Evel Knievel tribute by Richard Hammond
today we’ve decided to feature a very different type of video … naked truth sort of thing …
shortly before Evel Knievel death (11/30/07) Richard Hammond from Top Gear meets his childhood hero - the most famous motorcycle daredevil in the world and interviews him for the last time. In this documentary you get the last glimpse of the stunt man legend - Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel broke Guinness Book of World Records several times, including his record 40 broken bones (over 400 fractures). [wiki]
His longest sucessfull jump was 14 Greyhound buses - about 122 feet. a 1/3 of today’s record of 322 feet by Robbie Maddison.
* Jan. I, 1968 - Crashed in an attempt to clear the fountains at Caesar’s Palace in Los Vegas
* Sept. 20, 1970 - Successfully cleared 13 cars in Seattle, WA
* Jan. 8, 1971 - Again clearing 13 cars he drew a then record crowd to the Houston Astrodome
* Feb. 28, 1971 - Set World record at Ontario, CA by jumping 19 Dodge cars.
* May 10, 1971 - Crashed in an attempt to clear 13 Pepsi Cola trucks in Yakima, WA
* March 3, 1972 - Suffered serious injury in San Francisco’s Cow Palace when his motorcycle crashed in a very difficult landing area.
* Feb. 18, 1973 - Taking off from the highest ski-style jump ramp ever used he thrilled the crowd of 35,000 by flying over 50 cars stacked in the center of the Los Angeles Colliseum
* August 20, 1974 - In his last jump before the famous do-or-die Snake River Canyon attempt, he soared 135 feet over 13 eight foot wide Mack Trucks at the Canadian National Exposition.
* Sept. 8, 1974 - After two unsuccessful unmanned test flights Evel decided to keep his word to his fans and risked his life in a specially constructed rocket powered “Skycycle” in an attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Even though he made it across the quarter mile wide chasm, strong winds blew the malfunctioning parachute back into the canyon, landing just a few feet from the swirling river in which he would have surely drowned.
* May 31, 1975 - A record crowd of over 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in London, England watched as Evel crashed upon landing, breaking his pelvis after clearing 13 double-tiered buses.
* October 25, 1975 - Defiant after the Wembley crash, Evel successfully jumped 14 Greyhound buses at King’s Island in Ohio.
In the course of his career Evel Knievel attempted more than 300 jumps, of which 276 were successful.
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