can explore some of the most important facts about his death and career.
Table of Contents
evel knievel’s career
After making a number of daring jumps and falling from airplanes, Evel Knievel became infamous for his stunts. His harrowing crashes and injuries were enough to make most people question how he managed to keep going. Knievel would repeatedly land in the hospital and then get back on his motorbike and attempt to cheat death again. Knievel broke nearly every bone in his body during his 15-year career.
Although he was wealthy and had an impressive resume, his early life was not without incident. After stealing his first motorcycle at age thirteen, Knievel began to get into trouble with the law, and was arrested. The incident left Butte in total darkness for hours. Knievel spent his first night in jail, where he met the man who would become his iconic nickname: “Awful Kniefel.”
During his final days, Knievel fought idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and diabetes. After his death, he was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Butte, Montana. Despite the fact that his death has been largely forgotten, Knievel’s career remains an icon in American pop culture. It’s hard to imagine how he could have been so admired by so many people.
After his career as a daredevil continued, Knievel tried to make money in other ways. He dropped out of high school during his sophomore year. He worked for the Anaconda Mining Company as a diamond drill operator. In his spare time, he became a motocross champion, and his popularity soared. He also founded the Butte Bombers hockey team.
Evel Knievel married Linda Joan Bork in the late ’50s and had four children together. His son Robert III also became a stunt performer like his father. However, his marriage was not as perfect as it should have been. His unbridled ego led to a split in his relationship with Linda Bork, who died of a drug overdose.
After his performance in Barstow, Evel Knievel toured alone. He erected ramps, drove trucks, and promoted his shows. One of his biggest stunts involved jumping 141 feet over a fountain near Las Vegas. Afterward, he crashed violently and was unconscious for 31 days. Even though he was hampered by illness and injury, his stunts and career continued to pay off.
After his jail term, Evel Knievel sought new challenges. He participated in rodeos and ski jumping events. He even won a ski jumping championship. Later, after he was released from prison, he joined the U.S. Army, where he excelled in the sport. Even though his stunts and death took a toll on his health, he eventually managed to become a millionaire and became an icon of the 1960s.
Despite his legendary status, Evel Knievel was born in Butte, Montana. His parents had divorced and left him with his grandparents. As a teenager, he had trouble in school, dropping out after two years. He went on to work in the copper mines as a diamond drill operator and played hockey professionally. He was later arrested for robbing a bank.
his daredevil appearances
Many people are familiar with Evel Knievel as the legendary American daredevil. Born and raised in Butte, Montana, he rose to fame as a wild boy who lived up to his legend. He did insane stunts for fame, including cheating on his wife and being jailed for assault. He also suffered a number of injuries throughout his 15-year career. Despite his popularity, he led a somewhat tumultuous life.
In 1965, Evel Knievel formed a motorcycle stunt group called the “Evel Knievel Motorcycle Daredevils” and barnstormed the western states. In 1968, he went solo and performed some of his most famous stunts, including leaping over a fountain at Caesars Palace. After recovering from his accident, he began jumping over cars to gain an advantage over other motorcycle stuntmen. He was seriously injured during this stunt, and he was unable to perform for a month. In 1969, he announced that he would perform his first solo jump over 52 wrecked cars at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
In his last decade, Knievel devoted himself to touring as a solo daredevil, driving trucks and erecting ramps for his stunts. His career had a high point in September 1974, when he tried to launch a rocket-powered “Skycycle” over the Snake River Canyon. He fell over 141 feet and landed on the parking lot, suffering multiple fractures. He was unconscious for 31 days. Nevertheless, despite his injuries, he was still able to earn plenty of money.
His life-threatening injuries caused many to consider him an irreplaceable legend. In addition to breaking his collarbone, he also suffered a compound fracture in his right arm and broke both legs. But his infamous life as a daredevil was not over. The last few years of his life were a blur. But despite these setbacks, Knievel continued to appear on the television screen.
The infamous entrepreneur also referred to himself as “Evil Knievel” before his death. His last name, William Knofel, rhymed with “Awful” and he chose to misspell his name in order to avoid connotations associated with that word. He remained a daredevil until his death, and even acted as a trainer for many stuntmen before his death.
In addition to a long list of famous stunts, Evel Knievel also tried to jump a fountain in Las Vegas. His stunt ended in an untimely crash, and he was hospitalized for several weeks. However, his fame returned after he came out of his coma and began performing stunts again. Despite the devastating accident, he recovered and resumed his daredevil appearances before he died.
Even though he died in 2007, his life still carries significance for the motorbike world. A ’70s kid with a ‘Knifevel scar has become an emblem of youth. In 1967, his emergence on the world stage as a daredevil was the first step on the path to success. Knievel remained an icon until his death, inspiring the creation of a new generation of motorbike daredevils.
his criminal past
As “America’s Legendary Daredevil”, Evel Knievel is forever associated with death-defying stunts. But his criminal past is tainted with multiple arrests. His first arrest came in 1994, when he was caught driving without a breathalyzer device, and his subsequent conviction led to the loss of his driver’s license. He also confessed to having a drinking problem.
A man with an unusual background, Evel Knievel was born Robert Craig Kniefel in Butte, Montana, to a single mother and a stepfather. During his adolescence, he was an athlete who excelled in ice hockey, skiing, and track and field. However, his troubled past meant he ended up in jail several times. A brief stint in jail forced him to change his name and become known as “Evel Knievel.”
According to the FBI file, Evel Knievel was linked to several vicious beatings of rival daredevils. In one case, he even admitted to beating one of them half to death with a baseball bat. Yet, despite all these trials and apologies, Knievel’s criminal past never stopped him from achieving his goals. No matter how high the Grand Canyon or how high the mountain, he never backed down.
In 1976, Evel Knievel jumped seven Greyhound buses, which earned him a $1 million prize. The video captured the jump’s sensational coverage and made Knievel a household name. But did his criminal past come to light? The answer to this question is complicated. Evel Knievel’s past has been a major part of his fame for more than four decades.
Evel Knievel’s career as a professional hunter didn’t end there. He made a lot of money as a tracker for hunters, guaranteeing them big game. In fact, he was so good at hunting that he even snuck into Yellowstone Park to illegally poach elk. And he made a few more appearances in daredevil sports after that.
As a child, Knievel started doing stunts on a motorcycle as a way to support his family. His stunts were soon so spectacular that people would pay money to watch him perform. His exploits became so famous, that he even had his own museum in Topeka. A museum opened up in June, and visitors can view more than 40 X-rays of his body.
Then there was the time when his stunt motorcyclist father was arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence. His sport utility car rear-ended another Honda and a chain-reaction crash occurred. Fortunately, no one was injured in the accident. Robbie Knievel then drove off, but was later found a few blocks away. The police arrested him and booked him for refusal to take a breathalyzer test.