Captain Midnight Posted November 30, 2007 Share Posted November 30, 2007 Sad news...Evel Knievel passed away today at the age of 69. He was a true American icon. I can remember thrilling to all of his exploits when I was a little boy in the 70's. He was one of my childhood heroes. Rest in peace, old friend. I will never forget you. "By MITCH STACY, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago Evel Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday. He was 69. Knievel's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Krysten Knievel. He had been in failing health for years, suffering from diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis, an incurable condition that scarred his lungs. Knievel had undergone a liver transplant in 1999 after nearly dying of hepatitis C, likely contracted through a blood transfusion after one of his bone-shattering spills. Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980. Although he dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, Knievel always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. In later years he still made a good living selling his autographs and endorsing products. Thousands came to Butte, Mont., every year as his legend was celebrated during the "Evel Knievel Days" festival. "They started out watching me bust my ass, and I became part of their lives," Knievel said. "People wanted to associate with a winner, not a loser. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner." His death came just two days after it was announced that he and rapper Kanye West had settled a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video." "Now then, me bullies! Would you rather do the gallows dance, and hang in chains 'til the crows pluck your eyes from your rotten skulls? Or would you feel the roll of a stout ship beneath your feet again?" ---Captain William Kidd--- (1945) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BriarRose Kildare Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 I am deeply saddened by this. I remeber from my childhood and what a big deal it was to see him perform. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. The Dimension of Time is only a doorway to open. A Time Traveler I am and a Lover of Delights whatever they may be. There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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