Unlike most of today’s stuntmen, Evel Knievel was a true daredevil. Instead of calculating thrust and windspeed and angles, this daredevil just… jumped. There was no math involved in his jumps. He would simple look at the distance to be jumped, make some estimates and… hope for the best. But the best didn’t always come to pass, and Evel Knievel crashed very, very often. Many even think that his incredible popularity was due to his failures more than his successes.
Evel Knievel became a household name in 1967, when he attempted to jump his motorcycle over the fountains of Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. And while he cleared the fountains themselves, his motorcycle crashed, and the daredevil was very badly injured. Knievel was in a coma for a month, but when he came out, he was a very famous man. It was a fame that Evel Knievel didn’t want to let go to waste. After taking some time to heal, the daredevil made his first jump after the disaster at Caesars Palace in 1969, at Cycle Word in Los Angeles, CA. He played it safe, and made this first return jump just a 40-footer-- and 40,000 people cheered him on.
After that, the daredevil got his stride back. In 1970, he jumped 13 cars in Seattle Washington, 11 cars at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and 12 cars on his Harley. That same year, in front of a crowd of 9,000 people, the daredevil attempted to jump fifteen cars-- and almost succeeded. He made it over the vehicles, but lost control when he landed and crashed. Evel Knievel “only” suffered a broken ankle, and --hopping around on one leg-- he talked to a cheering, screaming audience after the crash and received a standing ovation.
The world’s most famous daredevil kept breaking records, breaking bones, and thrilling crowds for several more years before taking on his most famous stunt in 1974. On September 8, Evel Knievel risked life and limb to thrill crowds by riding his “Skycycle” over Snake River Canyon-- even though two previous unmanned test flights of the Skycycle had failed. The daredevil made it over the quarter-mile canyon on his Skycycle, but was blown into the bottom of the canyon when strong winds caught his parachute. Daredevil stuntman Evel Knievel passed away in 2007, but his stunts will live on for years to come. To learn more about this daredevil and his life, visit the Smithsonian Magazine website at: http://www.smithsonianmag.com
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