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75-456: Knievel is a surname of German origin. Notable people with the surname include: Evel Knievel (1938–2007), American stuntman and daredevil Robbie Knievel (1962–2023), American daredevil, son of Evel See also [ edit ] Evel Knievel (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Surname list This page lists people with the surname Knievel . If an internal link intending to refer to

150-467: A Honda motorcycle dealership in Washington , but faced difficulties promoting Japanese imports. After the dealership closed, Knievel worked at a motorcycle shop where he learned motocross stunts that would later contribute to his daredevil career. Knievel's most famous stunt was an attempt to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace , which resulted in severe injuries. Despite never successfully jumping

225-549: A Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show. He left high school early to work in the copper mines but was later fired for causing a city-wide power outage. After adopting the nickname "Evel Knievel", he participated in rodeos and ski jumping events, and served in the U.S. Army before marrying Linda Joan Bork and starting a semi-pro hockey team. To support his family, Knievel started the Sur-Kill Guide Service and later worked as an insurance salesman. Eventually, he opened

300-555: A Judy Garland doll. Two cosmetics-based doll series were launched after World War II: Toni was introduced at the end of the 1940s, followed by the 1950s-dominating Miss Revlon series. Ideal had a hobby division in the 1950s, but shifted from that to games in 1962. By the early 1970s, 30% of the company's sales were games such as Mouse Trap and Hands Down. Doll designer Judith Albert worked for Ideal Toy Company from 1960 to 1982. Master sculptor Vincent J. DeFilippo spent 27 years creating dolls for Ideal from 1963 to 1980 . Some of

375-459: A 1968 interview, Knievel stated, "I don't care if they say, 'Look, kid, you're going to drive that thing off the edge of the Canyon and die,' I'm going to do it. I want to be the first. If they'd let me go to the moon, I'd crawl all the way to Cape Kennedy just to do it. I'd like to go to the moon, but I don't want to be the second man to go there." For the next several years, Knievel negotiated with

450-459: A boy doll launched named the Uneeda Kid, after a biscuit company . It was patented on December 8, 1914. The 15-inch boy doll wore a blue and white bloomer suit and held a box of Uneeda Biscuits under his arm. One of Ideal's most lasting products was Betsy Wetsy , introduced in 1934 and in production for more than 50 years. The doll was named after the daughter of Abraham Katz, the head of

525-473: A decline in his daredevil career, Knievel made a marketing comeback in the 1990s and continued to be involved in various ventures. Knievel died on November 30, 2007, at the age of 69 due to diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis . He was buried in his hometown of Butte, Montana. Posthumously, Knievel has been honored through various exhibits, a museum, and tribute jumps. His legacy also lives on in television commercials featuring his iconic stunts. Knievel

600-477: A few feet from the water on the same side of the canyon from which it had been launched. If he had landed in the water, Knievel said that he would have drowned, due to a harness malfunction that kept him strapped in the vehicle. He survived the failed jump with only minor physical injuries. Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons, Robbie and Kelly. In 2010, Robbie announced he would recreate

675-489: A few months on the job, he quit. Wanting a new start away from Butte, Knievel moved his family to Moses Lake, Washington . There, he opened a Honda motorcycle dealership and promoted motocross racing. During the early 1960s, he and other dealers had difficulty promoting and selling Japanese imports because of the steep competition of their auto industry, and the Moses Lake Honda dealership eventually closed. After

750-462: A film of the Caesars jump. To keep costs low, Derek employed his then-wife Linda Evans as one of the camera operators. It was Evans who filmed the famous landing. On the morning of the jump, Knievel stopped in the casino and placed his last $ 100 on the blackjack table (which he lost), stopped by the bar, and had a shot of Wild Turkey , and then headed outside where he was joined by several members of

825-778: A guest of ABC's The Joey Bishop Show . While in Las Vegas to watch Dick Tiger successfully defend his World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Council (WBC) light heavyweight titles at the Convention Center on November 17, 1967, Knievel first saw the fountains at Caesars Palace and decided to jump them. To get an audience with casino CEO Jay Sarno , Knievel created a fictitious corporation called Evel Knievel Enterprises and three fictitious lawyers to make phone calls to Sarno. Knievel also placed phone calls to Sarno claiming to be from American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and Sports Illustrated inquiring about

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900-440: A jump over 13 redundant single-deck AEC Merlin buses (the term "London Buses" used in earlier publicity had led to the belief that the attempt was to be made over the higher and more traditional AEC Routemaster double-decker type). After the crash, despite breaking his pelvis, Knievel addressed the audience and announced his retirement by stating, "Ladies and gentlemen of this wonderful country, I've got to tell you that you are

975-656: A jump, took place in March 1980 in Puerto Rico. However, Knievel would officially finish his career as a daredevil as a touring "companion" of Robbie's, limiting his performance to speaking only, rather than stunt riding. His final tour appearance with Robbie was in March 1981 in Hollywood, Florida . Ideal Toy Company Morris and Rose Michtom founded the "Ideal Novelty and Toy Company" in Brooklyn when they invented

1050-540: A more substantial amount of money he would need to hire more performers, stunt coordinators, and other personnel so that he could concentrate on the jumps. With little money, he went looking for a sponsor and found one in Bob Blair, owner of ZDS Motors, Inc., the West Coast distributor for Berliner Motor Corporation , a distributor for Norton Motorcycles . Blair offered to provide the needed motorcycles, but he wanted

1125-730: A new world record by jumping 19 cars with his Harley-Davidson XR-750 at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California . The 19-car jump was shot for the biopic Evel Knievel . Knievel held the record for 27 years until Bubba Blackwell jumped 20 cars in 1998 with an XR-750. In 2015, Doug Danger surpassed that number with 22 cars, accomplishing this feat on Evel Knievel's actual vintage 1972 Harley-Davidson XR-750. On May 10, 1970, Knievel crashed while attempting to jump 13 Pepsi delivery trucks in Yakima, WA. His approach

1200-736: A one-day $ 1   million liability insurance to the amusement park. Lloyd's of London offered liability insurance for $ 17,500. Knievel eventually paid $ 2,500 to a U.S.-based insurance company. To keep his name in the news, Knievel proposed his biggest stunt ever, a motorcycle jump across the Grand Canyon . Just five months after his near-fatal crash in Las Vegas, Knievel performed another jump. On May 25, 1968, in Scottsdale, Arizona , Knievel crashed while attempting to jump 15 Ford Mustangs . Knievel ended up breaking his right leg and foot as

1275-499: A result of the crash. On August 3, 1968, Knievel returned to jumping, making more money than ever before. He was earning approximately $ 25,000 per performance, and he was making successful jumps almost weekly until October 13, in Carson City, Nevada . While trying to stick the landing, he lost control of the bike and crashed, breaking his hip again. By 1971, Knievel realized that the U.S. government would never allow him to jump

1350-517: A severely broken arm and several broken ribs. The crash and subsequent stay in the hospital were a publicity windfall. With each successful jump, the public wanted him to jump one more car. On March 25, 1967, Knievel cleared 15 cars at Ascot Park in Gardena, California . Then he attempted the same jump on July 28, 1967, in Graham, Washington , where he had his next serious crash. Landing his cycle on

1425-625: A specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name (s) to the link. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knievel&oldid=1133617504 " Categories : Surnames German-language surnames Hidden categories: Articles with short description Short description is different from Wikidata All set index articles Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel ( / ˈ iː v ə l k ə ˈ n iː v ə l / ),

1500-668: The Guinness Book of World Records as the survivor of "most bones broken in a lifetime". However, this number could be exaggerated: his son Robbie told a reporter in June 2014 that his father had broken 40 to 50 bones; Knievel himself claimed he broke 35. Although Knievel never attempted to jump the Grand Canyon, rumors of the Canyon jump were started by Knievel himself in 1968, following the Caesars Palace crash. During

1575-584: The 1960 Winter Olympics (to be held in California). Knievel was ejected from the game minutes into the third period and left the stadium. When the Czechoslovakian officials went to the box office to collect the expense money that the team was promised, workers discovered the game receipts had been stolen. The United States Olympic Committee ended up paying the Czechoslovakian team's expenses to avoid an international incident. Knievel tried out with

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1650-612: The Caesars Palace jump was longer, it ended in a crash). In the end, Knievel was featured in seven of the ten highest-rated episodes of ABC's Wide World of Sports . After the Kings Island jump, Knievel again announced his retirement. His retirement was once again short-lived, and Knievel continued to jump. However, after the lengthy Kings Island jump, Knievel limited the remainder of his career jumps to shorter and more attainable lengths. Knievel jumped on October 31, 1976, at

1725-596: The Charlotte Clippers of the Eastern Hockey League in 1959, but decided that a traveling team was not for him. After the birth of his first son, Kelly, Knievel realized that he needed to come up with a new way to support his family financially. Using the hunting and fishing skills taught to him by his grandfather, Knievel started the Sur-Kill Guide Service. He guaranteed that if a hunter employed his service and paid his fee, he would get

1800-527: The Combined Insurance Company of America , working for W. Clement Stone . Stone suggested that Knievel read Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude , a book that Stone wrote with Napoleon Hill . Knievel credited much of his later success to Stone and his book. Knievel was successful as an insurance salesman, but felt that his efforts were being unrecognized. When the company refused to promote him to vice president after he had been

1875-688: The Cow Palace in Daly City, California , after making a successful jump, he tried to come to a quick stop because of a short landing area. He reportedly suffered a broken back and a concussion after getting thrown off and run over by his motorcycle, a Harley-Davidson. Knievel returned to jumping in November 1973, when he successfully jumped over 50 stacked cars at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . For 35 years, Knievel held

1950-998: The Grand Canyon , Knievel became a legendary figure, breaking numerous records and bones throughout his career. On September 8, 1974, Knievel attempted to jump across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho using a rocket-powered cycle called the Skycycle X-2. The jump failed after the parachute deployed prematurely, but Knievel survived with minor injuries. Knievel sought to profit from his image through endorsements and marketing deals. American Eagle Motorcycles signed him, and his popularity grew with young boys. From 1972 to 1977, Ideal Toy Company sold over $ 125 million worth of Knievel toys. Knievel's fame led to TV appearances and partnerships with companies like AMF and Harley-Davidson . However, after an assault conviction and jail time, he lost endorsements and declared bankruptcy. Despite

2025-625: The Rubik's Cube craze, Ideal filed civil suits in May 1981 against dozens of distributors and retailers selling knockoff cubes. In May 1981, Joseph Winkler was named Ideal's president, succeeding Lionel Weintraub, who remained chairman and CEO. In 1982, the company moved its headquarters from Hollis, Queens , to Harmon Meadow , New Jersey. It was sold to CBS Toys later that year for around $ 58 million. In 1984, CBS sold Ideal to Viewmaster International , which renamed itself "View-Master Ideal" in

2100-545: The Teddy bear in 1903. Rose had made the original "Teddy's Bear" for their children. Morris and Rose sent a bear to President "Teddy" Roosevelt, as well as asking permission to use his name for the bear. Roosevelt "adopted" the bear and had it present in his campaign and on display at White House functions. After Morris Michtom's death in 1938, the company changed its name to the "Ideal Toy Company", and Michtom's nephew Abraham Katz became chief executive. During World War II ,

2175-472: The same name . After that Ideal began making a line of baby and character dolls such as Naughty Marietta (from the Victor Herbert operetta), and Admiral Dot . Ideal advertised their dolls as "unbreakable," since they were made of composition , a material made of sawdust and glue, rather than ceramics. Ideal produced over 200 variations of dolls throughout the composition era. In 1914, Ideal had

2250-456: The Caesars staff, as well as two showgirls. After doing his normal pre-jump show and a few warm-up approaches, Knievel began his real approach. When he hit the takeoff ramp, he said later, he felt the motorcycle unexpectedly decelerate. The sudden loss of power on the takeoff caused Knievel to come up short and land on the safety ramp which was supported by a van. This caused the handlebars to be ripped out of his hands as he tumbled over them onto

2325-603: The Grand Canyon. To keep his fans interested, Knievel considered several other stunts that might match the publicity that would have been generated by jumping the canyon. Ideas included jumping across the Mississippi River , jumping from one skyscraper to another in New York City, and jumping over 13 cars inside the Houston Astrodome . While flying back to Butte from a performance tour, he looked out

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2400-510: The Juna Group to represent worldwide select Ideal brands (not included in the sale to Poof-Slinky) in all categories outside of toys and playthings. In 2023, this license agreement was acquired from The Juna Group by CSN Press LLC, publishers of the weekly newspaper, Comic Shop News . Ideal began making dolls in 1907 to complement its line of teddy bears . Their first doll was “Yellow Kid” from Richard Felton Outcault 's comic strip of

2475-595: The Seattle Kingdome. He jumped only seven Greyhound buses but it was a success. Despite the crowd's pleasure, Knievel felt that it was not his best jump, and apologized to the crowd. On January 31, 1977, Knievel was scheduled for a major jump in Chicago , Illinois . The jump was inspired by the 1975 film Jaws . Knievel was scheduled to jump a tank full of live sharks which would be televised live nationally. However, during his rehearsal, Knievel lost control of

2550-568: The U.S. Ideal CEO Abraham Katz was named president of the new company. In 1953, Ideal won the licensing rights to produce the U.S. Forest Service 's Smokey Bear . They kept their licensing until 1968 when the U.S. Forest Service switched to Knickerbocker. In 1968, Ideal joined the New York Stock Exchange. In 1968, the American Character Doll Company filed for bankruptcy, and Ideal acquired

2625-567: The X-1 was launched to test the feasibility of the launching ramp. The decision was then made to have Truax build two Skycycle X-2s , one to test and one for the actual jump. Both the X-1 and the X-2 test vehicles went into the river. The launch took place at the south rim of the Snake River Canyon, west of Shoshone Falls , on September 8, 1974, at 3:36 p.m. MDT . The steam that powered

2700-559: The age of eight, Knievel attended a Joie Chitwood auto daredevil show, which he credited for his later career choice as a motorcycle daredevil . Knievel was a cousin of Democratic U.S. Representative from Montana , Pat Williams (b. 1937). Knievel left Butte High School after his sophomore year and got a job in the copper mines as a diamond drill operator with the Anaconda Mining Company , but he preferred motorbiking to what he called "unimportant stuff". He

2775-680: The big game animal desired or Knievel would refund his fee. Knievel, after learning about the culling of elk in Yellowstone, decided to hitchhike from Butte to Washington, D.C. , in December 1961 to raise awareness and to have the elk relocated to areas where hunting was permitted. After this conspicuous trek (he hitchhiked with a 54-inch-wide (1.4-meter) rack of elk antlers and a petition with 3,000 signatures), he presented his case to Representative Arnold Olsen , Senator Mike Mansfield , and Interior Secretary Stewart Udall . Culling

2850-613: The closure, Knievel went to work for Don Pomeroy at his motorcycle shop in Sunnyside, Washington . Pomeroy's son, Jim Pomeroy , who went on to compete in the Motocross World Championship , taught Knievel how to do a wheelie and ride while standing on the seat of the bike. As a boy, Knievel had seen the Joie Chitwood show. He decided that he could do something similar using a motorcycle. Promoting

2925-494: The common movie posters for the film depicts Knievel jumping his motorcycle off a (likely) Grand Canyon cliff. In 1999, his son Robbie jumped a portion of the Grand Canyon owned by the Hualapai Indian Reservation. ABC's Wide World of Sports was unwilling to pay the price Knievel wanted for the Snake River Canyon jump, so he hired boxing promoter Bob Arum 's company, Top Rank Productions, to put

3000-709: The company in 1941 and rose to become president, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer. Winkler joined Ideal in 1956, rising to vice president by 1971. In 1951, Ideal partnered with its competitors the American Character Doll Company and the Alexander Doll Company to establish the United States-Israeli Toy and Plastic Corporation. The company was created to produce material for toys in Israel;

3075-582: The company's most popular dolls during this period were Tammy (1962–1966), Flatsy dolls (1969–1973), Crissy (1969–1974), and Tressy (1970–1972). Popular Ideal toys in the 1970s included a full line of Evel Knievel toys, Snoopy toys, and the Tuesday Taylor and Wake-up Thumbelina dolls. For a short time, the company had a huge seller with the Magic Cube , which it imported from Hungary in 1980 and renamed Rubik's Cube . The Rubik's Cube

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3150-521: The company's value rose from $ 2 million all the way to $ 11 million. The company's dolls were so popular during the post–World War II baby boom era, they began selling dolls under license in Canada , Australia , the United Kingdom , and Brazil . Key Ideal employees during the 1950s, '60s, and '70s were Lionel A. Weintraub and Joseph C. Winkler. Weintraub, the son-in-law of Abraham Katz, joined

3225-661: The company. Ideal, via the Betsy Wetsy doll, was also one of the first doll manufacturers to produce an African American version of a popular doll. In 2003, the Toy Industry Association named Betsy Wetsy to its Century of Toys List, a compilation commemorating the 100 most memorable and most creative toys of the 20th century. Debuting in 1934, the Shirley Temple doll was their best-selling doll. Ideal followed this with licensed Disney dolls and

3300-590: The defunct company's dyes, patents, and trademarks, as well as specific products like the " Tressy " Gro-Hair doll. In late 1971, Ideal joined the New York Stock Exchange ; valued at $ 71 million, it was one of the U.S.'s top three toy companies. By 1970, Ideal had outgrown its manufacturing complex in Hollis, Queens . The company wanted to build a new plant in College Point, Queens , but

3375-430: The documentary Absolute Evel: The Evel Knievel Story . Later that year on the sitcom Happy Days , motorcycle-riding character Fonzie ( Henry Winkler ) performed a similar trick, albeit on waterskis, inspiring the creation of the phrase " jump the shark ." Afterward, Knievel retired from major performances and limited his appearances to smaller venues to help launch Robbie's career. His last stunt show, not including

3450-462: The engine was superheated to a temperature of 500 degrees Fahrenheit (260 degrees Celsius). The drogue parachute prematurely deployed as the Skycycle left the launching rail and induced significant drag . Even though the craft made it across the canyon to the north rim, the prevailing northwest winds caused it to drift back into the canyon. By the time it hit the bottom of the canyon, it landed only

3525-491: The event on closed-circuit television and broadcast to movie theaters. Investors in the event took a substantial loss, including promoter Don   E. Branker, as well as Vince McMahon of what was then called the World Wide Wrestling Federation . Arum partnered with Invest West Sports, Shelly Saltman 's company, to secure from Invest West Sports two things: first, the necessary financing for

3600-478: The federal government to secure a jumping site and develop various concept bikes to make the jump, but the Interior Department denied him airspace over the northern Arizona canyon. Knievel switched his attention in 1971 to the Snake River Canyon in southern Idaho . In the 1971 film Evel Knievel , George Hamilton (as Knievel) alludes to the canyon jump in the final scene of the movie. One of

3675-586: The jump, and second, the services of Saltman, long recognized as one of America's premier public relations and promotion men, to do publicity so that Knievel could concentrate on his jumps. Knievel hired aeronautical engineer Doug Malewicki to build him a rocket-powered cycle to jump across the Snake River , and called it the Skycycle X-1. Malewicki's creation was powered by a steam engine built by former Aerojet engineer Robert Truax . On April 15, 1972,

3750-588: The jump. Stuntman Eddie Braun announced he was working with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. Braun's jump took place on September 16, 2016, and was completed successfully. After the Snake River jump, Knievel returned to motorcycle jumping with ABC's Wide World of Sports televising several jumps. On May 26, 1975, in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London , Knievel crashed while trying to land

3825-465: The jump. Sarno finally agreed to meet Knievel and arranged for Knievel to jump the fountains on December 31, 1967. After the deal was set, Knievel tried to get ABC to air the event live on their popular Wide World of Sports . ABC declined but said that if Knievel had the jump filmed and it was as spectacular as he said it would be, they would consider using it later. Knievel, at the age of 29, used his own money to have actor/director John Derek produce

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3900-587: The last people in the world who will ever see me jump. Because I will never, ever, ever jump again. I'm through." Near shock and ignoring Frank Gifford 's (of ABC's Wide World of Sports ) plea to use a stretcher, Knievel walked off the Wembley pitch stating, "I came in walking, I went out walking!" After recuperating, Knievel decided that he had spoken too soon and that he would continue jumping. On October 25, 1975, Knievel jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio . Although Knievel landed on

3975-495: The last vehicle, a panel truck, Knievel was thrown from his bike. This time he suffered a serious concussion. After a month, he recovered and returned to Graham on August 18 to finish the show; but the result was the same, only this time the injuries were more serious. Again coming up short, Knievel crashed, breaking his left wrist, right knee, and two ribs. Knievel first received national exposure on March 18, 1968, when comedian and late-night talk show host Joey Bishop had him on as

4050-407: The motorcycle and crashed into a cameraman. Although Knievel broke his arms, he was more distraught over what he claimed was a permanent eye injury to cameraman Thomas Geren. The cameraman was admitted to the hospital and received treatment for an injury near his eye, but received no permanent injury. The footage of this crash was so upsetting to Knievel that he did not show the clip for 19 years until

4125-543: The name changed from Bobby Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils Thrill Show to Evil Knievel and His Motorcycle Daredevils . Knievel did not want his image to be that of a Hells Angels rider, so he convinced Blair to at least allow him to use the spelling Evel instead of Evil . Knievel and his daredevils debuted on January 3, 1966, at the National Date Festival in Indio, California . The second booking

4200-464: The pavement where he skidded into the Dunes hotel parking lot. As a result of the crash, Knievel suffered a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist, and both ankles, and a concussion that kept him in the hospital. Rumors circulated that he was in a coma for 29 days in the hospital, but this was refuted by his wife and others in the documentary film Being Evel . The Caesars Palace crash

4275-504: The performance he had started almost a month earlier. Knievel's daredevil show broke up after the Barstow performance because injuries prevented him from performing. After recovering, Knievel started traveling from small town to small town as a solo act. To get ahead of other motorcycle stunt people who were jumping animals or pools of water, Knievel started jumping cars. He began adding more and more cars to his jumps when he would return to

4350-767: The process. In 1989, View-Master Ideal was bought by Tyco Toys of Mt. Laurel, New Jersey , for $ 43.9 million. The Ideal line remained part of Tyco until Tyco's merger with Mattel, Inc. , in 1997. Ideal's United Kingdom assets were sold to Hasbro , which has since released Mouse Trap and KerPlunk under its MB Games brand. Other toys that originated with Ideal continue to be marketed and sold by other companies, including Rubik's Cube by Hasbro and Magic 8-ball by Mattel . The Ideal trademarks, and most toy molds not purchased by Hasbro or Mattel, were purchased by Jay Horowitz of American Plastic Equipment, who later transferred all rights to American Plastic Equipment's subsidiary, American Classic Toys. Mr. Horowitz licensed

4425-547: The record for jumping the most stacked cars on a Harley-Davidson XR-750 (the record was broken in October 2008). His historic XR-750 is now part of the collection of the Smithsonian 's National Museum of American History . Made of steel, aluminum, and fiberglass, the customized motorcycle weighs about 140 kilograms (300 pounds). During his career, Knievel may have suffered more than 433 bone fractures, earning an entry in

4500-421: The safety deck above the 14th bus, his landing was successful and he held the record for jumping the most buses on a Harley-Davidson for 24 years (until broken by Bubba Blackwell in late 1999 with 15 at 157 feet (48 m)). The Kings Island event scored the highest viewer ratings in the history of ABC's Wide World of Sports and would serve as Knievel's longest successful jump at 133 feet (41 m) (although

4575-460: The same venue to get people to come out and see him again. Knievel had not had a serious injury since the Barstow performance, but on June 19 in Missoula, Montana , he attempted to jump twelve cars and a cargo van. The distance he had for takeoff did not allow him to get up enough speed. His back wheel hit the top of the van while his front wheel hit the top of the landing ramp. Knievel ended up with

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4650-442: The show himself, Knievel rented the venue, wrote the press releases, set up the show, sold the tickets, and served as his own master of ceremonies. After enticing the small crowd with a few wheelies, he proceeded to jump a 20-foot-long (6.1-meter) box of rattlesnakes and two mountain lions. Despite landing short and his back wheel hitting the box containing the rattlesnakes, Knievel managed to land safely. Knievel realized that to make

4725-537: The track team, where he was a pole vaulter . After his army stint, Knievel returned to Butte, where he met and married his first wife, Linda Joan Bork. Shortly after getting married, Knievel started the Butte Bombers, a semi-pro hockey team. To help promote his team and earn some money, he convinced the Czechoslovakian Olympic ice hockey team to play the Butte Bombers in a warm-up game to

4800-553: The trademark and toy rights to Plaza Toys, to be used on its Fiddlestix building sticks products, and eventually sold the mark and toy rights in January 2011 to Poof- Slinky . In January 2014, the Ideal brand and toy rights became part of a new company, Alex Brands, after the May 2013 acquisition of Alex Toys by Propel Equity Partners. In early 2019, Jay Horowitz of American Classic Toys entered into an exclusive license agreement with

4875-662: The window of his airplane and saw the Snake River Canyon. After finding a location just east of Twin Falls, Idaho , that was wide enough, deep enough, and on private property, he leased 300 acres (1.2 square kilometers) for $ 35,000 to stage his jump. He set the date for Labor Day (September 4), 1972. On January 7–8, 1971, Knievel set a sales record at the Houston Astrodome by selling over 100,000 tickets to back-to-back performances there. On February 28, he set

4950-451: Was Knievel's longest attempted motorcycle jump at 141 feet (43 m). After his crash and recovery, Knievel was more famous than ever. ABC declined to air the event live on Wide World of Sports. The Caesars Palace historical jump video is now owned by K and K Promotions, Inc which is the successor in interest and owner of all Evel Knievel trademarks, film footage, and copyrights. In a 1971 interview with Dick Cavett , Knievel stated that he

5025-631: Was a man named William Knofel, who had the nickname “Awful Knofel”; this led to Knievel being referred to as “Evel Knievel”. Seeking new thrills and challenges, Knievel participated in local professional rodeos and ski jumping events, including winning the Northern Rocky Mountain Ski Association Class A Men's ski jumping championship in 1959. During the late 1950s, Knievel joined the United States Army . His athletic ability allowed him to join

5100-432: Was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps . Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida , in 2007, aged   69. Evel Knievel was born in Butte, Montana . Raised by his paternal grandparents, Knievel was inspired to become a motorcycle daredevil after attending

5175-523: Was born on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana , the first of two children of Robert E. and Ann Marie Keough Knievel. His surname is of German origin; his paternal great-great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Germany. His mother was of Irish ancestry. Robert and Ann divorced in 1940, after the 1939 birth of their second child, Nicolas, known as Nic. Both parents decided to leave Butte. Knievel and his brother were raised in Butte by their paternal grandparents, Ignatius and Emma Knievel. At

5250-427: Was complicated by the fact that he had to start on pavement, cut across grass, and then return to pavement. His lack of speed caused the motorcycle to come down on its front wheel first. He managed to hold on until the cycle hit the base of the ramp. After being thrown off, he skidded for 50 feet (15 m). He broke his collarbone, suffered a compound fracture of his right arm, and broke both legs. On March 3, 1972, at

5325-456: Was in Hemet, California , but was canceled due to rain. The next performance was on February 10, in Barstow, California . During the performance, Knievel attempted a new stunt in which he would jump, spread-eagled , over a speeding motorcycle. Knievel jumped too late and the motorcycle hit him in the groin, tossing him 15 feet (4.6 m) into the air. He was hospitalized as a result of his injuries. When released, he returned to Barstow to finish

5400-420: Was promoted to surface duty, where he drove a large earth mover . Knievel was fired when he made the earth mover do a motorcycle-type wheelie and accidentally drove it into Butte's main power line, leaving the city without electricity for several hours. Knievel's website says that he chose his nickname after spending a night in jail in 1956 after being arrested for reckless driving. In the same jail that night

5475-440: Was stopped in the late 1960s. After returning home to the west from Washington, D.C., he joined the motocross circuit and had moderate success, but he still could not make enough money to support his family. In 1962, Knievel broke his collarbone and shoulder in a motocross accident. The doctors said he could not race for at least six months. Still needing to help support his family, he again switched careers and sold insurance for

5550-739: Was unable to strike a deal with the Lindsay administration. Consequently, the company opened a new facility in Newark, New Jersey , in the early 1970s, while continuing to operate its factory in Hollis. In 1979, a Hungarian inventor, Erno Rubik , pitched his "Magic Cube" to Ideal Toy Company, who renamed it the "Rubik's cube." The toy was sold in stores beginning in 1980. Ideal had earnings of $ 3.7 million in fiscal year 1979–1980, but lost $ 15.5 million in fiscal year 1980–1981. (Sales both years averaged around $ 150 million.) Trying to maximize profits on

5625-459: Was uninsurable following the Caesars' crash, stating, "I have trouble getting life insurance, accident insurance, hospitalization and even insurance for my automobile   ... Lloyd's of London has rejected me 37 times so if you hear the rumor that they insure anybody, don't pay too much attention to it." Four years later, a clause in Knievel's contract to jump 14 buses at Kings Island required

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