How old is evel knievel

He broke his pelvis in the fall, but walked out of the stadium. Despite breaking a hand, fracturing two vertebrae and his left pelvis, Knievel changed his mind about retirement three days later. But he would approach his next stunt at Kings Island with uncharacteristic caution. Knievel, on edge and still battered from the Wembley crash, completed the jump to near perfection.

The shark stunt seemed like a good compromise: If promoted properly, it would keep audiences engaged while being, in theory, less risky. But during a practice run for the jump, Knievel, who cleared the tank with ease, landed awkwardly and crashed hard, taking down a cameraman in the process.

Contrary to some widely disseminated accounts, the cameraman did not lose an eye in the wreck. Stunt performer Evel Knievel giving interviews from his hospital bed after suffering a fractured right arm and left collarbone. Superman just doesn't die, right? Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 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 Though Knievel dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, the image of the high-flying motorcyclist clad in patriotic, star-studded colors was never erased from public consciousness.

He always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years. I thought that'd be a good age," Knievel said in an interview with Vanity Fair for a story that will run in the magazine's February issue.

A tombstone company in the East gave it to me when I jumped Snake Canyon. My plot is in Montana. But I'm still here. I really think that there is a hereafter and this is just a testing ground. Years ago I was just helter-skelter. I defied death. And I'm still doing it -- only from a bed instead of a bike. There's just no quit in me. There's just no stopping me. I went through life big-bang-bada-boom-bada-boom. Now it's just bing, but I'm still Evel Knievel.

There's just nothing you could do to stop me. 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.

Knievel made a good living selling his autographs and endorsing products. Thousands came to Butte, Mont. They wanted to associate with someone who kept trying to be a winner.

For the tall, thin daredevil, the limelight was always comfortable, the gab glib. To Knievel, there were always mountains to climb, feats to conquer. And there are things I wish I had done better, not only for me but for the ones I loved. He began his daredevil career in when he formed a troupe called Evel Knievel's Motorcycle Daredevils, a touring show in which he performed stunts such as riding through fire walls, jumping over live rattlesnakes and mountain lions and being towed at mph behind dragster race cars.

In he began touring alone, barnstorming the West and doing everything from driving the trucks, erecting the ramps and promoting the shows. He steadily increased the length of the jumps until, on New Year's Day , he was nearly killed when he jumped feet across the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace.

He cleared the fountains but the crash landing put him in the hospital in a coma for a month. In Knievel announced he had leased a parcel of private land, hired a film crew and an aeronautical engineer. He spent over two years in testing and development and by the fall of , he was ready.

He landed himself a cover on Sports Illustrated that came out only a few days before the September 8, jump. His vehicle, dubbed the Skycycle, was a steam-powered machine that resembled a re-entry vehicle more than a motorcycle. Seconds after the Skycycle rocketed off the launch rail the parachutes deployed and the vehicle drifted helplessly back to earth on the same side of the canyon where he took off.

Just as he landed on the ramp, his rear tire seemed to come down too hard and he bounced off the cycle still running at full throttle. The motorcycle crashed into him and many in the crowd including the announcer, thought this might be the end. After landing in a heap, medics picked him up in a gurney and headed for the ambulance.

He struggled to get off the gurney and walked to a podium where he announced his retirement. Later he stated he had walked into Wembley Stadium and he was going to walk out.

The announcement proved premature as Knievel talked himself into one more jump. The event proved to be his longest successful jump at feet. After an aborted attempt to jump a shark tank in , Knievel went into semi-retirement appearing in small venues and promoting the career of his son Robby Knievel as a daredevil jumper.

In his final years, his career experienced highs and lows. In , he was convicted of assault and battery and sentenced to six months in jail. The episode cost him many of his promotional contracts and he declared bankruptcy in After being fined for soliciting an undercover police woman for prostitution, he and his wife of 38 years divorced. He married his longtime partner Krystal Kennedy in , but later the couple divorced though they remained together. For several years, Knievel had suffered from diabetes and liver problems, the latter believed to have been caused by a bout of hepatitis C, most likely brought on by tainted blood transfusions.

He also suffered from pulmonary fibrosis after too many crashes. On November 30, , Knievel, who defied death for decades, died in Clearwater, Florida.

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. I loved the thrill, the money, the whole macho thing. All those things made me Evel Knievel.

Sure, I was scared. You gotta be an ass not to be scared.