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Announcer: The following program
is brought to you
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in living color.
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( Theme music playing )
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Carson: Tonight we have
evel knievel.
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He's probably
the only man in history
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who's become really wealthy
by trying to kill himself.
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It's true.
He is somewhat of a legend.
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He does incredible stunts
with motorcycles,
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and he has broken,
I guess, more bones
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than anybody in history,
and yet he keeps at this.
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So let us meet the gentlemen.
Here is evel knievel.
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( Lively music plays,
applause )
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Johnny Knoxville:
I grew up in the '70s.
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And evel knievel was the '70s.
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He captured my imagination
like no one else.
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Some of you may have seen
this film before.
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This is a jump that you made
at Caesars Palace.
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What happened?
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Knievel: The motorcycle
landed short,
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ripped the handlebars
out of my hands,
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and I bounced for 60 yards
into the dunes parking lot.
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Carson: God.
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You're an incredible man.
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Knoxville: I didn't think of him
as a daredevil.
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I thought of him
as a superhero.
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No one ever went for it
like that before.
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He invented that.
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Since then, it has taken off
in a major way.
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That's such a large part
of our culture now.
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He inspired all that.
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But there'll never be
another evel.
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I know I've been called a lot
of things by a lot of people,
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- a crazy man or a con man...
- Carson: Mm-hmm.
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But when you head down
that long white line,
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you better have had
made your peace with God,
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and you better know
what you're doing
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because a con man
ain't gonna get there.
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I didn't know
the story of the man.
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And it was, you know,
pretty complex.
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California judge has ordered
motorcycle stuntman evel knievel
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to serve out the rest
of a jail sentence behind bars.
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I'm a grown-ass man,
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and some of the stuff
is tough to reconcile.
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It's a crazy story.
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It's just fast, faster,
and disaster.
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( T. Rex's "20th century boy"
plays )
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¶ Friends say it's fine,
friends say it's good ¶
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¶ everybody says
it's just like rock n' roll ¶
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¶ I move like a cat,
charge like a ram ¶
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¶ sting like a bee ¶
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¶ babe, I wanna be your man ¶
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¶ hey ¶
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¶ well, it's plain to see
you were meant for me ¶
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¶ yeah, I'm your boy,
the 20th century toy ¶
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¶ yeah ¶
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¶ 20th century toy ¶
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¶ I wanna be your boy ¶
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¶ 20th century toy ¶
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¶ I wanna be your boy ¶
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( music fades )
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I was a member of
the sportscasters association
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of Los Angeles,
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and we used
to have monthly meetings
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on a Thursday at a place
called red tractors.
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Anybody who was anybody came...
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Tommy lasorda.
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Billie Jean king was there.
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Muhammad Ali
when he was Cassius Clay,
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first made his appearance here.
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They were legitimate athletes
in their chosen professions.
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Saltman: All of a sudden,
there was this this commotion
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on ventura boulevard.
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There was this nutcase
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going up and down
doing wheelies.
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I didn't even know
what a wheelie was
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until they explained it to me.
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People didn't do wheelies
up and down the road.
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I mean, that was crazy,
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on a rear wheel on a motorcycle
going 80 Miles per hour?
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( Imitates motorcycle engine )
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Everybody stopped and would go,
"oh, look at that."
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Kelly: Even the hard-bitten
sports announcers
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of that day and age
were taken aback by this guy,
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who of course
turned out to be evel knievel.
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If you told me
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that he was gonna be
world famous,
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I would say you're nuts.
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If you're going to try to
understand evel,
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you gotta go back
to his childhood.
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His parents split up
and left town,
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and he was basically raised
by his grandparents.
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Bob rowling: Grandma and grandpa
did the best they could do,
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and he was just rambunctious,
I guess.
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Maybe he didn't have
that attention as a young boy
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when he needed it.
( Chuckles )
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Truth is, I think,
that Bobby was kind of angry
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with his father because
he didn't get to stay with him.
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That's what I think.
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He wanted to be
with his father.
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Pat Williams: We were up
at my grandma's house,
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and he and I
were wrestling around,
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and I punched him in the mouth.
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And he lit on the back
of his head.
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And I said, "Bobby?"
And nothing.
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I thought, oh, my God,
I killed him.
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And instantly,
he had these wild eyes
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'cause he knew
what had happened.
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And across the kitchen,
there was a door
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that was slightly open,
the pantry door,
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and he ran at that door
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and slammed it shut
with his head.
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And that half-stunned him again.
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And he turned around
sitting down,
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and he pointed at me,
and he said, "did you see that?
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Nobody can hurt me.
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You can't hurt me.
Nobody can hurt me."
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Jim blankenship: I think
growing up in butte, Montana,
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without a father would...
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would be hard to handle,
I would think.
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Knoxville:
Butte, Montana,
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was just a tough-ass
mining town.
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When the mines were going full,
the bars were open 24 hours.
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There was a lot
of prostitution.
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Man: There was about
3,000 whores at that time.
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Man: It was just miners
drinkin' and fightin'.
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Williams: You had to learn
to cope in butte.
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Sometimes coping meant
with your fists.
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You fought.
You stood up like a man.
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You fought,
and you were taught that.
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And that's part
of the butte credo
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is you just don't back down.
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Knievel was a fighter
from the get-go,
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even during grade school.
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He'd get a little obnoxious
at times.
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You know,
you'd have to settle him down.
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Well, you couldn't dare him.
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If you'd dare him, he'd do it.
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I remember when Bob
got his first motorcycle.
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I don't know
why he had two tires.
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He always rode around
on the back one.
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You never knew what he was gonna
do with that motorcycle in town.
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I mean, he'd be riding it
all over raising...
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raising hell with everybody.
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Pat burns: He liked to have
the cops chase him.
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You just couldn't catch him
on a bike
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when you were in a patrol car.
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( Rock 'n' roll music playing )
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Linda bork knievel:
One day I go run up
to the store,
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and who's up there,
but big bad knievel, you know?
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He was a character.
( Laughs )
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I was scared,
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but I was kind of flattered,
you know?
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Gee,
he's paying attention to me,
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and then one day he just said,
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"you're gonna marry me."
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( Laughs )
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The story
is that he kidnapped her.
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Rowling: Well, I don't know
if he kidnapped her or not.
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You know, that might have been...
that might have been something
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that they were planning
together anyhow, who knows?
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Yeah, I guess I was kidnapped.
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I think I was just walking home
from school that day
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when he said,
"get in the car,"
you know?
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( Laughs )
I don't know, I was just...
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something just almost like
overtook me,
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and he drove me down
to Dillon and, uh,
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danged if we didn't
get married there.
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He had some weird ideas
about how life should be lived.
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And he...
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he thought that he should be at
the top of the heap, you know?
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I figure that's why he did
the stuff he did to make money.
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He'd run 'em,
there'll be a shady side to it.
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He was happier
if there was something
a little shady about it.
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Linda knievel:
He made up his own job.
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Actually, he started working
as a security officer at night.
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He had a route
where he used to go around
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at 2:00 in the morning,
3:00 in the morning
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and check all the different
establishments.
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You'd pay him to be sure
the doors were locked
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and everything,
and if you didn't pay him,
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you might be robbed
within a month or so.
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He broke into my place.
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He might have got 40 or $50,
something like that,
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but not that...
nothing big.
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Yeah, he was... he ran a racket.
No question about it.
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The police called me up
and told me
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that there was a known
safecracker in town.
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Now I knew they were talking
about evel.
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He was a crook.
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A con-man,
I guess you'd call him.
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Knoxville:
At the age of 19,
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he starts a semi-pro hockey team
and convinces
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the czechoslovakian
national team
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to come to butte to play them.
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( Laughs )
And the Czechs kill 'em.
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Like, smoke 'em 22 to 3.
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But I don't think evel
was that upset about the score.
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Pavlovich:
I think he left
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in the middle
of the second period,
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and the money disappeared.
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There was no more money
to pay 'em.
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So, you know,
draw your own conclusions.
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Where did the money go?
( Laughs )
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Williams: Well,
butte likes people
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who bounce up against
the edges of the envelope.
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They're forgiving
about some criminal activity,
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but they don't
particularly like criminals.
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Tonning:
He had three kids at the time.
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He threw all of his
burglar bags in the river
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and decided to go straight.
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So knievel gets this job
selling insurance
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for combined insurance company,
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and it was run by this guy,
w. Clement stone,
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who wrote a book called
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"success through a positive
mental attitude."
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I feel healthy.
I feel happy. I feel terrific.
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Jay tamburina:
I think it really changed
his thinking drastically.
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I mean, he was that way
to begin with,
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and it just intensified it.
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He was a legendary salesman.
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When he was selling insurance,
he was selling insurance,
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and he was selling a lot of it.
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Tamburina: I remember he went
to the mental hospital
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in... in...
I believe it was deer lodge.
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And he wrote 271 policies
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in this hospital,
mental hospital.
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This was a super record,
nobody had ever written
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that many policies
in a week ever.
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And he talked to the president
of the company at that time
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and said, "I'll break
every record in the company,
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"every single one that exists,
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and you make me a vice president
after I do that."
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And Mr. stawn says, "sorry,
that isn't gonna happen."
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Well, knievel didn't like that.
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Knoxville:
So he picks up his family
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and moves
to Moses lake, Washington,
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where he gets a job
selling Honda motorcycles.
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Gunn: He was making
a good living at it,
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but it wasn't
good enough for him.
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He says, "I think I need
to do something weird,
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"some kind of a stunt
so it'll get people
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to come down here
and see the motorcycles."
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So he had this crazy idea
about doing this jump.
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00:12:01,289 --> 00:12:05,691
He says, "I'm gonna jump over
cougars and rattlesnakes"
245
00:12:05,693 --> 00:12:08,060
I said,
"you gotta be kidding me."
246
00:12:08,062 --> 00:12:10,996
Gunn: My part in
that Mountain lion jump
247
00:12:10,998 --> 00:12:14,432
was I wore a white coat
like a doctor,
248
00:12:14,434 --> 00:12:16,901
and evel introduced me
as the veterinarian,
249
00:12:16,903 --> 00:12:19,937
which was a crock of bull,
but...
250
00:12:19,939 --> 00:12:23,206
So he brings 'em down
and put the cougars underneath.
251
00:12:23,208 --> 00:12:25,308
And they're scared to death.
They won't come out.
252
00:12:25,310 --> 00:12:27,877
They were like kitty cats.
253
00:12:27,879 --> 00:12:29,778
But the snakes, holy...!
254
00:12:29,780 --> 00:12:32,180
We put them
in a big refrigerator carton,
255
00:12:32,182 --> 00:12:34,815
and they were pissed off.
256
00:12:34,817 --> 00:12:36,950
So he goes around the track,
and then he goes up the ramp.
257
00:12:36,952 --> 00:12:38,851
And, well, the minute
he went up in the air
258
00:12:38,853 --> 00:12:40,118
I could see
he wasn't gonna make it.
259
00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:42,386
By God, he was about
three feet short.
260
00:12:42,388 --> 00:12:44,121
His back tire hits
the refrigerator carton.
261
00:12:44,123 --> 00:12:46,056
And the snakes
go flipping into the crowd.
262
00:12:46,058 --> 00:12:49,192
Talk about people running
and getting out of there.
263
00:12:49,194 --> 00:12:51,360
- -!
( Laughs )
264
00:12:51,362 --> 00:12:55,364
The poor guy from vantage wants
us to help catch his snakes!
265
00:12:55,366 --> 00:12:58,867
( Laughs ) I said, "you gotta be
kidding me!"
266
00:12:58,869 --> 00:13:01,402
And he just rode back
on his motorcycle,
267
00:13:01,404 --> 00:13:03,771
went up the jump,
and waved at the crowd.
268
00:13:03,773 --> 00:13:07,040
He didn't... he didn't care about
the snakes.
269
00:13:07,042 --> 00:13:08,941
People started talking to him,
you know, "what...
270
00:13:08,943 --> 00:13:10,943
you know,
what can you do next?"
271
00:13:10,945 --> 00:13:13,412
And he started thinking about
that kind of stuff.
272
00:13:13,414 --> 00:13:15,447
That's when he come up
with the idea
273
00:13:15,449 --> 00:13:17,081
of starting a stunt show.
274
00:13:17,083 --> 00:13:20,250
I told him, I said,
"they're gonna eat you up, boy.
275
00:13:20,252 --> 00:13:21,818
You'll never make it."
276
00:13:26,825 --> 00:13:29,125
Tim perior:
I was a bartender
at Marty's bar
277
00:13:29,127 --> 00:13:32,294
in orange, California,
and this fella comes in,
278
00:13:32,296 --> 00:13:36,498
sits at the end of the bar,
and we start talking.
279
00:13:36,500 --> 00:13:40,401
Well,
he's a motorcycle daredevil,
280
00:13:40,403 --> 00:13:43,003
and he had jumped rattlesnakes,
281
00:13:43,005 --> 00:13:47,806
and he wants to do a big
ramp-to-ramp jump.
282
00:13:47,808 --> 00:13:49,908
He said, "people will go wild,"
283
00:13:49,910 --> 00:13:52,176
and he just convinced me.
284
00:13:56,115 --> 00:14:00,050
Somehow I was able
to get two pickups,
285
00:14:00,052 --> 00:14:03,486
a tractor,
and 40-foot trailer.
286
00:14:03,488 --> 00:14:07,323
The logo on the side
was "evel knievel
287
00:14:07,325 --> 00:14:09,191
and his motorcycle
daredevils."
288
00:14:11,261 --> 00:14:15,429
Well, the name evel came
from his wild years in butte.
289
00:14:15,431 --> 00:14:17,464
He was given that name
by the cops.
290
00:14:17,466 --> 00:14:20,266
He was in jail
with a guy named "knawful."
291
00:14:20,268 --> 00:14:21,967
And they said, "well,
292
00:14:21,969 --> 00:14:24,269
better lock up the doors
pretty good tonight.
293
00:14:24,271 --> 00:14:28,072
We got an awful knawful
and evil knievel in here."
294
00:14:30,142 --> 00:14:32,075
Blackenship: He heard that,
and he liked that.
295
00:14:32,077 --> 00:14:34,143
Perior:
He changed it to e-v-e-l
296
00:14:34,145 --> 00:14:36,979
because he didn't
want to sound too evil.
297
00:14:41,085 --> 00:14:43,151
What he did is get a bunch
of people working with him.
298
00:14:43,153 --> 00:14:46,287
Good guys like sweet savage
and Eddie mulder
299
00:14:46,289 --> 00:14:47,988
and klesh Fargo.
300
00:14:47,990 --> 00:14:50,423
Gunn:
So he started thinking up
301
00:14:50,425 --> 00:14:52,525
different stunts to do.
302
00:14:52,527 --> 00:14:54,226
Perior:
The flaming boards,
303
00:14:54,228 --> 00:14:58,096
we'd soak 'em in gasoline
and light it on fire.
304
00:14:58,098 --> 00:15:01,566
Leeuwen: And he'd hit that
first board and just go boom!
305
00:15:01,568 --> 00:15:04,068
And the sparks,
the stuff would fly in the air!
306
00:15:04,070 --> 00:15:06,036
And then, boom!
Hit the second one!
307
00:15:06,038 --> 00:15:07,570
Sparks would fly!
And, boom, hit the third one!
308
00:15:07,572 --> 00:15:10,406
Hit the fourth one,
and the fifth one...
309
00:15:10,408 --> 00:15:16,010
Somehow, Bob got this midget
called butch Wilhelm,
310
00:15:16,012 --> 00:15:18,879
and talked him
into joining the show.
311
00:15:18,881 --> 00:15:23,083
Bob said, "he will do
everything I do in miniature."
312
00:15:23,085 --> 00:15:26,986
And he would crash
on every single one.
313
00:15:28,322 --> 00:15:30,922
So then it looked like when Bob
was going to make his jump,
314
00:15:30,924 --> 00:15:33,057
something terrible
is going to happen.
315
00:15:35,428 --> 00:15:37,327
He was such
a crazy son of a bitch.
316
00:15:37,329 --> 00:15:40,096
He'd do these stunts,
and he never tried 'em before.
317
00:15:40,098 --> 00:15:42,998
One time he had a motorcycle
run at him
318
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:45,900
about 60 Miles an hour,
and he jumped up,
319
00:15:45,902 --> 00:15:47,534
but he didn't jump high enough.
320
00:15:47,536 --> 00:15:51,937
Perior: And the motorcycle
hit him and flipped him over.
321
00:15:54,942 --> 00:15:57,642
He was sprained
from his waist to his ankles.
322
00:15:57,644 --> 00:16:00,311
Man: I think at that
point is when he decided
323
00:16:00,313 --> 00:16:02,913
he was just gonna stick
to jumping the motorcycles.
324
00:16:16,093 --> 00:16:18,126
Robbie knievel:
The equipment my dad jumped on,
325
00:16:18,128 --> 00:16:21,162
compared to what's
going on today...
326
00:16:21,164 --> 00:16:22,496
unbelievable.
327
00:16:22,498 --> 00:16:24,965
Leeuwen:
The thing weighed 500 pounds.
328
00:16:24,967 --> 00:16:28,401
It'd be like jumping a dump
truck over all those cars,
329
00:16:28,403 --> 00:16:29,935
but he'd do it anyway.
330
00:16:29,937 --> 00:16:31,636
I was the speedometer for evel.
331
00:16:31,638 --> 00:16:33,971
I had stand there
and watch him and say
332
00:16:33,973 --> 00:16:36,640
you're going fast enough
or you're not going fast enough.
333
00:16:36,642 --> 00:16:40,110
I guess you'd call it
guesswork.
334
00:16:40,112 --> 00:16:43,346
Perior: Bob jumped further
and further with each show.
335
00:16:43,348 --> 00:16:47,550
The only thing is
those stands were not full.
336
00:16:47,552 --> 00:16:49,251
Not by any means.
337
00:16:49,253 --> 00:16:52,454
How do you convince people
to come to a sport
338
00:16:52,456 --> 00:16:54,322
they had never heard of?
339
00:16:56,659 --> 00:16:59,159
We were $52,000 in debt.
340
00:16:59,161 --> 00:17:02,028
Bob kept spending money
we didn't have.
341
00:17:02,030 --> 00:17:06,132
And that's when I decided
I had to leave.
342
00:17:06,134 --> 00:17:11,470
Well, of course, then he saw
that he didn't need the team.
343
00:17:11,472 --> 00:17:13,505
He went on his own.
344
00:17:13,507 --> 00:17:17,542
Now it would just be him
looking for his big break.
345
00:17:21,548 --> 00:17:24,282
- ( Dramatic music plays )
- Announcer:
Spanning the globe...
346
00:17:24,284 --> 00:17:28,152
Spanning the globe to bring you
the constant variety of sport.
347
00:17:28,154 --> 00:17:30,354
Few years, I was singing it
in my sleep.
348
00:17:30,356 --> 00:17:32,322
The thrill of victory
and the agony of defeat.
349
00:17:32,324 --> 00:17:34,357
Announcer:
And the agony of defeat.
350
00:17:34,359 --> 00:17:36,292
Knoxville: The thrill of victory
and the agony of defeat,
351
00:17:36,294 --> 00:17:38,327
and they always showed
that skier,
352
00:17:38,329 --> 00:17:41,730
where you never knew...
the word was he died.
353
00:17:41,732 --> 00:17:44,999
Tony hawk: The crash, like,
that's what you remember
from "wide world of sports."
354
00:17:45,001 --> 00:17:47,668
Announcer: The human drama
of athletic competition.
355
00:17:47,670 --> 00:17:50,303
I remember, like,
the crazy stuff that they would
show once and a while.
356
00:17:50,305 --> 00:17:53,039
Skateboarding was on
"wide world of sports."
I remember that.
357
00:17:53,041 --> 00:17:54,740
Announcer:
Abc's "wide world of sports..."
358
00:17:54,742 --> 00:17:58,610
We were in the business
of sports theater.
359
00:17:58,612 --> 00:18:01,980
Sports was drama.
Sports was a story.
360
00:18:01,982 --> 00:18:03,414
Announcer:
The trill of victory.
361
00:18:03,416 --> 00:18:05,015
I loved it.
362
00:18:05,017 --> 00:18:07,184
Like I covered some of
the weirdest things myself.
363
00:18:07,186 --> 00:18:11,154
As long brought in an audience.
America loved it.
364
00:18:11,156 --> 00:18:12,555
Announcer: The human drama
of athletic competition.
365
00:18:12,557 --> 00:18:14,423
Leeuwen: Everybody'd
rush home from church
366
00:18:14,425 --> 00:18:16,658
and watch abc
"wide world of sports" at 1:00,
367
00:18:16,660 --> 00:18:18,426
and that was
the biggest show on TV.
368
00:18:18,428 --> 00:18:21,529
Announcer: This is
abc's "wide world of sports."
369
00:18:21,531 --> 00:18:23,764
Knoxville: Evel knows
that the motorcycle race
370
00:18:23,766 --> 00:18:27,434
at ascot speedway is featured
on "wide world of sports."
371
00:18:27,436 --> 00:18:32,238
So he fast-talks the owner
into letting him do his thing.
372
00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:33,872
Before we get back to racing,
I'd like to introduce to you
373
00:18:33,874 --> 00:18:35,874
a most unusual young man.
374
00:18:35,876 --> 00:18:39,277
This is evel knievel,
and his specialty in sports
375
00:18:39,279 --> 00:18:41,879
is to take a motorcycle
up over a ramp
376
00:18:41,881 --> 00:18:44,031
and leap through the air
some 90 feet.
377
00:18:44,032 --> 00:18:46,182
That's what he's gonna try to
do today over 15 automobiles.
378
00:18:46,185 --> 00:18:48,185
- You're trying 15 today?
- Well, the parachute's ready.
379
00:18:48,187 --> 00:18:50,320
Motorcycle's ready
and I'm ready.
380
00:18:50,322 --> 00:18:51,721
And I'm not gonna miss today.
381
00:18:51,723 --> 00:18:55,124
Reporter:
And he's set to go.
382
00:18:55,126 --> 00:18:57,226
He'll build up speed
as quickly as he can.
383
00:18:57,228 --> 00:18:58,627
And here he goes!
384
00:19:02,766 --> 00:19:04,365
He makes it!
385
00:19:04,367 --> 00:19:07,768
A beautiful leap
as evel knievel
386
00:19:07,770 --> 00:19:11,138
gets the roar approval
from the crowd.
387
00:19:11,140 --> 00:19:13,240
Leeuwen: Here here we are
at "wide world of sports."
388
00:19:13,242 --> 00:19:14,441
Biggest race of the year.
389
00:19:14,443 --> 00:19:16,309
Biggest dirt track race
of the year.
390
00:19:16,311 --> 00:19:18,511
And I won it.
I won the race.
391
00:19:18,513 --> 00:19:21,847
And you think anybody'd
remember it? No.
392
00:19:21,849 --> 00:19:23,615
They know knievel.
393
00:19:23,617 --> 00:19:26,417
They remember knievel
out of that whole deal, not me.
394
00:19:26,419 --> 00:19:28,652
And I won 100 laps.
Road my ass off.
395
00:19:31,356 --> 00:19:32,855
So evel got his foot
in the door,
396
00:19:32,857 --> 00:19:35,490
and now he's going
to knock it down.
397
00:19:40,230 --> 00:19:43,831
If you was to think of the most
outrageous thing you could do,
398
00:19:43,833 --> 00:19:46,266
what would it be?
399
00:19:46,268 --> 00:19:48,635
It'd be jump those fountains
at Caesar's palace.
400
00:19:50,372 --> 00:19:52,238
Robbie: I don't know
where it came from,
401
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:55,274
how a guy would go down
Caesar's palace strip,
402
00:19:55,276 --> 00:19:58,644
look at the fountains...
what was he thinking?
403
00:19:58,646 --> 00:20:00,612
Where did that come from?
404
00:20:00,614 --> 00:20:02,547
Knoxville: So evel wants
to do this stunt in Vegas,
405
00:20:02,549 --> 00:20:04,916
but no one knows
who the hell he is.
406
00:20:04,918 --> 00:20:07,285
So he switches
into hustler mode.
407
00:20:07,287 --> 00:20:10,388
Kelly: This guy called
every news outlet,
408
00:20:10,390 --> 00:20:14,358
told them that evel knievel,
famed stunt motorcyclist,
409
00:20:14,360 --> 00:20:16,727
was going to jump
Caesar's palace
410
00:20:16,729 --> 00:20:19,229
come Saturday morning,
be there.
411
00:20:19,231 --> 00:20:21,397
Knoxville: So then he calls
Jay Sarno.
412
00:20:21,399 --> 00:20:23,198
The guy who runs caesars,
413
00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,400
and each time he would call
as a different person,
414
00:20:25,402 --> 00:20:28,536
and each time, he would
mispronounce his own name.
415
00:20:28,538 --> 00:20:29,870
Evel knievel: I told him
my name was Larson.
416
00:20:29,872 --> 00:20:31,438
I was with sports illustrated.
417
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,273
I said, "you ever heard
of 'evel neevel'?"
418
00:20:33,275 --> 00:20:35,408
He said, "who the hell's this
'evel neevel'?"
419
00:20:35,410 --> 00:20:37,543
So I waited two more days
and I called him back up,
420
00:20:37,545 --> 00:20:39,478
and I said,
"this is Dennis lewin from
'wide world of sports, '
421
00:20:39,480 --> 00:20:41,379
do you know evel knievel?"
He says, "'avel navel.
422
00:20:41,381 --> 00:20:43,314
Evel neevel. Evel knievel.'
Who is this crazy guy?"
423
00:20:43,316 --> 00:20:45,516
He said,
"everybody's calling me up
about him.
424
00:20:45,518 --> 00:20:48,619
He said, I think
we got a deal with him.
I don't know. Call back."
425
00:20:48,621 --> 00:20:49,753
( Laughter )
426
00:20:52,290 --> 00:20:53,822
Knoxville:
Like a lot of his stunts,
427
00:20:53,824 --> 00:20:55,723
Caesar's palace
was one of those
428
00:20:55,725 --> 00:20:57,291
that he dreamed up and sold
429
00:20:57,293 --> 00:20:59,426
before he even knew
it was possible.
430
00:20:59,428 --> 00:21:01,628
And then on the day,
he's got the crowds there,
431
00:21:01,630 --> 00:21:04,297
and he doesn't know
if he can make it.
432
00:21:04,299 --> 00:21:05,698
He's just got to go for it.
433
00:21:07,835 --> 00:21:10,468
Robin knievel-dick:
I talked with him for a while
before he jumped,
434
00:21:10,470 --> 00:21:14,305
and he was very unsettled
about the jump.
435
00:21:14,307 --> 00:21:16,340
You could tell he was nervous.
436
00:21:20,579 --> 00:21:22,979
He was making runs
at the ramp and,
437
00:21:22,981 --> 00:21:25,314
you know,
we could hear the motorcycle.
438
00:21:25,316 --> 00:21:26,815
And we could hear the crowd,
439
00:21:26,817 --> 00:21:28,650
and then the doorman...
440
00:21:28,652 --> 00:21:31,786
the doorman got on the phone
and told us what went on.
441
00:21:36,692 --> 00:21:38,558
( Woman screams )
442
00:21:42,597 --> 00:21:46,765
Tonning: My God.
That was horrible.
443
00:21:46,767 --> 00:21:48,633
I thought he was gonna...
I thought he was dead.
444
00:21:48,635 --> 00:21:52,670
I was horrified to watch
my friend look like a rag doll.
445
00:22:22,634 --> 00:22:25,635
Linda knievel: I don't think
he was unconscious.
446
00:22:25,637 --> 00:22:28,004
But he was hurting.
447
00:22:28,006 --> 00:22:30,973
So off to the hospital we went.
448
00:22:30,975 --> 00:22:33,308
Knoxville:
He had a broken wrist,
449
00:22:33,310 --> 00:22:36,411
two broken ankles,
crushed his pelvis.
450
00:22:36,413 --> 00:22:38,646
And then somehow,
451
00:22:38,648 --> 00:22:40,881
word gets out
that he's in a coma
452
00:22:40,883 --> 00:22:42,649
and might not make it.
453
00:22:42,651 --> 00:22:47,320
He told that story,
but he wasn't in a coma.
454
00:22:47,322 --> 00:22:48,954
In fact, I flew down there,
455
00:22:48,956 --> 00:22:51,389
and it hadn't been
but like two days
456
00:22:51,391 --> 00:22:52,990
since he'd had the wreck,
and he was awake
457
00:22:52,992 --> 00:22:54,925
when I walked
in the hospital room.
458
00:22:54,927 --> 00:22:56,526
( Laughs )
459
00:22:56,528 --> 00:22:59,061
He had the press come in there
and play it up.
460
00:22:59,063 --> 00:23:01,396
"Oh, I'm about to die.
Don't know if I'll make it."
461
00:23:01,398 --> 00:23:02,630
Well, this was knievel.
That's what he did.
462
00:23:02,632 --> 00:23:04,398
He played it up
right to the end.
463
00:23:05,901 --> 00:23:08,902
Knoxville:
Pretty soon, the crash footage
was everywhere.
464
00:23:08,904 --> 00:23:11,404
Geraldo Rivera: We saw him jump
Caesar's palace.
465
00:23:11,406 --> 00:23:14,039
We saw that fall
and his body flopping
466
00:23:14,041 --> 00:23:16,508
and his head hitting,
and, you know,
467
00:23:16,510 --> 00:23:18,877
all of the agony of that
and the broken bones.
468
00:23:18,879 --> 00:23:22,847
That piece of film was amazing,
to see him go over and over
469
00:23:22,849 --> 00:23:26,550
and then roll all the way
up to the wall and it...
470
00:23:26,552 --> 00:23:29,352
that's one of the great
pieces of footage of all time.
471
00:23:29,354 --> 00:23:32,755
Boy, he was national news
all over the place.
472
00:23:32,757 --> 00:23:35,124
( Cheers and applause )
473
00:23:35,126 --> 00:23:38,727
Gunn:
He became instantly famous.
474
00:23:38,729 --> 00:23:42,931
This guy somehow had captured
what America needed.
475
00:23:42,933 --> 00:23:44,933
He came along
at the right time.
476
00:23:51,541 --> 00:23:55,843
There was a certain cynicism
throughout the country.
477
00:23:55,845 --> 00:23:57,544
Society was changing.
478
00:23:57,546 --> 00:23:59,379
Man: You had corruption
in government.
479
00:23:59,381 --> 00:24:00,713
Well, I'm not a crook.
480
00:24:00,715 --> 00:24:03,582
¶ When I look out
my window... ¶
481
00:24:03,584 --> 00:24:08,753
man: The country had been
battered by many years of war.
482
00:24:08,755 --> 00:24:12,623
Hamilton: America was coming
apart at the seams.
483
00:24:12,625 --> 00:24:17,127
¶ Must be the season
of the witch ¶
484
00:24:17,129 --> 00:24:20,930
¶ must be the season
of the witch. ¶
485
00:24:20,932 --> 00:24:23,732
Williams: We were a little
down on ourselves,
486
00:24:23,734 --> 00:24:26,735
and along comes this kid
from butte, Montana,
487
00:24:26,737 --> 00:24:30,538
who showed us who we were
and wanted to be again.
488
00:24:30,540 --> 00:24:33,040
¶ He wears red,
white, and blue ¶
489
00:24:33,042 --> 00:24:35,108
¶ stars and stripes, too... ¶
490
00:24:35,110 --> 00:24:39,612
earle castine:
I guess we were looking
for some sort of a hero.
491
00:24:39,614 --> 00:24:43,015
We had superman and Batman and...
492
00:24:43,017 --> 00:24:44,950
but this guy
was the real thing.
493
00:24:44,952 --> 00:24:48,954
¶ Evel knievel's
for God and country, too... ¶
494
00:24:48,956 --> 00:24:51,656
Sullivan: Most motorcycle
people wore black.
495
00:24:51,658 --> 00:24:54,191
That was what
evel wanted to change,
496
00:24:54,193 --> 00:24:57,494
and that's where
the red, white, and blue
leathers came from.
497
00:24:57,496 --> 00:25:01,531
He wore red, white, and blue
because he was patriotic.
498
00:25:01,533 --> 00:25:03,666
He loved his country,
499
00:25:03,668 --> 00:25:07,002
but he also saw that that would
500
00:25:07,004 --> 00:25:08,770
give him a boost to his image,
501
00:25:08,772 --> 00:25:11,139
and people
were respecting him more.
502
00:25:11,141 --> 00:25:13,741
Wilson: And he came out
of those mountains
503
00:25:13,743 --> 00:25:17,544
in his star-spangled suit,
with his cane, and he said,
504
00:25:17,546 --> 00:25:20,013
"I am gonna face death."
505
00:25:20,015 --> 00:25:22,915
He opened the door
and invited people
506
00:25:22,917 --> 00:25:26,018
to buy a ticket to watch truth.
507
00:25:27,821 --> 00:25:31,656
Rivera: For that disenchanted,
disillusioned generation,
508
00:25:31,658 --> 00:25:34,525
where you didn't trust anybody,
because even the president lied,
509
00:25:34,527 --> 00:25:37,860
here's a guy,
he's gonna risk everything.
510
00:25:41,098 --> 00:25:44,566
Man:
He did it! He did it!
511
00:25:50,773 --> 00:25:53,206
Knoxville:
You know, there was three
TV stations back then,
512
00:25:53,208 --> 00:25:56,876
and when evel was on abc,
everyone knew it.
513
00:25:56,878 --> 00:25:58,744
That's what you did
that night is watch,
514
00:25:58,746 --> 00:26:00,479
and that's
what you talked about
515
00:26:00,481 --> 00:26:02,881
for the next
few weeks afterwards.
516
00:26:02,883 --> 00:26:05,850
Wilson:
He was so popular that out of
517
00:26:05,852 --> 00:26:08,686
the top-ten-rated
"wide world of sports" shows
518
00:26:08,688 --> 00:26:11,822
in the 37 years of the show,
519
00:26:11,824 --> 00:26:13,757
he holds seven of them.
520
00:26:15,527 --> 00:26:17,527
Announcer:
Motorcycle daredevil
evel knievel!
521
00:26:17,529 --> 00:26:19,095
Hoffman:
He was the talk of the world.
522
00:26:19,097 --> 00:26:22,731
He was the greatest reality show
before reality shows existed.
523
00:26:22,733 --> 00:26:25,233
Are you ever scared
before a stunt?
524
00:26:25,235 --> 00:26:27,702
- Do you have fear?
- I am not scared.
525
00:26:27,704 --> 00:26:30,237
When I go off that jump,
I will say I have some concern,
526
00:26:30,239 --> 00:26:32,205
but I don't think I've ever been
afraid of anything.
527
00:26:32,207 --> 00:26:33,806
If I know something's
going to happen,
528
00:26:33,808 --> 00:26:35,974
I try and train myself
to where I have complete control
529
00:26:35,976 --> 00:26:37,709
over my mind and my body.
530
00:26:37,711 --> 00:26:40,545
I relax when I hit
instead of freezing up
and being scared.
531
00:26:40,547 --> 00:26:41,846
Williams:
He said to me one time,
532
00:26:41,848 --> 00:26:44,148
"you know what
I was really good at...
533
00:26:44,150 --> 00:26:45,716
Was the take off.
534
00:26:45,718 --> 00:26:48,552
You know what I was bad at
was the landing."
535
00:26:48,554 --> 00:26:51,087
But he said,
"it was the bad landings,
536
00:26:51,089 --> 00:26:53,222
that's what brought
the crowds out."
537
00:26:53,224 --> 00:26:56,758
You know, Bobby used to say,
"nobody wants to see me die,
538
00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,260
but they don't
want to miss it if I do."
539
00:26:59,262 --> 00:27:01,262
Announcer:
And just to go up that ramp
540
00:27:01,264 --> 00:27:04,832
and take a look at the distance
that he's got to, in effect,
541
00:27:04,834 --> 00:27:07,968
hurdle aboard
his harley Davidson machine.
542
00:27:07,970 --> 00:27:11,604
Gifford: He knew
if he wasn't just perfect
when he left that ramp,
543
00:27:11,606 --> 00:27:14,073
something awful
was going to happen
544
00:27:14,075 --> 00:27:17,910
between the time he left there
and came down way over here.
545
00:27:17,912 --> 00:27:20,812
If he told ya he was gonna
do something, he would do it,
546
00:27:20,814 --> 00:27:23,714
I mean, even if he knew
it was gonna kill him.
547
00:27:40,665 --> 00:27:43,299
Linda: You know,
you were always...
548
00:27:43,300 --> 00:27:45,934
the question of whether or not
he might not make it alive.
549
00:27:45,936 --> 00:27:49,871
I would think my dad would die
every time he jumped.
550
00:27:49,873 --> 00:27:52,139
It was stressful.
It was hard on us.
551
00:27:52,141 --> 00:27:55,775
Pavlovich: If he crashed,
you know, and got hurt,
552
00:27:55,777 --> 00:27:58,210
then he'd go out,
he's gonna do it again.
553
00:27:58,212 --> 00:28:01,313
And everybody says he's nuts.
He got hurt the last time.
554
00:28:01,315 --> 00:28:04,616
Evel knievel: Doctors,
especially surgeons,
555
00:28:04,618 --> 00:28:08,152
have been amazed
at how I can keep going.
556
00:28:08,154 --> 00:28:11,855
He had...
Recuperative powers
557
00:28:11,857 --> 00:28:14,791
that were beyond normal people.
558
00:28:14,793 --> 00:28:16,426
Knievel-dick:
They would say,
559
00:28:16,428 --> 00:28:18,094
"you'll have this cast
for eight weeks,"
560
00:28:18,096 --> 00:28:20,863
and he would take it off
in three.
561
00:28:20,865 --> 00:28:23,365
Man: This may look like
just some abstract plumbing,
562
00:28:23,367 --> 00:28:25,700
but this is actually
the right hip
563
00:28:25,702 --> 00:28:28,135
and right femur
of evel knievel.
564
00:28:28,137 --> 00:28:30,904
Evel knievel: I think I've
probably become immune to pain.
565
00:28:30,906 --> 00:28:35,341
I've learned to live with pain
for so long that I think, uh,
566
00:28:35,343 --> 00:28:38,310
what would hurt an average
person doesn't hurt me so much.
567
00:28:38,312 --> 00:28:39,911
Kelly knievel:
When we were growing up
568
00:28:39,913 --> 00:28:41,913
and my dad broke bones,
and he was in pain,
569
00:28:41,915 --> 00:28:43,447
he never bitched about it.
570
00:28:43,449 --> 00:28:45,182
He never complained about it.
571
00:28:45,184 --> 00:28:47,817
No, no, I'll be all right.
I'm gonna jump some more.
572
00:28:47,819 --> 00:28:50,920
It was just he accepted that
that's what he had chosen to do
573
00:28:50,922 --> 00:28:52,721
and it's something
he just had to deal with,
574
00:28:52,723 --> 00:28:54,255
and that's the way
he dealt with it.
575
00:28:58,928 --> 00:29:00,928
To be something
a little extra special,
576
00:29:00,930 --> 00:29:02,930
no matter what I want to do
if I like to do it.
577
00:29:02,932 --> 00:29:05,365
To be a champion
or to be the best.
578
00:29:05,367 --> 00:29:07,467
Even though I've been hurt
so many times,
579
00:29:07,469 --> 00:29:10,736
and live like a lot of people do
that live in a...
580
00:29:12,339 --> 00:29:15,039
A gray twilight world...
581
00:29:15,041 --> 00:29:17,074
these kind of people,
they don't even know victory
582
00:29:17,076 --> 00:29:19,076
or defeat because they've
never tried anything,
583
00:29:19,078 --> 00:29:22,379
and this is something
that I feel compelled to do,
584
00:29:22,381 --> 00:29:24,114
and I am going to do it.
585
00:29:30,755 --> 00:29:33,889
Hamilton: I had
sort of been brought along
the way of a teen idol.
586
00:29:33,891 --> 00:29:35,941
Mm-mmm.
587
00:29:35,942 --> 00:29:37,992
I had enough star power going,
588
00:29:37,995 --> 00:29:39,928
but I kept trying
to toughen up my act.
589
00:29:39,930 --> 00:29:41,362
I thought, God, if I could get
590
00:29:41,364 --> 00:29:43,897
a really good Western
or I get good action movie...
591
00:29:43,899 --> 00:29:47,300
And I was looking for sort of
a modern day Western character.
592
00:29:47,302 --> 00:29:49,135
Who would that be?
593
00:29:49,137 --> 00:29:53,372
I remember seeing the footage
from Caesar's palace,
594
00:29:53,374 --> 00:29:55,307
and I thought,
yeah, that's the movie.
595
00:29:55,309 --> 00:29:59,077
In my mind there was only one
guy that could do this right.
596
00:29:59,079 --> 00:30:01,312
John milius,
he'd written "dirty Harry,"
597
00:30:01,314 --> 00:30:03,147
"Jeremiah Johnson,"
598
00:30:03,149 --> 00:30:06,049
and of course later
"apocalypse now."
599
00:30:06,051 --> 00:30:09,185
Milius just wrote it as though
he was writing it for patton.
600
00:30:09,187 --> 00:30:12,021
It had this sort of
mythic sound to it, you know?
601
00:30:12,023 --> 00:30:15,157
And it's got this man
who thinks he's a gladiator.
602
00:30:15,159 --> 00:30:18,260
And I was excited
to show evel this.
603
00:30:18,262 --> 00:30:21,129
So he tells me
to come meet him in Hollywood
604
00:30:21,131 --> 00:30:25,166
at the saharan hotel
that was up on sunset.
605
00:30:25,168 --> 00:30:26,901
He's been up all night.
606
00:30:26,903 --> 00:30:30,004
Got another huge wound.
Kotex pads all there.
607
00:30:30,006 --> 00:30:32,539
And he's lying there
like a posh in a bad motel.
608
00:30:32,541 --> 00:30:35,341
And that's when it all
got crazy.
609
00:30:35,343 --> 00:30:37,476
He took a bottle
of the wild Turkey,
610
00:30:37,478 --> 00:30:39,144
and I heard the snap
of the Turkey,
611
00:30:39,146 --> 00:30:41,246
and he drank half that thing
down and he'd sit down.
612
00:30:41,248 --> 00:30:44,148
I said, "well, I wanna tell you
that we've got a great script,
613
00:30:44,150 --> 00:30:45,849
and I just brought it to you,
and I want you to read it."
614
00:30:45,851 --> 00:30:47,183
He said, "you read it,"
and I said,
615
00:30:47,185 --> 00:30:49,385
"well, I have read it,
and I really love it.
616
00:30:49,387 --> 00:30:50,853
I think it's great."
617
00:30:50,855 --> 00:30:52,821
He said, "no, I want you
to read it to me."
618
00:30:52,823 --> 00:30:54,989
And I just I didn't want
to read the script.
619
00:30:54,991 --> 00:30:56,256
I mean, it was just crazy,
620
00:30:56,258 --> 00:30:58,024
the idea of me reading
the script to him.
621
00:30:58,026 --> 00:31:00,960
But he was dead serious,
and I saw this gun.
622
00:31:00,962 --> 00:31:03,429
And he put it right to my head.
623
00:31:03,431 --> 00:31:05,431
And I thought, he means this.
624
00:31:05,433 --> 00:31:08,534
You know,
this is really real stuff.
625
00:31:08,536 --> 00:31:11,303
My performance
on reading that script
626
00:31:11,305 --> 00:31:13,305
was the best I've ever given,
627
00:31:13,307 --> 00:31:16,574
and I probably should have
gotten an academy award.
628
00:31:16,576 --> 00:31:18,175
Ladies and gentlemen,
you have no idea
629
00:31:18,177 --> 00:31:21,311
how good it makes me feel
to be here today.
630
00:31:21,313 --> 00:31:24,380
It is truly an honor
to risk my life before you.
631
00:31:24,382 --> 00:31:26,248
An honor.
632
00:31:26,250 --> 00:31:29,884
Before I jump my motorcycle
over these 19 cars...
633
00:31:29,886 --> 00:31:31,552
and I want you to note,
there's not a volkswagen
634
00:31:31,554 --> 00:31:33,453
or a Datsun in the row.
635
00:31:33,455 --> 00:31:35,388
( Motor revving )
636
00:31:35,390 --> 00:31:38,491
Ron wichman:
Evel was not happy with it,
I don't believe,
637
00:31:38,493 --> 00:31:41,026
from what I understand
talking to him.
638
00:31:41,028 --> 00:31:42,594
I don't believe
he was at all happy
639
00:31:42,596 --> 00:31:44,963
with George Hamilton in that.
640
00:31:44,965 --> 00:31:47,098
Hamilton: I don't think evel
appreciated me
641
00:31:47,100 --> 00:31:50,167
climbing into his leathers
and getting on his motorcycle,
642
00:31:50,169 --> 00:31:53,036
but what happened is,
by osmosis,
643
00:31:53,038 --> 00:31:55,071
when he went to see it
in the theater,
644
00:31:55,073 --> 00:31:57,473
when he came out,
he was saying these things,
645
00:31:57,475 --> 00:31:59,241
and they were
extraordinary words
646
00:31:59,243 --> 00:32:01,209
coming out of his mouth
that John had written for him.
647
00:32:01,211 --> 00:32:03,077
They told the Wright brothers
to fly was impossible,
648
00:32:03,079 --> 00:32:04,511
and they probably told
Neil Armstrong
649
00:32:04,513 --> 00:32:06,479
the walk on the moon
was impossible.
650
00:32:06,481 --> 00:32:09,248
They said that Shepard
and Glenn would never
get around the world,
651
00:32:09,250 --> 00:32:11,516
and they said that Armstrong
wouldn't step on the moon.
652
00:32:11,518 --> 00:32:15,152
You know, he was using
a writer's words.
653
00:32:15,154 --> 00:32:18,155
And this is the evel
he's become.
654
00:32:22,961 --> 00:32:25,361
I'm all alone
when I jump those ramps.
655
00:32:25,363 --> 00:32:27,963
There's only two things
that keep the rest of 'em
from doing it,
656
00:32:27,965 --> 00:32:29,965
and that's fear
and the big hole in the middle,
657
00:32:29,967 --> 00:32:33,268
and as long as I can
stand alone and be the best
658
00:32:33,270 --> 00:32:36,037
at what I am doing,
I'm gonna continue to do it.
659
00:32:38,107 --> 00:32:41,108
Wilson: He created a character
named evel knievel,
660
00:32:41,110 --> 00:32:43,577
and then tried
to live the part.
661
00:32:43,579 --> 00:32:46,546
He never broke character.
662
00:32:46,548 --> 00:32:49,949
He had the evel knievel
persona,
663
00:32:49,951 --> 00:32:53,518
and that's what he presented
to the world.
664
00:32:55,388 --> 00:32:57,121
We don't want guys in gray hats.
665
00:32:57,123 --> 00:33:00,924
We want black and white.
Evel represented that.
666
00:33:00,926 --> 00:33:02,392
He definitely
thought of himself
667
00:33:02,394 --> 00:33:06,362
as the guy in the white hat,
the good guy.
668
00:33:06,364 --> 00:33:07,930
If I look like I'm rigging up
for a trip into outer space,
669
00:33:07,932 --> 00:33:09,331
you're right.
670
00:33:09,333 --> 00:33:13,134
Nobody should ever ride
a motorcycle without a helmet.
671
00:33:13,136 --> 00:33:15,169
I never do.
672
00:33:15,171 --> 00:33:17,304
He was somebody
673
00:33:17,306 --> 00:33:21,441
who was seeking what many
of us do in our own way,
674
00:33:21,443 --> 00:33:23,042
and that's recognition,
675
00:33:23,044 --> 00:33:25,444
and if you get
into his background,
676
00:33:25,446 --> 00:33:27,012
you can understand that.
677
00:33:27,014 --> 00:33:29,180
He wanted identity.
He needed that.
678
00:33:30,550 --> 00:33:33,350
He just wanted to be loved.
679
00:33:33,352 --> 00:33:36,486
( Peter frampton's
"show me the way" plays )
680
00:33:41,959 --> 00:33:45,226
¶ I wonder how you're feeling ¶
681
00:33:45,228 --> 00:33:47,428
¶ there's ringing
in my ears... ¶
682
00:33:47,430 --> 00:33:48,595
thank you very much.
683
00:33:48,597 --> 00:33:50,063
Believe me, it's a pleasure
684
00:33:50,065 --> 00:33:51,964
to be back here
in Portland, Oregon,
685
00:33:51,966 --> 00:33:53,732
and on behalf of my sponsors,
686
00:33:53,734 --> 00:33:55,133
the mack truck company,
687
00:33:55,135 --> 00:33:57,168
the harley Davidson
motor company,
688
00:33:57,170 --> 00:34:00,171
and the bucyrus-erie
train and steam shovel company
in Milwaukee...
689
00:34:00,173 --> 00:34:03,607
Kelly knievel:
My dad, he invented
the licensing business.
690
00:34:03,609 --> 00:34:06,076
I mean, how many people
can you think of
691
00:34:06,078 --> 00:34:08,478
that had their names on products
before evel kn...
692
00:34:08,480 --> 00:34:12,181
I mean, there was a few,
but he really elevated the art
693
00:34:12,183 --> 00:34:14,049
of the licensing business.
694
00:34:14,051 --> 00:34:16,051
Knoxville: Yeah, he had a deal
with everyone...
695
00:34:16,053 --> 00:34:17,719
mack truck, harley Davidson,
696
00:34:17,721 --> 00:34:20,521
but that's not the one
I remember.
697
00:34:20,523 --> 00:34:23,390
Announcer: This is evel knievel
and his stunt cycle.
698
00:34:23,392 --> 00:34:25,725
He's the only rider
to do so many stunts,
699
00:34:25,727 --> 00:34:27,326
mid-air summersaults...
700
00:34:27,328 --> 00:34:30,095
Evel knievel has become
a legend in his own lifetime.
701
00:34:30,097 --> 00:34:33,531
Zeke rose: When 'ideal' came out
with the evel knievel toy,
702
00:34:33,533 --> 00:34:36,066
the president of 'ideal'
called me aside and said,
703
00:34:36,068 --> 00:34:39,102
"this is gonna be
a really big item for us."
704
00:34:40,338 --> 00:34:42,037
Boy:
It's an evel knievel rally!
705
00:34:42,039 --> 00:34:45,206
For me, there was only one
action figure
706
00:34:45,208 --> 00:34:48,075
when I was growing up,
and that was evel knievel.
707
00:34:48,077 --> 00:34:50,777
It was as cool as you could
possibly get at the time.
708
00:34:50,779 --> 00:34:53,412
It came with a motorcycle
you could wind up.
709
00:34:53,414 --> 00:34:55,480
When you wind it up
and you stop and it takes off...
710
00:34:55,482 --> 00:34:57,748
you just wind it up,
and if you're building
the suspense,
711
00:34:57,750 --> 00:34:59,483
you don't know
what's gonna happen,
712
00:34:59,485 --> 00:35:01,418
but you know it's gonna blow up,
and it's not gonna be pretty,
713
00:35:01,420 --> 00:35:03,219
but you're lucky
that this toy's evel knievel,
714
00:35:03,221 --> 00:35:05,588
- 'cause he can take it.
- That's awesome.
715
00:35:05,590 --> 00:35:08,090
Wow. Go evel!
716
00:35:08,092 --> 00:35:10,525
Announcer: The evel knievel
stunt cycle comes with figure,
717
00:35:10,527 --> 00:35:13,494
winder, gt wheelie stand,
and front flip bar.
718
00:35:13,496 --> 00:35:14,695
New from ideal.
719
00:35:14,697 --> 00:35:17,497
Rose:
The toy sold out.
720
00:35:17,499 --> 00:35:20,366
Pavlovich: I would say he made
more money off of ideal toy
721
00:35:20,368 --> 00:35:22,234
then he did
on any of his jumps.
722
00:35:22,236 --> 00:35:25,537
I was with him one time,
he showed me two royalty checks,
723
00:35:25,539 --> 00:35:26,804
and both of them at that time
724
00:35:26,806 --> 00:35:28,705
were half
a million dollars each.
725
00:35:28,707 --> 00:35:30,273
Both of 'em.
Two checks.
726
00:35:30,275 --> 00:35:32,742
I told him, "well, you made it.
You're on the pinnacle.
727
00:35:32,744 --> 00:35:34,477
"You said you were gonna
be a millionaire.
728
00:35:34,479 --> 00:35:36,045
You are a millionaire."
729
00:35:40,817 --> 00:35:43,083
Wilson:
It was an amazing time.
730
00:35:43,085 --> 00:35:46,386
The money was rolling in
by the millions.
731
00:35:46,388 --> 00:35:48,788
Kelly knievel: Everywhere
he went, he went first-class.
732
00:35:48,790 --> 00:35:50,957
Yeah, my dad liked
to spend money.
733
00:35:50,958 --> 00:35:53,125
Robbie knievel: All of a sudden,
there's five ferraris,
734
00:35:53,127 --> 00:35:55,660
two lear jets,
five other airplanes.
735
00:35:55,662 --> 00:35:57,461
Linda knievel: He'd get a boat,
oh, he needed a bigger boat
736
00:35:57,463 --> 00:36:00,197
oh, how about a yacht?
How about another yacht?
737
00:36:00,199 --> 00:36:02,132
Tracey McCloud:
With helicopters on top.
738
00:36:02,134 --> 00:36:04,134
Leeuwen: He's got "evel eye I"
painted on the side of it.
739
00:36:04,136 --> 00:36:06,369
Reporter:
He's no easy rider.
740
00:36:06,371 --> 00:36:09,405
He's proud of the material
things his money can buy...
741
00:36:09,407 --> 00:36:13,409
his Cadillac's, his $140,000
luxury-appointed van.
742
00:36:13,411 --> 00:36:15,310
Wilson: He took me
into his office,
743
00:36:15,312 --> 00:36:17,312
opened up a huge safe he had,
744
00:36:17,314 --> 00:36:21,082
and there was a gold-platted,
full-sized motorcycle.
745
00:36:21,084 --> 00:36:22,716
But you know what?
746
00:36:22,718 --> 00:36:24,150
You could hardly see it
747
00:36:24,152 --> 00:36:25,584
because it was covered in cash,
748
00:36:25,586 --> 00:36:29,154
like it had been thrown
in there like confetti.
749
00:36:29,156 --> 00:36:32,123
Tonning: He built
a big, beautiful home
750
00:36:32,125 --> 00:36:33,390
on the 18th green
751
00:36:33,392 --> 00:36:38,561
with this huge iron gate
with a great big "e. K."
752
00:36:38,563 --> 00:36:41,498
Right in the middle of it
was the actual handle.
753
00:36:41,500 --> 00:36:45,201
You know, for butte, Montana,
that was... that was the stuff.
754
00:36:45,203 --> 00:36:46,435
If I'm risking my life for it.
755
00:36:46,437 --> 00:36:49,404
I'm gonna spend
every damn dime of it!
756
00:36:49,406 --> 00:36:51,839
Kelly knievel: Yeah, my dad
had an affinity for clothes.
757
00:36:51,841 --> 00:36:53,607
He liked to dress with flair.
758
00:36:53,609 --> 00:36:56,276
He'd walk into a store
and see a sweater he liked,
759
00:36:56,278 --> 00:36:57,977
and he'd just buy one
in 20 colors.
760
00:36:57,979 --> 00:36:59,712
Come on with me and I'll
take you on a little tour
761
00:36:59,714 --> 00:37:01,914
of my office and dressing room
and show you what you can buy
762
00:37:01,916 --> 00:37:03,882
with a few dollars
if you're willing
763
00:37:03,884 --> 00:37:05,984
to jump a motorcycle
over 19 cars.
764
00:37:05,986 --> 00:37:07,652
Man:
Evel was very flashy.
765
00:37:07,654 --> 00:37:10,421
Walked with a cane
with diamonds in his cane,
766
00:37:10,423 --> 00:37:14,258
and his jewelry had diamonds,
and he had gold all over.
767
00:37:14,260 --> 00:37:16,360
Robbie knievel:
He always loved Elvis.
768
00:37:16,362 --> 00:37:19,429
And they traded
the belt buckle and the cape.
769
00:37:19,431 --> 00:37:23,299
My dad was a big fan of
liberace for being a showman.
770
00:37:23,301 --> 00:37:24,700
Evel knievel:
All the money in the world
771
00:37:24,702 --> 00:37:26,268
can't buy your way into heaven.
772
00:37:26,270 --> 00:37:27,569
It can't buy
your way out of hell.
773
00:37:27,571 --> 00:37:29,337
It was made to be spent
right here,
774
00:37:29,339 --> 00:37:31,572
and I'm gonna
have the best clothes,
775
00:37:31,574 --> 00:37:35,642
best boots, best diamonds,
best cars, trucks, motorcycles,
776
00:37:35,644 --> 00:37:37,977
booze, and women
on the face of this earth
777
00:37:37,979 --> 00:37:39,812
just as long
as I can keep going.
778
00:37:46,953 --> 00:37:49,787
Gene Sullivan: When he came into
money and fame and fortune,
779
00:37:49,789 --> 00:37:51,889
it's like the women became
780
00:37:51,891 --> 00:37:53,724
almost an equal part of his...
781
00:37:53,726 --> 00:37:55,926
Thrust from day to day.
782
00:37:55,928 --> 00:37:57,394
Part of it was that women
783
00:37:57,396 --> 00:38:00,497
were extraordinarily
attracted to him.
784
00:38:00,499 --> 00:38:02,899
I know because he and I'd go
out drinking once in a while,
785
00:38:02,901 --> 00:38:05,334
and, hell, they'd line up.
786
00:38:05,336 --> 00:38:07,002
And he'd pick
the prettiest one.
787
00:38:07,004 --> 00:38:08,670
He's unbelievable.
788
00:38:08,672 --> 00:38:11,506
He's got more fire in him.
He's unbelievable.
789
00:38:11,508 --> 00:38:13,641
Leeuwen:
He'd turn the hat trick
half the time,
790
00:38:13,643 --> 00:38:16,877
because I'd see him
do three a night for a about
week when I was there.
791
00:38:16,879 --> 00:38:19,346
Hang on.
792
00:38:19,348 --> 00:38:22,015
Bobbie knievel: Come on,
I mean, back in the '70s,
793
00:38:22,017 --> 00:38:24,684
every woman
wanted somebody like that.
794
00:38:24,686 --> 00:38:29,855
I was always mad 'cause
he was maybe cheating on my mom.
795
00:38:29,857 --> 00:38:34,893
¶ I'm the other woman... ¶
796
00:38:34,895 --> 00:38:37,896
Linda was aces...
aces.
797
00:38:37,898 --> 00:38:39,831
I mean,
she was the nicest woman
798
00:38:39,833 --> 00:38:42,033
that he could have ever married.
799
00:38:42,035 --> 00:38:43,768
Tamburina:
You know, she stood by him,
800
00:38:43,770 --> 00:38:46,704
and a lot of times,
he didn't treat her right.
801
00:38:46,706 --> 00:38:49,540
Hi, good-lookin'.
You going swimming again?
802
00:38:49,542 --> 00:38:51,408
Linda bork knievel:
He didn't hide anything,
803
00:38:51,410 --> 00:38:54,043
and that's probably where
I'd get a little upset with him.
804
00:38:54,045 --> 00:38:56,045
He'd come home with a little
lipstick on his collar,
805
00:38:56,047 --> 00:38:57,713
and I'd get
a little ticked off.
806
00:38:57,715 --> 00:38:59,781
I'd like to take you
out to dinner somewhere
807
00:38:59,783 --> 00:39:02,049
in a real nice
quiet little spot,
808
00:39:02,051 --> 00:39:04,851
get you swacked
and take you home someplace.
809
00:39:10,091 --> 00:39:13,358
I'd think, I married this guy.
810
00:39:13,360 --> 00:39:16,327
I don't know, I just...
811
00:39:16,329 --> 00:39:19,463
you don't leave that man
unless he wants you to.
812
00:39:20,666 --> 00:39:22,932
Let's say I died
and landed in heaven.
813
00:39:22,934 --> 00:39:24,700
Bang, I'm there, okay?
814
00:39:24,702 --> 00:39:28,403
Here I'm sitting there in a
white robe on a hard marble slab
815
00:39:28,405 --> 00:39:30,471
next to jfk,
Martin Luther King,
and some pope.
816
00:39:30,473 --> 00:39:32,773
Now, what the hell
would evel knievel have to say
to any of those three guys?
817
00:39:32,775 --> 00:39:34,541
I couldn't carry on
an intelligent conversation
818
00:39:34,543 --> 00:39:36,493
with 'em.
819
00:39:36,494 --> 00:39:38,444
I want to go
to my own kind of heaven.
820
00:39:38,446 --> 00:39:41,847
Uh... it's got draft beer
that doesn't make you fat.
821
00:39:41,849 --> 00:39:43,815
It's got a lot of beautiful
girls like you running around,
822
00:39:43,817 --> 00:39:46,017
and my wife won't get mad
if I go out with any of them.
823
00:39:46,019 --> 00:39:48,753
He was okay before he became
evel knievel,
824
00:39:48,755 --> 00:39:50,454
and then, you know, it's...
825
00:39:50,456 --> 00:39:53,123
people just can't handle
that fame, some of 'em.
826
00:39:53,125 --> 00:39:58,595
He's was small-town guy
from a small town in...
827
00:39:58,597 --> 00:40:00,830
really...
in the span of seven years,
828
00:40:00,832 --> 00:40:03,098
became one of the most
famous people in the world.
829
00:40:03,100 --> 00:40:06,401
I think that he...
830
00:40:06,403 --> 00:40:08,503
he forgot how to be Bob.
831
00:40:08,505 --> 00:40:11,439
And when he became evel,
832
00:40:11,441 --> 00:40:14,442
it's like the world
took him away from us.
833
00:40:14,444 --> 00:40:15,843
If you wanna be
in this business
834
00:40:15,845 --> 00:40:17,544
and you wanna be
the best in the world
and you wanna wear
835
00:40:17,546 --> 00:40:18,878
a red, white,
and blue number one
on your back,
836
00:40:18,880 --> 00:40:20,960
you have to be man enough
to handle the consequences.
837
00:40:22,115 --> 00:40:23,581
Announcer:
King of the daredevil,
838
00:40:23,583 --> 00:40:26,116
number one, evel knievel!
839
00:40:26,118 --> 00:40:27,784
Knoxville: Evel was on top
of the world,
840
00:40:27,786 --> 00:40:30,753
but he was starting to lose
his grip a little,
841
00:40:30,755 --> 00:40:34,723
and that thing with
the hell's angels didn't help.
842
00:40:34,725 --> 00:40:38,159
Sullivan: Evel was at odds
against the hell's angels
843
00:40:38,161 --> 00:40:40,794
and the biker image.
844
00:40:40,796 --> 00:40:44,597
He used to talk
about the hell's angels a lot,
always putting 'em down.
845
00:40:44,599 --> 00:40:48,434
Evel knievel: They're murderers,
thieves, or drug dealers,
846
00:40:48,436 --> 00:40:50,636
I mean, these guys are dogs.
847
00:40:50,638 --> 00:40:52,170
They belong in penitentiaries.
848
00:40:52,172 --> 00:40:53,638
Gunn:
Must of got through to 'em.
849
00:40:53,640 --> 00:40:55,473
You know, they got pissed off.
850
00:40:55,475 --> 00:40:59,610
And San Francisco
was one of their main areas.
851
00:40:59,612 --> 00:41:01,044
Sullivan: The announcer
was the guy
852
00:41:01,046 --> 00:41:03,112
that started the whole thing.
853
00:41:03,114 --> 00:41:04,713
When he introduced knievel,
he says,
854
00:41:04,715 --> 00:41:06,147
"if knievel makes
this jump tonight,
855
00:41:06,149 --> 00:41:09,016
he's gonna set the hell's angels
back 100 years."
856
00:41:09,018 --> 00:41:10,817
Wrong thing to say.
857
00:41:15,623 --> 00:41:18,557
He barely made that jump,
came back around,
858
00:41:18,559 --> 00:41:21,159
and I notice a couple
of hell's angels
859
00:41:21,161 --> 00:41:23,494
had come out onto the floor.
860
00:41:23,496 --> 00:41:25,529
And this hell's angel
grabbed him.
861
00:41:25,531 --> 00:41:27,597
Well, I'm...
I'm hoofing it.
862
00:41:27,599 --> 00:41:31,467
The hell's angel threw him down
just when I got there,
863
00:41:31,469 --> 00:41:33,635
and I give this guy
a body check.
864
00:41:33,637 --> 00:41:36,170
And he folded like...
just went out.
865
00:41:36,172 --> 00:41:38,572
Well, then the war started,
you know?
866
00:41:40,642 --> 00:41:43,576
Hell's angels come
bowling in over there
867
00:41:43,578 --> 00:41:45,177
and the people come out
of the stands
868
00:41:45,179 --> 00:41:46,811
and started beating on 'em.
869
00:41:48,648 --> 00:41:51,715
They put two of those
hell's angels in the hospital.
870
00:41:57,521 --> 00:42:00,088
Sullivan:
After the cow palace incident,
871
00:42:00,090 --> 00:42:02,923
evel got a little bit paranoid.
872
00:42:05,160 --> 00:42:07,059
He said, "do you have a gun?"
873
00:42:07,061 --> 00:42:08,860
I said, "yeah,
I got a couple of 'em."
874
00:42:08,862 --> 00:42:10,928
Well, he says, "those hell's
angel's, you never know,
875
00:42:10,930 --> 00:42:13,230
they're gonna walk in here
with a shotgun," and he says,
876
00:42:13,232 --> 00:42:14,965
"I gotta be ready for 'em."
877
00:42:26,812 --> 00:42:31,680
Knoxville: The man had crashed
numerous times,
878
00:42:31,682 --> 00:42:33,682
of course it's gonna add up
879
00:42:33,684 --> 00:42:36,117
mentally and emotionally
in your head.
880
00:42:36,119 --> 00:42:37,985
It has to.
881
00:42:41,090 --> 00:42:43,957
Announcer:
Watch that right shoulder.
882
00:42:43,959 --> 00:42:46,960
Broken, right there,
the right collarbone.
883
00:42:46,962 --> 00:42:48,661
Woman:
Are you ever afraid?
884
00:42:48,663 --> 00:42:50,696
If I am, I'm not gonna
tell you about it.
885
00:42:50,698 --> 00:42:52,698
- Woman: Why?
- I've been concerned.
886
00:42:52,700 --> 00:42:54,866
I'm evel knievel, honey.
I'm not supposed to be afraid.
887
00:42:57,237 --> 00:42:59,870
Sullivan: He was constantly
being tormented
888
00:42:59,872 --> 00:43:01,171
with the thought of,
889
00:43:01,173 --> 00:43:03,039
you know,
you're not gonna make this one.
890
00:43:03,041 --> 00:43:04,974
You're gonna die at this one.
891
00:43:04,976 --> 00:43:08,610
And so he's doing everything
he can through alcohol,
892
00:43:08,612 --> 00:43:12,580
through being flamboyant,
through, being, you know,
893
00:43:12,582 --> 00:43:16,183
crude or whatever to get
these thoughts out of his head,
894
00:43:16,185 --> 00:43:17,784
but they were eating his lunch.
895
00:43:17,786 --> 00:43:19,685
You know, evel,
you're shaking a little bit.
896
00:43:19,687 --> 00:43:22,721
Well, if you did what I did,
you'd be shaking, too.
897
00:43:22,723 --> 00:43:27,258
I could see it in his eyes
sometimes when he'd come back by
898
00:43:27,260 --> 00:43:29,126
to ask me if he was going
fast enough,
899
00:43:29,128 --> 00:43:31,595
I could see
the fear in his eyes.
900
00:43:31,597 --> 00:43:35,899
I knew he was scared,
but he would never...
901
00:43:35,901 --> 00:43:37,834
he would never say no.
902
00:43:37,836 --> 00:43:39,602
You know,
he'd go ahead and do it.
903
00:43:41,038 --> 00:43:44,205
The medicine that he was taking,
the drugs he was taking
904
00:43:44,207 --> 00:43:46,740
for his pain...
plus he was drinking...
905
00:43:46,742 --> 00:43:50,009
he became just schitzo...
906
00:43:50,011 --> 00:43:51,744
I mean, paranoid.
907
00:43:51,746 --> 00:43:54,813
Gunn: He got paranoid
about protecting his stuff,
908
00:43:54,815 --> 00:43:56,948
paranoid about
who he let in and...
909
00:43:56,950 --> 00:43:59,617
Williams: We'd be talking,
and almost as if
910
00:43:59,619 --> 00:44:01,018
he was schizophrenic,
911
00:44:01,020 --> 00:44:03,887
he'd flip
and become ugly about things.
912
00:44:03,889 --> 00:44:07,624
I had to stand two guys down
who wanted a piece of him,
913
00:44:07,626 --> 00:44:09,058
and they wanted a piece of him
914
00:44:09,060 --> 00:44:10,893
because he was being an...
915
00:44:10,895 --> 00:44:12,694
He was being a jerk.
916
00:44:12,696 --> 00:44:16,264
I'm the guy who just, you know,
is trying to keep the peace.
917
00:44:16,266 --> 00:44:20,568
I'm the guy
protecting the troublemaker
918
00:44:20,570 --> 00:44:22,636
from the good guys.
919
00:44:22,638 --> 00:44:25,571
You know, and I thought,
I can't do this.
920
00:44:28,776 --> 00:44:30,642
Hamilton: It's really
interesting when you...
921
00:44:30,644 --> 00:44:33,111
you are a man
like evel knievel,
922
00:44:33,113 --> 00:44:36,714
and you've created this myth,
and once you're defined,
923
00:44:36,716 --> 00:44:39,783
it's hard to live up to it.
924
00:44:39,785 --> 00:44:42,886
He was always reselling
what he had already sold.
925
00:44:42,888 --> 00:44:44,787
How do you get
any better than that?
926
00:44:44,789 --> 00:44:46,054
How do you get any bigger?
927
00:44:47,791 --> 00:44:49,891
Williams:
Throughout his life,
928
00:44:49,893 --> 00:44:52,593
he was insatiable.
929
00:44:52,595 --> 00:44:55,629
Even when he was
the most famous daredevil
930
00:44:55,631 --> 00:44:58,965
that ever lived,
he wasn't satisfied.
931
00:44:58,967 --> 00:45:02,902
He had to make another half
a million dollars on a jump.
932
00:45:02,904 --> 00:45:06,939
He had to find one more woman
prettier than the last.
933
00:45:06,941 --> 00:45:11,143
He couldn't satisfy himself.
He had to do something else.
934
00:45:11,145 --> 00:45:14,613
He had a friend that, uh...
they were at the bar talking,
935
00:45:14,615 --> 00:45:17,649
and this fella
just made a comment,
936
00:45:17,651 --> 00:45:18,816
"what's your next thing?"
937
00:45:18,818 --> 00:45:21,018
I think he said,
"the grand canyon?"
938
00:45:21,020 --> 00:45:24,087
Well, of course that started
wheels a-turnin'.
939
00:45:29,761 --> 00:45:32,061
Kelly knievel: One of
the favorite pictures of my dad
940
00:45:32,063 --> 00:45:34,930
is he is on the rim
of the grand canyon
941
00:45:34,932 --> 00:45:37,299
and there's these
two navajo chiefs there.
942
00:45:37,301 --> 00:45:38,800
And my dad's pointing
943
00:45:38,802 --> 00:45:41,269
at the other side
of the grand canyon,
944
00:45:41,271 --> 00:45:44,238
and they're just looking at him
like this man is crazy.
945
00:45:44,240 --> 00:45:47,741
Evel knievel: My dream
was to jump the grand canyon.
946
00:45:47,743 --> 00:45:49,509
The secretary of interior
told me that I could.
947
00:45:49,511 --> 00:45:53,145
I took his word for it.
Then he changed his mind.
948
00:45:53,147 --> 00:45:57,849
So I told him to go get hosed,
and I bought my own canyon,
949
00:45:57,851 --> 00:46:01,085
the snake river canyon
in the state of Idaho.
950
00:46:01,087 --> 00:46:03,220
And the only way they'll
get me out of the air
951
00:46:03,222 --> 00:46:05,488
is to shoot me out
with an anti-aircraft gun,
952
00:46:05,490 --> 00:46:07,990
because I am gonna go,
believe me.
953
00:46:07,992 --> 00:46:12,027
The jump across the canyon
will be approximately a mile.
954
00:46:12,029 --> 00:46:14,963
It's somewhere between 1,000
and 1500 feet to the bottom.
955
00:46:14,965 --> 00:46:16,531
As you can see, Pete,
this motorcycle
956
00:46:16,533 --> 00:46:18,799
is unlike any motorcycle
you've ever seen in the world.
957
00:46:18,801 --> 00:46:22,068
These rockets put out about
90 pounds of thrust apiece.
958
00:46:22,070 --> 00:46:24,837
Knievel's original concept
was take a motorcycle,
959
00:46:24,839 --> 00:46:26,305
put a rocket on it...
960
00:46:26,307 --> 00:46:28,840
and that's impossible.
961
00:46:28,842 --> 00:46:31,342
And so the necessity
just required
962
00:46:31,344 --> 00:46:33,844
that he make a rocket vehicle.
963
00:46:33,846 --> 00:46:36,246
Our partner was Bob treaux,
964
00:46:36,248 --> 00:46:39,482
and he was known as
the father of steam rocketry.
965
00:46:39,484 --> 00:46:41,116
And that was our answer
966
00:46:41,118 --> 00:46:44,819
for getting evel knievel
over the canyon...
967
00:46:44,821 --> 00:46:47,388
basically building
a hot-water tank
968
00:46:47,390 --> 00:46:49,556
and uncorking it and let it go.
969
00:46:49,558 --> 00:46:51,558
This machine
is powered by steam.
970
00:46:51,560 --> 00:46:53,126
Steam is the most
reliable source of power
971
00:46:53,128 --> 00:46:54,494
we have in the world.
972
00:46:54,496 --> 00:46:57,530
And it'll go from zero
to 350 Miles an hour
973
00:46:57,532 --> 00:46:59,899
from a dead stop
in eight seconds flat.
974
00:46:59,901 --> 00:47:01,400
Reporter:
The super stunt,
975
00:47:01,402 --> 00:47:03,902
billed as the death-defying
event of the century
976
00:47:03,904 --> 00:47:06,337
will be viewed
by almost two million people,
977
00:47:06,339 --> 00:47:09,206
most of them watching on
closed-circuit movie screens.
978
00:47:09,208 --> 00:47:11,942
I'd like to say to you
what evel knievel says
979
00:47:11,944 --> 00:47:14,110
wherever he goes,
whatever he signs...
980
00:47:14,112 --> 00:47:16,479
if he were talking to you
right now, he'd say,
981
00:47:16,481 --> 00:47:18,814
"hey, Jim, happy landings."
982
00:47:20,284 --> 00:47:23,551
When there was an event of any
magnitude during that period,
983
00:47:23,553 --> 00:47:26,020
I'd probably get the first call
to do the promotion.
984
00:47:26,022 --> 00:47:27,454
Remember,
985
00:47:27,456 --> 00:47:28,955
the first time
I saw evel knievel,
986
00:47:28,957 --> 00:47:30,990
he showed up
on ventura boulevard
987
00:47:30,992 --> 00:47:33,892
doing wheelies
on his motorcycle.
988
00:47:33,894 --> 00:47:36,828
That's when I first met him,
but I really didn't know him
989
00:47:36,830 --> 00:47:38,429
till we did
the snake river canyon jump
990
00:47:38,431 --> 00:47:41,565
when I had control of
the publicity and promotion.
991
00:47:41,567 --> 00:47:44,834
For a brief moment
in our dull, mundane life,
992
00:47:44,836 --> 00:47:48,270
here is a man who, vicariously,
we can live through.
993
00:47:48,272 --> 00:47:50,972
I thought what he was doing
was exciting.
994
00:47:50,974 --> 00:47:52,873
So it's never hard to sell
something you believed in.
995
00:47:52,875 --> 00:47:55,041
And I believed in it.
996
00:47:56,310 --> 00:47:59,210
We did a 30-day tour,
which was my idea,
997
00:47:59,212 --> 00:48:04,248
to do press conferences at,
like, literally 90 airports.
998
00:48:04,250 --> 00:48:05,916
How are you?
999
00:48:05,918 --> 00:48:08,168
Reporter: When knievel
flies into town each day
1000
00:48:08,169 --> 00:48:10,419
in his two lear jets,
his pilot, whacha macullum,
1001
00:48:10,422 --> 00:48:15,091
and his co-pilot wear crimson
crushed-velvet dinner jackets.
1002
00:48:15,093 --> 00:48:17,226
You ought to see
our socks and underwear.
1003
00:48:17,228 --> 00:48:19,962
Every day was a party.
1004
00:48:19,964 --> 00:48:23,465
There were close to 2500
press credentials given out.
1005
00:48:23,467 --> 00:48:25,266
It was bigger than
any Ali fight,
1006
00:48:25,268 --> 00:48:26,934
and I did them all.
1007
00:48:26,936 --> 00:48:30,403
Bigger, bigger than
a presidential entourage.
1008
00:48:33,207 --> 00:48:36,975
Don e. Branker was in charge
of all the logistics.
1009
00:48:36,977 --> 00:48:38,376
Don e. Branker:
I was a concert promoter.
1010
00:48:38,378 --> 00:48:41,245
I did acts like the stones,
the doors, the who,
1011
00:48:41,247 --> 00:48:43,614
and then evel comes along
with a pay-per-view
1012
00:48:43,616 --> 00:48:45,482
closed-circuit...
1013
00:48:45,484 --> 00:48:48,485
you know, and this was
the biggest event of its kind
1014
00:48:48,487 --> 00:48:50,086
in the history
of entertainment.
1015
00:48:51,389 --> 00:48:54,323
The unknowns were magnificent.
1016
00:48:54,325 --> 00:48:57,959
This Sunday
a daredevil hustler
named evel knievel
1017
00:48:57,961 --> 00:48:59,560
will try to cross
a canyon in Idaho
1018
00:48:59,562 --> 00:49:01,295
riding a rocket.
1019
00:49:01,297 --> 00:49:04,164
If he makes it, he'll be
many times a millionaire.
1020
00:49:04,166 --> 00:49:07,100
If he doesn't, he'll be dead.
1021
00:49:15,643 --> 00:49:18,343
( Laughs )
1022
00:49:18,345 --> 00:49:20,445
Rivera: He was a hero of mine
in many ways.
1023
00:49:20,447 --> 00:49:23,681
I was a little crazy.
He was a whole lot crazy.
1024
00:49:23,683 --> 00:49:26,550
And you just
had to dig his courage.
1025
00:49:26,552 --> 00:49:29,953
It just didn't seem to me
that courage would be enough.
1026
00:49:29,955 --> 00:49:32,322
( Chuckles ) I'm tellin' ya,
1027
00:49:32,324 --> 00:49:35,591
that looks a lot further than
I thought a mile would look.
1028
00:49:35,593 --> 00:49:39,528
It was the kind of stunt
where you would actually see,
1029
00:49:39,530 --> 00:49:42,597
probably, a guy kill himself.
1030
00:49:42,599 --> 00:49:45,299
It was so audacious.
It was so daring.
1031
00:49:45,301 --> 00:49:47,968
It was so almost impossible
in many ways
1032
00:49:47,970 --> 00:49:49,669
but for his confidence.
1033
00:49:49,671 --> 00:49:51,504
What about the g-forces?
1034
00:49:51,506 --> 00:49:54,039
I mean, when you start something
that's gonna be going
1035
00:49:54,041 --> 00:49:56,508
350 Miles an hour,
aren't you gonna be
knocked out almost?
1036
00:49:56,510 --> 00:49:58,343
Yes, I'll wake up,
1037
00:49:58,345 --> 00:50:00,278
see the other side of
the ground way over there,
1038
00:50:00,280 --> 00:50:02,713
wherever the hell I'm at,
and I'll pull a rip cord
1039
00:50:02,715 --> 00:50:05,015
and open a parachute
behind that sky cycle.
1040
00:50:05,017 --> 00:50:07,550
Are you saying that
you're gonna be unconscious
when you're up in the air?
1041
00:50:07,552 --> 00:50:09,385
To 2,000 feet,
I probably will be, yes.
1042
00:50:09,387 --> 00:50:11,186
So that means you
have to regain
your consciousness.
1043
00:50:11,188 --> 00:50:13,588
That's right,
but I can do that.
I'll do it.
1044
00:50:13,590 --> 00:50:15,122
Doug malewicki:
Evel had no training.
1045
00:50:15,124 --> 00:50:16,990
He had no training
for pulling gs
1046
00:50:16,992 --> 00:50:19,525
like a centrifuge
or even in an airplane,
1047
00:50:19,527 --> 00:50:21,593
zero parachute experience.
1048
00:50:21,595 --> 00:50:24,495
Sprow: He had
a dead stick kind of thing
1049
00:50:24,497 --> 00:50:28,165
where it was spring-loaded,
and if he passed out
1050
00:50:28,167 --> 00:50:30,567
and let go of the handle,
the parachute would come out.
1051
00:50:30,569 --> 00:50:31,568
Go!
1052
00:50:34,272 --> 00:50:36,038
Rivera: There were actually
three of the steam-powered
1053
00:50:36,040 --> 00:50:37,739
sky cycles built.
The original,
1054
00:50:37,741 --> 00:50:40,408
called the x1,
was tested without a pilot
1055
00:50:40,410 --> 00:50:42,209
about three weeks ago.
1056
00:50:42,211 --> 00:50:45,078
It ended up
at the bottom of the canyon.
1057
00:50:51,453 --> 00:50:54,187
Evel knievel:
That was a test shot.
We made some mistakes.
1058
00:50:54,189 --> 00:50:55,655
If I'd have been in it,
I'd have ended up dead,
1059
00:50:55,657 --> 00:50:57,056
but I don't think
that's gonna happen.
1060
00:50:57,058 --> 00:51:00,125
Campoy:
What the press did not know
1061
00:51:00,127 --> 00:51:03,695
is that the first one
was designed to fail.
1062
00:51:03,697 --> 00:51:05,697
We purposefully
underpowered the rocket
1063
00:51:05,699 --> 00:51:08,132
so it wouldn't make it
to the other side.
1064
00:51:08,134 --> 00:51:09,733
He wanted it
as a promotional thing.
1065
00:51:09,735 --> 00:51:11,668
He wanted it to crash
in the water
1066
00:51:11,670 --> 00:51:13,403
and let people see that.
1067
00:51:13,405 --> 00:51:16,739
Campoy: Eventually,
we did convince evel
1068
00:51:16,741 --> 00:51:20,075
to do a real test,
but he'd only do it
1069
00:51:20,077 --> 00:51:22,343
if it was done in secret
so the press
1070
00:51:22,345 --> 00:51:25,279
wouldn't get any pictures
of it or anything.
1071
00:51:28,550 --> 00:51:30,249
We thought it would make it.
1072
00:51:30,251 --> 00:51:33,352
But there was a problem
with the parachute.
1073
00:51:33,354 --> 00:51:37,055
It deployed early...
1074
00:51:37,057 --> 00:51:40,091
And it also landed right
in the middle of the river.
1075
00:51:40,093 --> 00:51:42,293
Saltman:
Knievel was there to see that.
1076
00:51:42,295 --> 00:51:45,696
I saw it, and I was wondering
at that time
1077
00:51:45,698 --> 00:51:47,464
what was going through his mind.
1078
00:51:47,466 --> 00:51:50,533
I was thinking to myself
1079
00:51:50,535 --> 00:51:53,202
that he was really looking
at his mortality,
1080
00:51:53,204 --> 00:51:54,670
and thinking, you know,
1081
00:51:54,672 --> 00:51:57,506
this might not be
such a good idea.
1082
00:51:57,508 --> 00:52:02,042
However, give him credit,
he was going through with it.
1083
00:52:04,112 --> 00:52:07,213
Branker: At this point,
we're batting zero for two,
1084
00:52:07,215 --> 00:52:10,716
and the world is watching us.
I mean, I... I felt that.
1085
00:52:10,718 --> 00:52:14,052
Man:
You'll make it!
1086
00:52:14,054 --> 00:52:17,121
You will!
You will!
1087
00:52:17,123 --> 00:52:20,190
Saltman: He became
more and more surly,
1088
00:52:20,192 --> 00:52:22,292
screeching orders at everybody
that he could,
1089
00:52:22,294 --> 00:52:25,094
belittling...
he belittled little people.
1090
00:52:25,096 --> 00:52:26,728
He was just mean.
1091
00:52:26,730 --> 00:52:28,696
Branker:
About a week out
1092
00:52:28,698 --> 00:52:31,265
is when we started
sensing things
1093
00:52:31,267 --> 00:52:33,267
not going our way
with the press,
1094
00:52:33,269 --> 00:52:35,068
'cause the press
is up here living now,
1095
00:52:35,070 --> 00:52:36,803
an the press started
to see the real evel.
1096
00:52:36,805 --> 00:52:40,139
Do one thing for me.
1097
00:52:40,141 --> 00:52:42,574
I do not
ask for your respect,
I demand it.
1098
00:52:42,576 --> 00:52:46,277
Shelly gathered everybody
around evel's trailer and says,
1099
00:52:46,279 --> 00:52:49,713
"why don't you just have him
stand up so we can see him?"
1100
00:52:49,715 --> 00:52:51,848
'Cause there was a big crowd
of people there.
1101
00:52:51,850 --> 00:52:57,152
And evel heard that
and came out, and, uh...
1102
00:52:59,756 --> 00:53:02,823
- I said have a smile
on your face.
- I don't smile at anybody.
1103
00:53:02,825 --> 00:53:05,091
All right, get him out.
Get him out. Out.
1104
00:53:05,093 --> 00:53:07,293
Go on, get out of here.
1105
00:53:07,295 --> 00:53:09,295
Watt: That's when he came
down the stairs with his cane,
1106
00:53:09,297 --> 00:53:12,131
and he grabbed my camera,
and he's a pretty strong guy.
1107
00:53:12,133 --> 00:53:14,466
And grabbed my camera
and started pushing me back
1108
00:53:14,468 --> 00:53:17,302
and whacking me and the camera
with his cane.
1109
00:53:17,304 --> 00:53:19,871
Man: Are you going to apologize
to that cameraman
1110
00:53:19,873 --> 00:53:21,806
for roughing him up?
1111
00:53:21,808 --> 00:53:23,307
I wouldn't apologize,
1112
00:53:23,309 --> 00:53:25,309
and if I see the little
son of a bitch again,
1113
00:53:25,311 --> 00:53:26,843
I'll throw him out of here,
how's that?
1114
00:53:26,845 --> 00:53:28,444
Saltman:
As hard as we tried,
1115
00:53:28,446 --> 00:53:32,114
a lot of evel's true temperament
came out to the press.
1116
00:53:32,116 --> 00:53:33,381
Man: I think
you should apologize.
1117
00:53:33,383 --> 00:53:35,149
Well, I wanna straighten
you out right now.
1118
00:53:35,151 --> 00:53:37,417
Number one, I was in
the sky cycle all day.
1119
00:53:37,419 --> 00:53:39,719
Number two, you are a guest
of mine in my press area.
1120
00:53:39,721 --> 00:53:41,554
Do you understand that?
And so was he.
1121
00:53:41,556 --> 00:53:43,389
Number three,
when I've been up
there all day
1122
00:53:43,391 --> 00:53:45,224
and all the blood's come out
of my legs and my feet
1123
00:53:45,226 --> 00:53:47,559
and gone to my head,
and I come down
1124
00:53:47,561 --> 00:53:50,361
to want to get some rest
and get along with you people,
1125
00:53:50,363 --> 00:53:53,130
you don't tell me to come out
and stand up and smile!
1126
00:53:53,132 --> 00:53:55,599
If I want to come out
and try and get along with you,
1127
00:53:55,601 --> 00:53:59,336
you should at least allow me
to sit down and smile!
1128
00:53:59,338 --> 00:54:03,206
So tell him I said
to kiss my ass!
1129
00:54:03,208 --> 00:54:05,341
Kazikas: There was a point
where we were all
1130
00:54:05,343 --> 00:54:08,210
kind of sitting around
and saying, "the guy's a jerk.
1131
00:54:08,212 --> 00:54:10,879
He's just a jerk.
He's a bully.
1132
00:54:10,881 --> 00:54:14,383
He's a bore.
What are we doing here?
1133
00:54:14,385 --> 00:54:15,984
The rest of the press
can now thank you
1134
00:54:15,986 --> 00:54:18,519
because I am going to leave.
How's that, boys?
1135
00:54:18,521 --> 00:54:19,753
Sayonara.
1136
00:54:24,526 --> 00:54:27,026
Man: People started coming in,
and it started getting crazy.
1137
00:54:27,028 --> 00:54:28,494
Every biker
in the United States
1138
00:54:28,496 --> 00:54:30,395
that didn't have a job
was there.
1139
00:54:30,397 --> 00:54:33,664
Branker: You have umpteen
different motorcycling groups,
1140
00:54:33,666 --> 00:54:35,766
none of which you'd invite
to your house for dinner.
1141
00:54:35,768 --> 00:54:38,735
They gonna have a good time.
Everyone gets loose around here.
1142
00:54:38,737 --> 00:54:42,605
High: You could say
it was like a Woodstock,
1143
00:54:42,607 --> 00:54:45,708
but the evil twin of Woodstock.
1144
00:54:45,710 --> 00:54:48,744
It was like not a happy
flower children
1145
00:54:48,746 --> 00:54:50,345
sitting around in the rain.
1146
00:54:50,347 --> 00:54:52,747
Those guys were...
I mean, they were really rough.
1147
00:54:52,749 --> 00:54:55,349
Tonning: Wackos with tattoos
all over their bodies
1148
00:54:55,351 --> 00:54:57,751
drinking beer
and screwing in public
1149
00:54:57,753 --> 00:55:01,054
and all kinds of...
yeah, it was... it was bedlam.
1150
00:55:01,056 --> 00:55:04,624
( Whistle blows )
Roach clips! Papers!
1151
00:55:04,626 --> 00:55:07,827
Hash pipes!
Come get them while they're hot!
1152
00:55:07,829 --> 00:55:09,862
Rundle: They had a marching band
from butte high school
1153
00:55:09,864 --> 00:55:11,430
that was there.
1154
00:55:11,432 --> 00:55:15,867
It was not a place
for a butte high marching band
1155
00:55:15,869 --> 00:55:18,035
to be that day,
I'd have to say.
1156
00:55:18,037 --> 00:55:19,503
Right when we pulled in,
1157
00:55:19,505 --> 00:55:21,805
there was a man
and woman naked, uh...
1158
00:55:21,807 --> 00:55:25,375
you know, having sex
right there under a tree.
1159
00:55:25,377 --> 00:55:27,910
I saw all the people
that were drinking
1160
00:55:27,912 --> 00:55:32,648
and smoking pot,
and they were pretty wild.
1161
00:55:32,650 --> 00:55:36,785
( Band playing "the stars
and stripes forever" )
1162
00:55:36,787 --> 00:55:38,887
We fired up the band.
1163
00:55:38,889 --> 00:55:42,390
It's like
the whole place arose.
1164
00:55:42,392 --> 00:55:44,759
Oh, they...
the crowd went wild, yeah.
1165
00:55:44,761 --> 00:55:48,362
Absolutely, they were totally
prepared for a celebration.
1166
00:55:48,364 --> 00:55:51,932
Lisac: The crowd
just started mingling
1167
00:55:51,934 --> 00:55:55,068
and just wanted to play
our instruments.
1168
00:55:55,070 --> 00:55:57,870
They tugged and pulled,
and next thing we know
1169
00:55:57,872 --> 00:56:02,441
we're separated a good 100 yards
away from the rest of the band.
1170
00:56:02,443 --> 00:56:04,342
So we were basically fighting
for our lives,
1171
00:56:04,344 --> 00:56:05,609
as far as I was concerned.
1172
00:56:05,611 --> 00:56:08,411
At that point,
they just stuffed my tuba
1173
00:56:08,413 --> 00:56:10,112
full of everything...
1174
00:56:10,114 --> 00:56:12,047
beer bottles, popcorn,
1175
00:56:12,049 --> 00:56:13,815
peanuts, rocks.
1176
00:56:13,817 --> 00:56:15,416
I pulled a bra out of there.
1177
00:56:15,418 --> 00:56:18,352
I never played a note.
1178
00:56:20,389 --> 00:56:23,523
We also had with us
the drill team,
1179
00:56:23,525 --> 00:56:25,825
and the drill team,
their name was the purple bees,
1180
00:56:25,827 --> 00:56:29,361
and a good friend of mine,
they tore her dress right off.
1181
00:56:29,363 --> 00:56:31,496
Totally tore her dress off.
1182
00:56:31,498 --> 00:56:34,732
I guess we all thought of this
1183
00:56:34,734 --> 00:56:37,501
as something different than
what it was really gonna be.
1184
00:56:39,605 --> 00:56:42,973
John hood:
The crowd were given
oh, beer,
1185
00:56:42,975 --> 00:56:45,475
and when the beer
was closed up,
1186
00:56:45,477 --> 00:56:47,443
that's when it got
kind of rowdy.
1187
00:56:47,445 --> 00:56:49,511
Rundle: They actually rolled
the beer trucks over...
1188
00:56:49,513 --> 00:56:53,581
the semis, over on their side,
shot the locks off,
1189
00:56:53,583 --> 00:56:55,149
and everybody was walking
through the camps
1190
00:56:55,151 --> 00:56:56,783
with cases of beer.
1191
00:56:56,785 --> 00:56:58,584
Next thing you know,
they took the outhouses,
1192
00:56:58,586 --> 00:57:00,118
and they took 'em down,
and they started
1193
00:57:00,120 --> 00:57:02,453
just dumping them over,
and they lit them on fire.
1194
00:57:02,455 --> 00:57:06,723
The place was absolutely
out of control at that point.
1195
00:57:06,725 --> 00:57:10,927
Things got as bad as it could
get bad without somebody dying.
1196
00:57:10,929 --> 00:57:14,063
That's as simple as that...
just as bad as it could be.
1197
00:57:14,065 --> 00:57:16,665
I could hear
out in the darkness,
1198
00:57:16,667 --> 00:57:19,067
I can hear the girls
being raped.
1199
00:57:19,069 --> 00:57:20,902
I can hear fights going on.
1200
00:57:20,904 --> 00:57:23,437
You know, I can hear gunshots
going off, you know,
1201
00:57:23,439 --> 00:57:24,871
but there's nothing I could do.
1202
00:57:24,873 --> 00:57:26,739
And finally I reached the point
where I said,
1203
00:57:26,741 --> 00:57:28,741
"you know what? I'm gonna call
the national guard in."
1204
00:57:28,743 --> 00:57:31,543
So I called them up,
and he says, "don, I'm sorry,
1205
00:57:31,545 --> 00:57:32,911
"but our men are split up,
1206
00:57:32,913 --> 00:57:34,445
"and I just can't
come out there to help you.
1207
00:57:34,447 --> 00:57:35,779
You're on your own, son."
1208
00:57:35,781 --> 00:57:38,915
And I hung up that phone,
and I felt like crying.
1209
00:57:38,917 --> 00:57:42,485
Reporter: There were more
than 33,000 paid admissions.
1210
00:57:42,487 --> 00:57:44,487
As you can see,
they needed control.
1211
00:57:44,489 --> 00:57:46,922
They were perilously close
to the edge of the canyon
1212
00:57:46,924 --> 00:57:49,057
some 600 feet straight down.
1213
00:57:49,059 --> 00:57:52,193
What I was concerned about
is that there was this canyon.
1214
00:57:52,195 --> 00:57:54,528
There's this killer canyon
in front of you,
1215
00:57:54,530 --> 00:57:57,497
and they put up
a standard cyclone fence.
1216
00:57:57,499 --> 00:57:59,499
I mean, just push it,
and it'd fall over.
1217
00:57:59,501 --> 00:58:00,900
And I thought to myself,
1218
00:58:00,902 --> 00:58:04,036
everybody's gonna rush
to that edge of the canyon
1219
00:58:04,038 --> 00:58:05,771
to see what happens.
1220
00:58:05,773 --> 00:58:07,773
And then you're gonna have
people pushing from behind,
1221
00:58:07,775 --> 00:58:09,674
and like the lemmings
in the sea,
1222
00:58:09,676 --> 00:58:12,910
they're gonna go
right over the edge.
1223
00:58:12,912 --> 00:58:14,811
Campoy: You know,
I thought it was pretty ironic
1224
00:58:14,813 --> 00:58:17,780
how don e.
Solved the security problem.
1225
00:58:17,782 --> 00:58:20,115
He went down to where
the hell's angels were camped
1226
00:58:20,117 --> 00:58:21,583
and hired them to come up
1227
00:58:21,585 --> 00:58:23,184
and provide security
for us there.
1228
00:58:23,186 --> 00:58:24,852
I went there and I explained
to them what I'll do.
1229
00:58:24,854 --> 00:58:27,521
"Here's what I'll do...
I got $1,000 in cash,
1230
00:58:27,523 --> 00:58:28,889
"and I want you
to guard the fence
1231
00:58:28,891 --> 00:58:31,558
and keep the people
on that side of the fence."
1232
00:58:31,560 --> 00:58:34,661
And the guy said,
"are you bullshitting me?"
1233
00:58:34,663 --> 00:58:36,729
I said, "am I gonna bullshit
with you guys here?"
1234
00:58:36,731 --> 00:58:38,897
"Okay, you got a deal,
mister."
1235
00:58:38,899 --> 00:58:41,900
( Laughs )
1236
00:58:41,902 --> 00:58:45,470
( Band playing
"the star spangled banner" )
1237
00:58:50,209 --> 00:58:52,943
Saltman:
On the morning of the jump,
1238
00:58:52,945 --> 00:58:57,013
I looked at him
and I saw a very pensive,
1239
00:58:57,015 --> 00:59:00,516
very reflective,
very quiet man.
1240
00:59:00,518 --> 00:59:02,751
He didn't look comfortable.
1241
00:59:02,753 --> 00:59:05,720
I don't know why he would
look comfortable,
1242
00:59:05,722 --> 00:59:09,824
climbing into a tin can
to fly over a canyon.
1243
00:59:09,826 --> 00:59:11,692
Reporter: There is
Bob treaux himself,
1244
00:59:11,694 --> 00:59:13,960
the chief engineer
testing the wind.
1245
00:59:13,962 --> 00:59:17,596
Sprow: The 15-mile-an-hour wind
was not the right direction.
1246
00:59:17,598 --> 00:59:20,565
We recommended to knievel
he delay the launch.
1247
00:59:20,567 --> 00:59:23,100
Pavlovich: I just said,
"you know, Bob, I don't think
you ought to do it.
1248
00:59:23,102 --> 00:59:25,535
"I think this is crazy.
1249
00:59:25,537 --> 00:59:27,270
I think this thing
isn't gonna make it."
1250
00:59:27,272 --> 00:59:30,106
He says, "I can't back out now.
Too much has been said.
1251
00:59:30,108 --> 00:59:32,875
They'd call me a coward."
He says he's not gonna do that.
1252
00:59:32,877 --> 00:59:34,209
"I'm going and that's it."
1253
00:59:34,211 --> 00:59:36,978
I've got a team behind me
with Mr. treuax
1254
00:59:36,980 --> 00:59:41,282
and all of those boys are 100%,
and... I think we'll do it.
1255
00:59:41,284 --> 00:59:43,851
I wish the wind
wasn't blowing so hard,
1256
00:59:43,853 --> 00:59:46,253
but I think we'll do it.
1257
00:59:46,255 --> 00:59:48,888
Saltman:
There was no braggadocio.
1258
00:59:48,890 --> 00:59:51,857
There was no bravado.
1259
00:59:51,859 --> 00:59:54,626
As the time counted off,
1260
00:59:54,628 --> 00:59:57,762
he'd said to his family,
"let's pray."
1261
00:59:59,866 --> 01:00:01,599
Robbie knievel:
Yeah, I remember my dad
1262
01:00:01,601 --> 01:00:03,600
brought me in the trailer
and that...
1263
01:00:06,104 --> 01:00:08,270
Truck...
( Sniffles )
1264
01:00:08,272 --> 01:00:11,840
The whole family.
1265
01:00:11,842 --> 01:00:14,742
And he hugged me
and says, "I love you."
1266
01:00:14,744 --> 01:00:17,144
And he didn't know
what was gonna happen.
1267
01:00:17,146 --> 01:00:20,113
He was like,
"God, take care of me."
1268
01:00:20,115 --> 01:00:22,748
Linda and the children
were crying,
1269
01:00:22,750 --> 01:00:25,817
especially the little girl.
1270
01:00:27,620 --> 01:00:31,188
Yeah, that was a very
sobering moment.
1271
01:00:31,190 --> 01:00:33,924
You know,
suddenly I realized...
1272
01:00:33,926 --> 01:00:36,826
Have I had a hand
in getting a man killed?
1273
01:00:38,763 --> 01:00:40,996
Reporter:
There he goes up the ramp
1274
01:00:40,998 --> 01:00:42,597
toward the launch site
1275
01:00:42,599 --> 01:00:44,999
and towards the vehicle.
1276
01:00:45,001 --> 01:00:48,736
And he's being introduced
to the crowd now.
1277
01:00:48,738 --> 01:00:52,873
I've never been afraid
in my life of dying.
1278
01:00:52,875 --> 01:00:57,110
I think that a man
was put here on earth to live,
1279
01:00:57,112 --> 01:00:59,345
not just to exist.
1280
01:00:59,347 --> 01:01:02,047
And today
is the proudest day
of my life.
1281
01:01:02,049 --> 01:01:03,848
I'm living a dream
1282
01:01:03,850 --> 01:01:06,750
that they thought could never
be done, but it'll be done.
1283
01:01:10,856 --> 01:01:15,058
Saltman: And then instead
of a roar, a silence...
1284
01:01:15,060 --> 01:01:18,361
like an eerie silence
fell over the crowd
1285
01:01:18,363 --> 01:01:22,131
because this guy truly
might be going to his death.
1286
01:01:33,843 --> 01:01:36,810
Branker:
Evel got out of the crane
1287
01:01:36,812 --> 01:01:39,212
and into the sky cycle,
and the whole time,
1288
01:01:39,214 --> 01:01:41,247
patriotic music
is being played,
1289
01:01:41,249 --> 01:01:43,082
and at that time,
1290
01:01:43,084 --> 01:01:44,716
even I got emotional a bit.
1291
01:01:44,718 --> 01:01:47,652
Sprow:
Fecundo and I strapped him in,
1292
01:01:47,654 --> 01:01:52,790
and got a couple of pictures
of him in the cockpit.
1293
01:01:52,792 --> 01:01:54,191
Campoy: He looked
a lot different than he did
1294
01:01:54,193 --> 01:01:55,825
when we started this project.
1295
01:01:55,827 --> 01:01:58,661
His hair was gray,
and he was really serious.
1296
01:01:58,663 --> 01:01:59,928
Saltman:
We had a big clock...
1297
01:01:59,930 --> 01:02:03,731
10 seconds, nine seconds.
1298
01:02:03,733 --> 01:02:05,666
Branker: Eight, seven...
you look at the audience,
1299
01:02:05,668 --> 01:02:07,367
no one's even breathing.
1300
01:02:07,369 --> 01:02:09,635
Five... four...
1301
01:02:09,637 --> 01:02:12,037
Announcer:
Three, two, one.
1302
01:02:17,844 --> 01:02:20,911
Saltman: Immediately,
something failed.
1303
01:02:20,913 --> 01:02:24,848
It fizzled.
It went down like a bullet.
1304
01:02:24,850 --> 01:02:26,916
Reporter: The parachute is out.
The main chute is out.
1305
01:02:26,918 --> 01:02:28,183
There she goes.
1306
01:02:28,185 --> 01:02:29,917
Reporter:
It's going to crash.
1307
01:02:32,988 --> 01:02:34,854
Just missed the rocks!
1308
01:02:34,856 --> 01:02:36,789
David, I can't see anything.
1309
01:02:36,791 --> 01:02:38,290
Berg:
I had my camera.
1310
01:02:38,292 --> 01:02:39,724
I'm taking...
click click click click.
1311
01:02:39,726 --> 01:02:41,826
( Whooshes )
Right into the canyon.
1312
01:02:41,828 --> 01:02:45,262
I turn around, and the first
fence just goes flat.
1313
01:02:45,264 --> 01:02:47,030
Just, shwoop.
1314
01:02:47,032 --> 01:02:49,899
Man: It was a stampede,
that's exactly what it was.
1315
01:02:49,901 --> 01:02:52,301
Branker: I saw bikers pluck
people out of the sky.
1316
01:02:52,303 --> 01:02:54,670
It was right out of a movie,
you know?
1317
01:02:54,672 --> 01:02:57,406
Reporter: Robert Craig knievel
appears to have landed
1318
01:02:57,408 --> 01:02:59,207
in the snake river.
1319
01:02:59,209 --> 01:03:02,310
Evel definitely tried
to get out, but he couldn't.
1320
01:03:02,312 --> 01:03:04,312
Reporter:
Even I am very scared.
1321
01:03:04,314 --> 01:03:05,880
Pavlovich:
I thought he's gone.
1322
01:03:05,882 --> 01:03:07,549
They're not gonna
get to him in time.
1323
01:03:07,551 --> 01:03:09,250
He's gonna drown.
1324
01:03:11,153 --> 01:03:12,886
Tonning: There was people
running up
1325
01:03:12,888 --> 01:03:15,355
looking over the edge,
and Linda was scared,
1326
01:03:15,357 --> 01:03:17,824
and the boys were scared.
1327
01:03:17,826 --> 01:03:19,425
Robbie knievel:
I thought my dad was dead.
1328
01:03:19,427 --> 01:03:21,059
I was screaming, crying.
1329
01:03:21,061 --> 01:03:23,828
Saltman: I got into
my helicopter,
1330
01:03:23,830 --> 01:03:28,332
got over the canyon,
and there from the muddy banks
1331
01:03:28,334 --> 01:03:31,201
on the side of the river...
1332
01:03:31,203 --> 01:03:33,203
Was evel waving.
1333
01:03:33,205 --> 01:03:34,938
And I said this...
1334
01:03:34,940 --> 01:03:37,540
thank God that
son of a bitch is alive.
1335
01:03:37,542 --> 01:03:39,341
Reporter: Evel knievel
is standing
1336
01:03:39,343 --> 01:03:40,542
in the boat and waving.
1337
01:03:40,544 --> 01:03:43,344
He is alive and well.
1338
01:03:43,346 --> 01:03:46,013
( Reporters overlapping )
1339
01:03:53,155 --> 01:03:55,255
I don't know what happened.
I don't know what happened.
1340
01:03:55,257 --> 01:03:59,158
Just... I think...
I don't know. I just can't say.
1341
01:03:59,160 --> 01:04:01,894
I'll have to let Bob
and the fellas examine it.
1342
01:04:01,896 --> 01:04:03,829
Bob, what happened?
1343
01:04:03,831 --> 01:04:07,966
Well, this right here
is the cover
1344
01:04:07,968 --> 01:04:09,367
to the parachute canister.
1345
01:04:09,369 --> 01:04:12,603
It obviously came loose
much too soon, right on the pad.
1346
01:04:12,605 --> 01:04:14,972
Campoy: What had happened
is it went up.
1347
01:04:14,974 --> 01:04:17,874
I knew immediately that
the chute had been deployed.
1348
01:04:17,876 --> 01:04:19,342
Malewicki: It came off
1349
01:04:19,344 --> 01:04:22,011
because of a mechanical problem
with the design.
1350
01:04:22,013 --> 01:04:23,879
You didn't do
a damn thing wrong.
1351
01:04:23,881 --> 01:04:25,914
The can is wrong on the thing.
1352
01:04:25,916 --> 01:04:27,315
It blew up right there
on the launch.
1353
01:04:27,317 --> 01:04:30,484
- Blew up by accident?
- Yeah, it was our fault.
1354
01:04:30,486 --> 01:04:32,953
It's not your fault.
These things happen.
1355
01:04:32,955 --> 01:04:36,623
Yes, we should have run
one more test.
1356
01:04:36,625 --> 01:04:39,025
Campoy:
It was clear to me,
or to us,
1357
01:04:39,027 --> 01:04:41,093
that it was a mechanical
failure,
1358
01:04:41,095 --> 01:04:43,095
but there was another story
being banded about
1359
01:04:43,097 --> 01:04:45,197
back at the press tent
that perhaps
1360
01:04:45,199 --> 01:04:47,966
evel had released
the chute early.
1361
01:04:47,968 --> 01:04:50,969
I told people
that that's what happened.
1362
01:04:50,971 --> 01:04:54,038
When I went to the press tent
after the jump,
1363
01:04:54,040 --> 01:04:56,206
the press was asking for me
to come and make a statement.
1364
01:04:56,208 --> 01:05:02,211
I told the press that he...
his hand came off of the bar.
1365
01:05:02,213 --> 01:05:04,012
I really liked the rocket crew.
1366
01:05:04,014 --> 01:05:05,880
They're just a bunch
of nice guys.
1367
01:05:05,882 --> 01:05:09,550
I just knew that the m.O.
Of how he treated people
1368
01:05:09,552 --> 01:05:11,018
nothing was ever his fault.
1369
01:05:11,020 --> 01:05:14,121
I told people
that that's what happened.
1370
01:05:14,123 --> 01:05:17,491
And if by chance that took
a little bit of the pressure
1371
01:05:17,493 --> 01:05:20,293
off of the rocket team,
then so be it.
1372
01:05:20,295 --> 01:05:23,362
Campoy: So it got out
that it was evel's fault.
1373
01:05:23,364 --> 01:05:25,297
Reporter: But the nagging
question remains...
1374
01:05:25,299 --> 01:05:28,600
was this the legitimate attempt
of a brave man,
1375
01:05:28,602 --> 01:05:31,235
or was it the great rip-off
of 1974?
1376
01:05:31,237 --> 01:05:35,239
Wilson:
Then the press tore him up.
1377
01:05:35,241 --> 01:05:37,507
'Cause they think that he,
along with me,
1378
01:05:37,509 --> 01:05:39,375
had perpetrated a fraud.
1379
01:05:39,377 --> 01:05:41,110
Hero or hustler?
1380
01:05:41,112 --> 01:05:45,013
Or for Americans,
are those the same thing?
1381
01:05:46,549 --> 01:05:50,017
Reporter: It was evel knievel
against the snake river canyon,
1382
01:05:50,019 --> 01:05:53,987
and the canyon
was the sentimental favorite.
1383
01:05:53,989 --> 01:05:55,455
Evel would have liked his jump
1384
01:05:55,457 --> 01:05:57,457
to have been huge
front-page news,
1385
01:05:57,459 --> 01:05:59,525
but it was overwhelmingly
squashed
1386
01:05:59,527 --> 01:06:01,260
by the big news of the day,
1387
01:06:01,262 --> 01:06:05,964
which was the pardon
of Nixon by president Ford.
1388
01:06:05,966 --> 01:06:09,200
That was a major transition
in the country.
1389
01:06:11,537 --> 01:06:13,403
Maybe he had outlived
his novelty
1390
01:06:13,405 --> 01:06:15,605
because I think people
just might of got tired
1391
01:06:15,607 --> 01:06:17,273
of listening to it.
1392
01:06:17,275 --> 01:06:22,278
And that's when he came back
to butte and...
1393
01:06:22,280 --> 01:06:25,414
an he was... I don't know
if he was depressed or what.
1394
01:06:25,416 --> 01:06:30,018
He just, uh...
1395
01:06:30,020 --> 01:06:32,520
I thought sure he'd
just give up after that,
1396
01:06:32,522 --> 01:06:35,022
say, "well, you know, I'm done."
1397
01:06:35,024 --> 01:06:38,959
( Roger Miller's
"england swings" plays )
1398
01:06:41,430 --> 01:06:44,431
¶ England swings
like a pendulum do... ¶
1399
01:06:44,433 --> 01:06:47,567
gunn: He had never
been to england before.
1400
01:06:47,569 --> 01:06:52,171
He thought a new crowd,
new group.
1401
01:06:52,173 --> 01:06:54,606
I can snow them a little
more than I can the Americans.
1402
01:06:54,608 --> 01:06:57,976
Rose: Well, they hadn't heard
the Teddy Roosevelt speech,
1403
01:06:57,978 --> 01:07:00,445
be good to your parents,
wear a helmet.
1404
01:07:00,447 --> 01:07:02,113
¶ Two by two ¶
1405
01:07:02,115 --> 01:07:05,082
¶ westminster abbey,
the tower, big Ben... ¶
1406
01:07:05,084 --> 01:07:07,384
reporter: Evel knievel
is alive, well,
1407
01:07:07,386 --> 01:07:10,420
and back in action in famed old
wembley stadium,
1408
01:07:10,422 --> 01:07:12,722
London, england,
for a jump that will be made
1409
01:07:12,724 --> 01:07:14,990
over 13 London buses.
1410
01:07:14,992 --> 01:07:18,026
Wilson:
When he arrived in London,
1411
01:07:18,027 --> 01:07:21,061
he had only sold 3,000 seats
for a 100,000-seat stadium,
1412
01:07:21,064 --> 01:07:22,396
and he was in trouble.
1413
01:07:22,398 --> 01:07:24,464
There was some press there
to meet him.
1414
01:07:24,466 --> 01:07:27,600
He looks at the press,
and what did he do?
1415
01:07:27,602 --> 01:07:30,002
"I'm so glad to be here
in england
1416
01:07:30,004 --> 01:07:32,571
where we came
and won the war for you."
1417
01:07:32,573 --> 01:07:36,641
Holy... oh?
And they start writing.
1418
01:07:36,643 --> 01:07:38,309
He knew his job,
1419
01:07:38,311 --> 01:07:40,744
which was to get people
in wembley stadium.
1420
01:07:40,746 --> 01:07:44,147
We drove around London,
just making friends.
1421
01:07:44,149 --> 01:07:45,481
How you doing?
What's your name?
1422
01:07:45,483 --> 01:07:47,216
Stephen.
1423
01:07:47,218 --> 01:07:49,084
Reporter:
So the yankee pied Piper
1424
01:07:49,086 --> 01:07:52,053
collected the young and the old
and led them all
1425
01:07:52,055 --> 01:07:53,554
to wembley stadium.
1426
01:07:55,357 --> 01:08:00,193
80,000 people showed up
to watch the man do it.
1427
01:08:01,496 --> 01:08:04,763
Gifford: So we walked
into the arena of wembley
1428
01:08:04,765 --> 01:08:06,765
where the buses were lined up,
1429
01:08:06,767 --> 01:08:10,168
and he said,
"I can't do that."
1430
01:08:10,170 --> 01:08:12,103
I said, "what do you mean
you can't do that?"
1431
01:08:12,105 --> 01:08:13,404
I said, "pull a few buses
out of there.
1432
01:08:13,406 --> 01:08:15,305
Come on, it won't hurt
a thing to do that."
1433
01:08:15,307 --> 01:08:17,140
Now I go over
and grab our producer,
1434
01:08:17,142 --> 01:08:20,776
I said, "Doug," I said,
"evel says he can't do that."
1435
01:08:20,778 --> 01:08:25,413
He really didn't think
he was gonna make it.
1436
01:08:27,250 --> 01:08:29,250
Gifford: So I went over
to talk to evel,
1437
01:08:29,252 --> 01:08:32,219
and talk him out of it,
and he was in a trailer.
1438
01:08:32,221 --> 01:08:35,222
We knocked on the door,
and he said, "oh, no.
1439
01:08:35,224 --> 01:08:37,224
I'll give it a go.
I'll give it a go."
1440
01:08:37,226 --> 01:08:39,159
It was always,
"I'll give it a go."
1441
01:08:40,262 --> 01:08:42,362
And he was right.
He couldn't make it.
1442
01:08:43,598 --> 01:08:48,400
Announcer:
Here is evel knievel!
1443
01:08:48,402 --> 01:08:51,169
Gifford: You know, evel,
one has to wonder after
the snake river,
1444
01:08:51,171 --> 01:08:53,304
one has to wonder
why you continue?
1445
01:08:53,306 --> 01:08:58,108
Well, I sometimes think
that maybe I should quit,
1446
01:08:58,110 --> 01:08:59,576
but you always
want to keep going,
1447
01:08:59,578 --> 01:09:03,313
and I'm kind of proud of that
red, white, and blue number one
1448
01:09:03,315 --> 01:09:04,847
I wear on my shoulder,
and I want to keep it on there.
1449
01:09:04,849 --> 01:09:06,515
I'm glad you're here today.
1450
01:09:06,517 --> 01:09:07,682
You know,
I've never had an accident
when you're around.
1451
01:09:07,684 --> 01:09:11,285
- Good luck.
- Thanks.
1452
01:09:11,287 --> 01:09:14,321
Gifford: He told me earlier
that outside of the jump
1453
01:09:14,323 --> 01:09:16,289
at Caesar's palace
where he was severely injured,
1454
01:09:16,291 --> 01:09:18,658
that this will probably be
the most difficult jump
1455
01:09:18,660 --> 01:09:21,494
he has ever made.
1456
01:09:21,496 --> 01:09:27,232
He hurt himself in indio
1967 Caesars Palace.
1457
01:09:27,234 --> 01:09:29,667
Here he goes.
And he will go.
1458
01:09:47,152 --> 01:09:49,652
Wilson: It was almost eerie,
though.
1459
01:09:49,654 --> 01:09:51,854
The motorcycle was ghostly.
1460
01:09:51,856 --> 01:09:56,225
It was tumbling after him,
sort of.
1461
01:09:56,227 --> 01:09:58,427
Then eventually,
it landed on him.
1462
01:10:07,737 --> 01:10:09,670
Gifford: He's down
and he is hurt.
1463
01:10:09,672 --> 01:10:11,638
Oh, my God.
1464
01:10:11,640 --> 01:10:15,742
( Motorcycle revs )
1465
01:10:15,744 --> 01:10:18,644
The man you see now
leaning over evel is John hood.
1466
01:10:18,646 --> 01:10:20,379
That's his chief mechanic.
1467
01:10:20,381 --> 01:10:23,148
Hood: I knew, well,
he's gotta be hurt on this one.
1468
01:10:23,150 --> 01:10:26,217
And I kneeled down
and said, "are you okay?"
1469
01:10:26,219 --> 01:10:28,619
I got his helmet off
and he said, "help me up."
1470
01:10:28,621 --> 01:10:29,886
And he wanted the microphone.
1471
01:10:29,888 --> 01:10:33,289
I wanna stand up and walk.
Now, help me up.
1472
01:10:33,291 --> 01:10:35,658
He wants to talk.
He's gonna talk.
1473
01:10:41,232 --> 01:10:43,899
Ladies and gentlemen...
1474
01:10:43,901 --> 01:10:47,802
Of this wonderful country...
1475
01:10:47,804 --> 01:10:51,372
I've got to tell you
1476
01:10:51,374 --> 01:10:53,874
that you...
1477
01:10:53,876 --> 01:10:57,677
Are the last people
in the world
1478
01:10:57,679 --> 01:10:59,311
who will ever see me jump.
1479
01:10:59,313 --> 01:11:01,946
Because I will never ever,
ever jump again.
1480
01:11:01,948 --> 01:11:04,648
I am through.
1481
01:11:12,924 --> 01:11:14,924
Knoxville: That crash
was one of the worst
1482
01:11:14,926 --> 01:11:17,626
as far as injuries would go.
1483
01:11:17,628 --> 01:11:21,663
He broke his hand, back,
re-broke his pelvis.
1484
01:11:23,199 --> 01:11:25,699
After wembley,
I went home to edit.
1485
01:11:25,701 --> 01:11:28,368
Phone rang.
"Hello, Doug? Evel."
1486
01:11:28,370 --> 01:11:30,536
He's calling me from
his hospital room in London.
1487
01:11:30,538 --> 01:11:32,905
"Doug,
you can't use that quote."
1488
01:11:32,907 --> 01:11:34,673
"What do you mean, evel?"
1489
01:11:34,675 --> 01:11:35,940
"You can't use that quote,
1490
01:11:35,942 --> 01:11:38,542
that quote where I said
I wouldn't jump again."
1491
01:11:38,544 --> 01:11:41,411
And I said, "well, why?"
"'Cause I may jump again."
1492
01:11:41,413 --> 01:11:44,247
When the jump was over
in London,
1493
01:11:44,249 --> 01:11:46,716
I said that I'd
never jump again.
1494
01:11:46,718 --> 01:11:50,586
That was the pain in my body
overpowering the brains
1495
01:11:50,588 --> 01:11:53,555
that I'm supposed
to have in my head.
1496
01:11:53,557 --> 01:11:54,989
I will jump again,
1497
01:11:54,991 --> 01:11:57,825
but 13 is an unlucky number.
1498
01:11:57,827 --> 01:12:00,627
This time
I'm gonna jump
14 buses.
1499
01:12:00,629 --> 01:12:02,595
Somehow he gets the idea...
1500
01:12:02,597 --> 01:12:04,496
I am not gonna go out
with a crash.
1501
01:12:04,498 --> 01:12:05,964
I'm gonna go back
to the United States,
1502
01:12:05,966 --> 01:12:08,766
and I'm gonna jump 14 buses.
1503
01:12:08,768 --> 01:12:10,400
That's just who he was.
1504
01:12:10,402 --> 01:12:12,435
You can't do it and say
you're the best in the world
1505
01:12:12,437 --> 01:12:15,571
and then fall off
and get up and say, I quit.
1506
01:12:15,573 --> 01:12:17,539
Not if you're
an evel knievel you can't.
1507
01:12:17,541 --> 01:12:20,241
Reporter: The king's island
family entertainment center,
1508
01:12:20,243 --> 01:12:23,244
located just outside
of Cincinnati, Ohio,
1509
01:12:23,246 --> 01:12:25,779
is jam-packed with people
who have come to watch
1510
01:12:25,781 --> 01:12:28,348
evel knievel out of retirement,
1511
01:12:28,350 --> 01:12:32,552
and here he comes right now,
Robert Craig knievel, evel.
1512
01:12:32,554 --> 01:12:34,987
Knoxville: A lot was riding
on this jump.
1513
01:12:34,989 --> 01:12:36,955
Uh, it was a different evel.
1514
01:12:36,957 --> 01:12:39,590
I mean, he actually did
practice jumps.
1515
01:12:39,592 --> 01:12:41,391
I'm gonna go, Frank.
1516
01:12:41,393 --> 01:12:44,326
There's no wind gonna stop me,
not even a hurricane.
1517
01:12:46,330 --> 01:12:48,881
Wilson:
It was a very gutsy jump.
1518
01:12:48,882 --> 01:12:51,433
The doctors told him
just don't ever do that again.
1519
01:12:51,435 --> 01:12:53,468
You know, one little slip,
wrong thing,
1520
01:12:53,470 --> 01:12:56,337
and he'd probably
have been paralyzed.
1521
01:12:56,339 --> 01:12:58,272
Reporter:
Everything is go.
1522
01:13:03,580 --> 01:13:06,948
And the total concentration now
is getting that bike
1523
01:13:06,950 --> 01:13:10,518
off the approach ramp
and on to the landing ramp.
1524
01:13:18,461 --> 01:13:20,594
And he's not hesitating.
He'll go.
1525
01:13:26,001 --> 01:13:29,702
( Cheers and applause )
1526
01:13:39,746 --> 01:13:44,014
Boy, busted the motorcycle
right in half, Frank.
1527
01:13:44,016 --> 01:13:45,815
Boy, it did come apart,
didn't it?
1528
01:13:45,817 --> 01:13:47,816
- Boy, did I hit hard.
- Yeah, I know.
1529
01:13:50,687 --> 01:13:53,020
Thank you.
1530
01:13:53,022 --> 01:13:56,823
This motorcycle is the finest
machine in the world,
1531
01:13:56,825 --> 01:13:58,090
as far as I am concerned.
1532
01:13:58,092 --> 01:13:59,658
It broke in half,
but it held me up,
1533
01:13:59,660 --> 01:14:02,627
and all I can say
is thanks to number one,
1534
01:14:02,629 --> 01:14:03,894
thanks to harley Davidson.
1535
01:14:03,896 --> 01:14:06,563
You've been so good
to me through the years.
1536
01:14:06,565 --> 01:14:09,499
I would like to tell
all of you something, though,
1537
01:14:09,501 --> 01:14:12,835
that... that as far as
I am concerned,
1538
01:14:12,837 --> 01:14:14,903
I have jumped far enough.
1539
01:14:14,905 --> 01:14:17,739
Today I'm gonna walk away
from here with you,
1540
01:14:17,741 --> 01:14:20,108
and I feel that's being
a professional.
1541
01:14:20,110 --> 01:14:22,777
That's what I'm gonna do.
1542
01:14:22,779 --> 01:14:26,947
Knoxville: King's island was
the longest jump of his career.
1543
01:14:26,949 --> 01:14:30,116
It was the biggest television
audience he ever had,
1544
01:14:30,118 --> 01:14:32,451
and it was
the highest-rated episode
1545
01:14:32,453 --> 01:14:35,720
of "wide world of sports" ever.
1546
01:14:35,722 --> 01:14:37,221
He did some small jumps
after that,
1547
01:14:37,223 --> 01:14:40,123
but he never went
that big again.
1548
01:14:40,125 --> 01:14:42,792
King's island was...
1549
01:14:42,794 --> 01:14:46,061
The gunfighter
putting away his pistols.
1550
01:14:56,205 --> 01:14:59,806
If you were on a bike,
you'd do stupid shit,
1551
01:14:59,808 --> 01:15:02,841
but you would do stupid shit
in the name of evel knievel.
1552
01:15:06,613 --> 01:15:08,779
Hoffman: I thought
that's why you had a bike.
1553
01:15:08,781 --> 01:15:10,914
I didn't know
you just rode bikes around.
I thought the whole purpose
1554
01:15:10,916 --> 01:15:13,516
of bikes were to hit things
and fly off of 'em.
1555
01:15:13,518 --> 01:15:15,051
Seth enslow: We'd line up
the neighbor kids
1556
01:15:15,052 --> 01:15:16,585
and see who could jump
more neighbors
1557
01:15:16,587 --> 01:15:18,987
without landing on 'em
and things like that,
1558
01:15:18,989 --> 01:15:21,522
but we just dreamed of having
a motor between our legs.
1559
01:15:21,524 --> 01:15:23,590
I loved just going down steps,
1560
01:15:23,592 --> 01:15:24,991
and I crashed all the time.
1561
01:15:24,993 --> 01:15:26,826
You're like, yeah, I'm gonna be
just like evel knievel
1562
01:15:26,828 --> 01:15:28,027
only not as good.
1563
01:15:31,098 --> 01:15:33,531
There's no way that a youngster
1564
01:15:33,533 --> 01:15:36,634
is not going
to not want to try to do
what his hero does.
1565
01:15:36,636 --> 01:15:38,235
I don't think there's
anything wrong with a kid
1566
01:15:38,237 --> 01:15:40,003
wanting to be an evel knievel
1567
01:15:40,005 --> 01:15:42,505
any more than he'd wanna be
an o.J. Simpson or Frank gifford
1568
01:15:42,507 --> 01:15:45,641
or be any kind
of a professional athlete.
1569
01:15:45,643 --> 01:15:47,643
- Reporter:
Do you view him as a hero?
- Yeah.
1570
01:15:47,645 --> 01:15:49,011
- Do you really?
- Yeah.
1571
01:15:49,013 --> 01:15:50,746
He's one of the greatest heroes.
1572
01:15:50,748 --> 01:15:53,148
Robbie knievel:
He was a hero to so many kids,
1573
01:15:53,150 --> 01:15:56,050
but his own son
was his biggest fan.
1574
01:15:57,953 --> 01:16:00,987
Reporter: This is Robbie.
Look at this little guy go.
1575
01:16:00,989 --> 01:16:03,856
Wouldn't you know
it would be the young one
who would steal it.
1576
01:16:03,858 --> 01:16:05,958
He's the one that's got
to have the longest wheelie.
1577
01:16:05,960 --> 01:16:09,728
Robbie knievel:
He totally saw me and him,
1578
01:16:09,730 --> 01:16:11,663
and it was like,
"I'm gonna be you, dad."
1579
01:16:11,665 --> 01:16:13,998
And the legend continues.
1580
01:16:14,000 --> 01:16:16,033
I'm gonna jump the fountains
at Caesar's palace
1581
01:16:16,035 --> 01:16:17,934
before I end my career.
1582
01:16:17,936 --> 01:16:19,669
( Cheers and applause )
1583
01:16:27,578 --> 01:16:29,010
That was for you, dad.
1584
01:16:29,012 --> 01:16:31,145
Knoxville: Yeah, Robbie
broke all of his dad's records.
1585
01:16:31,147 --> 01:16:34,647
I mean, hell, he could jump
fourteen buses with no hands.
1586
01:16:36,851 --> 01:16:39,852
But Robbie was jumping
on lighter,
1587
01:16:39,854 --> 01:16:43,856
more powerful bikes
that were designed for jumping.
1588
01:16:43,858 --> 01:16:45,624
Leeuwen: He could jump
farther and longer than evel
1589
01:16:45,626 --> 01:16:47,225
and all that stuff,
but it didn't matter.
1590
01:16:47,227 --> 01:16:48,659
Robbie couldn't tell a story.
1591
01:16:48,661 --> 01:16:50,761
You know, he was not a showman.
1592
01:16:50,763 --> 01:16:52,329
Knievel is the ultimate showman.
1593
01:16:52,331 --> 01:16:54,631
A guy could sing
1594
01:16:54,633 --> 01:16:56,966
longer and louder
than Elvis Presley,
1595
01:16:56,968 --> 01:16:59,001
but who gave a damn?
1596
01:16:59,003 --> 01:17:03,038
He was Elvis Presley.
My dad was evel knievel.
1597
01:17:03,040 --> 01:17:04,973
( Laughter )
1598
01:17:06,943 --> 01:17:08,742
( Applause )
1599
01:17:08,744 --> 01:17:10,777
Williams: Even when Bobbie
wasn't jumping anymore
1600
01:17:10,779 --> 01:17:12,912
he still wanted to be
in the spotlight,
1601
01:17:12,914 --> 01:17:15,180
and he had to find
other things to do
1602
01:17:15,182 --> 01:17:17,215
to get himself attention.
1603
01:17:17,217 --> 01:17:19,183
Yeah, one of his projects
was Hollywood.
1604
01:17:19,185 --> 01:17:20,651
- ¶ Viva ¶
- ¶ Viva ¶
1605
01:17:20,653 --> 01:17:22,319
¶ viva knievel ¶
1606
01:17:22,321 --> 01:17:24,721
Hamilton: In the end,
there was one guy
1607
01:17:24,723 --> 01:17:28,925
meant to be evel knievel,
and that was evel.
1608
01:17:28,927 --> 01:17:31,093
Evel had a movie-star quality
about him.
1609
01:17:31,095 --> 01:17:34,796
There's no doubt about it.
Uh, not when he tried to act.
1610
01:17:34,798 --> 01:17:36,731
Look at you, you're trying
to destroy yourself.
1611
01:17:36,733 --> 01:17:39,100
If you don't believe me,
here's the proof.
1612
01:17:39,102 --> 01:17:41,869
I'm not gonna let you
commit suicide around me.
1613
01:17:44,874 --> 01:17:47,741
He performed for the audience,
1614
01:17:47,743 --> 01:17:50,076
but when it came
to the acting part,
1615
01:17:50,078 --> 01:17:51,343
I guess there's a difference.
1616
01:17:51,345 --> 01:17:54,179
- That was too far!
- Stop it!
1617
01:17:54,181 --> 01:17:55,747
- All right...
- Stop it!
1618
01:17:55,749 --> 01:17:57,281
- Any way you want it, man!
- Stop it, stop it!
1619
01:17:57,283 --> 01:17:58,882
Hood:
Once it came out,
1620
01:17:58,884 --> 01:18:01,784
it was a movie that wasn't
really well-received.
1621
01:18:03,821 --> 01:18:04,786
¶ Viva ¶
1622
01:18:06,356 --> 01:18:09,023
I guess the exciting part's
is the jump, huh?
1623
01:18:13,396 --> 01:18:15,129
You know, we've got
the wallendas on the highwire,
1624
01:18:15,131 --> 01:18:18,031
and the mentalist on the edge
of the canyon on a motorcycle...
1625
01:18:18,033 --> 01:18:19,665
Saltman: When I knew
I was gonna take on
1626
01:18:19,667 --> 01:18:21,266
the snake river canyon event,
1627
01:18:21,268 --> 01:18:24,802
I decided something
very important...
1628
01:18:24,804 --> 01:18:26,670
that I would write a book,
1629
01:18:26,672 --> 01:18:29,205
a legacy,
that people could read
1630
01:18:29,207 --> 01:18:33,709
about the evel knievel promotion
of the snake river canyon.
1631
01:18:33,711 --> 01:18:37,045
And knievel, he was my 50/50
partner, and he says,
1632
01:18:37,047 --> 01:18:40,248
"don't forget,
just tell the truth."
1633
01:18:40,250 --> 01:18:41,849
So with permission,
1634
01:18:41,851 --> 01:18:45,152
I carried
an audio-cassette recorder
1635
01:18:45,154 --> 01:18:47,154
during the evel knievel tour.
1636
01:18:55,797 --> 01:18:58,931
If you listen to the tape,
you can form your own opinion.
1637
01:19:28,028 --> 01:19:31,863
And so when I wrote my book,
I kept out a lot of things,
1638
01:19:31,865 --> 01:19:33,764
stuff I would
never write about,
1639
01:19:33,766 --> 01:19:36,233
'cause remember,
when the book was coming out,
1640
01:19:36,235 --> 01:19:38,034
I was still protecting
his image.
1641
01:19:38,036 --> 01:19:40,836
Evel's attorney,
he checked everything,
1642
01:19:40,838 --> 01:19:43,772
told me that it had
evel's approval in writing,
1643
01:19:43,774 --> 01:19:45,774
and then the book
was published.
1644
01:19:46,977 --> 01:19:49,143
Little: I was at evel's
compound one day,
1645
01:19:49,145 --> 01:19:50,844
and he throws me this book,
1646
01:19:50,846 --> 01:19:53,847
and he says, "here, keep this.
1647
01:19:53,849 --> 01:19:56,115
It'll be worth some money
someday."
1648
01:19:56,117 --> 01:20:00,119
I open it up, here's all
his footnotes in there.
1649
01:20:00,121 --> 01:20:03,789
The first part of the book...
"x-rated evel."
1650
01:20:03,791 --> 01:20:07,125
He writes in there,
"constitutes adultery."
1651
01:20:08,795 --> 01:20:11,095
So right from the get-go,
you could tell he was mad.
1652
01:20:11,097 --> 01:20:13,464
It just starts,
and you can tell by the...
1653
01:20:13,466 --> 01:20:16,733
the farther it gets in the book,
the madder he got.
1654
01:20:16,735 --> 01:20:18,334
"This is a lie
and not accurate."
1655
01:20:18,336 --> 01:20:19,501
( Laughs )
1656
01:20:19,503 --> 01:20:22,403
"Lies, lies, lies."
1657
01:20:22,405 --> 01:20:24,004
I read the book,
and you know what?
1658
01:20:24,006 --> 01:20:27,941
I said, yeah,
what's the problem?
1659
01:20:27,943 --> 01:20:31,377
He could of said a lot more
worse stuff. ( Laughs )
1660
01:20:31,379 --> 01:20:33,078
I read the book a couple times.
1661
01:20:33,080 --> 01:20:35,513
I didn't see
anything in it bad.
Nothing.
1662
01:20:35,515 --> 01:20:39,817
It was very factual.
Very, very, very factual.
1663
01:20:39,819 --> 01:20:43,053
I think that Shelly,
that wrote it,
1664
01:20:43,055 --> 01:20:45,221
was, uh, accurate.
1665
01:20:45,223 --> 01:20:48,157
And...
1666
01:20:48,159 --> 01:20:50,359
It made him really mad.
1667
01:20:52,096 --> 01:20:54,930
Saltman: I was on
the 20th century fox lot,
1668
01:20:54,932 --> 01:20:56,765
when all of a sudden,
I saw evel,
1669
01:20:56,767 --> 01:20:59,167
with a big smile coming at me,
loping along.
1670
01:21:00,503 --> 01:21:01,969
And I was actually
glad to see him.
1671
01:21:01,971 --> 01:21:03,971
The book was out,
and I was like,
1672
01:21:03,973 --> 01:21:06,406
maybe I could even talk him into
doing some promotion with me.
1673
01:21:06,408 --> 01:21:09,509
I said, "hey, evel,"
and all of a sudden,
1674
01:21:09,511 --> 01:21:12,211
my hands,
they were held behind my back.
1675
01:21:12,213 --> 01:21:13,912
They tell me it was two men.
I didn't know them.
1676
01:21:13,914 --> 01:21:15,513
It may have been one.
It may have been two.
1677
01:21:15,515 --> 01:21:18,315
And he, uh...
he came at me
1678
01:21:18,317 --> 01:21:19,516
with a bat,
1679
01:21:19,518 --> 01:21:21,851
an aluminum baseball bat,
1680
01:21:21,853 --> 01:21:23,953
he said, "I'm gonna kill you,
you son of a bitch."
1681
01:21:25,256 --> 01:21:27,889
I did everything I could
to defend myself.
1682
01:21:27,891 --> 01:21:29,790
And I remember
putting my hand up,
1683
01:21:29,792 --> 01:21:31,525
I said, "what're you doin'?
What're you doin'?"
1684
01:21:31,527 --> 01:21:33,159
I was fighting for my life.
1685
01:21:33,161 --> 01:21:36,194
And he was wailing on me,
and then I passed out.
1686
01:21:39,332 --> 01:21:41,182
Reporter:
Knievel came to court
1687
01:21:41,183 --> 01:21:43,033
accompanied by his wife Linda
and his attorney.
1688
01:21:43,035 --> 01:21:45,969
The 38-year old daredevil
faces charges of felony assault
1689
01:21:45,971 --> 01:21:47,537
in the baseball bat attack
1690
01:21:47,539 --> 01:21:50,239
on television executive
Sheldon saltman.
1691
01:21:50,241 --> 01:21:52,341
Tonning:
Knievel could've gotten
away with it.
1692
01:21:52,343 --> 01:21:53,809
He could've if he would've
1693
01:21:53,811 --> 01:21:56,211
just stopped being knievel
for 10 minutes.
1694
01:21:56,213 --> 01:21:58,513
Reporter: It was a very
interesting hour at division 91
1695
01:21:58,515 --> 01:22:01,015
of municipal court
in which evel knievel
1696
01:22:01,017 --> 01:22:03,951
fired his attorney
and entered a plea of guilty.
1697
01:22:03,953 --> 01:22:06,520
He fires them
and says to the judge,
1698
01:22:06,522 --> 01:22:08,955
"judge, I did it,
and I'd do it again.
1699
01:22:08,957 --> 01:22:10,323
Do what you will with me."
1700
01:22:10,325 --> 01:22:15,528
You know,
this old frontier justice thing.
1701
01:22:15,530 --> 01:22:17,530
You know, in butte, Montana,
1702
01:22:17,532 --> 01:22:19,632
you settle things
out in the street.
1703
01:22:19,634 --> 01:22:21,634
You don't settle 'em
with lawyers.
1704
01:22:21,636 --> 01:22:26,071
And evel always settled it
with his fists,
1705
01:22:26,073 --> 01:22:29,007
or sometimes a tool helped.
1706
01:22:29,009 --> 01:22:31,676
Not with a baseball bat.
1707
01:22:31,678 --> 01:22:34,011
That's not butte.
1708
01:22:34,013 --> 01:22:37,247
I never knew of anybody
in butte that did that.
1709
01:22:37,249 --> 01:22:40,083
If I did not think
there was a much
stronger judge someday
1710
01:22:40,085 --> 01:22:41,684
that I will
stand before called God
1711
01:22:41,686 --> 01:22:43,452
than the judge I stood before
in that courtroom
1712
01:22:43,454 --> 01:22:45,387
in San Monica, California,
1713
01:22:45,389 --> 01:22:47,989
I would have killed
that lousy little bastard.
1714
01:22:47,991 --> 01:22:49,390
I broke his arms
with a baseball bat,
1715
01:22:49,392 --> 01:22:51,392
and I think that's
just what he deserved.
1716
01:22:51,394 --> 01:22:53,026
I'll guarantee you one thing...
1717
01:22:53,028 --> 01:22:54,660
he doesn't write
anything else about me.
1718
01:22:54,662 --> 01:22:56,561
- ( Laughter )
- But I mean...
1719
01:22:56,563 --> 01:22:59,997
I think I was a sophomore
in high school at the time,
1720
01:22:59,999 --> 01:23:05,035
and I was not proud of my dad
for doing that... At all.
1721
01:23:05,037 --> 01:23:08,038
Stuntman evel knievel
got a jail sentence yesterday
1722
01:23:08,040 --> 01:23:11,041
for beating his former
press agent with a baseball bat.
1723
01:23:11,043 --> 01:23:12,442
Reporter: The judge told
the 39-year-old
1724
01:23:12,444 --> 01:23:15,077
motorcycle daredevil
that while as a judge
1725
01:23:15,079 --> 01:23:17,279
he found knievel's
admission of guilt
1726
01:23:17,281 --> 01:23:19,114
as refreshing,
at the same time,
1727
01:23:19,116 --> 01:23:20,748
rafeedie said, "long ago
1728
01:23:20,750 --> 01:23:24,151
we abandoned frontier justice
in California."
1729
01:23:24,153 --> 01:23:26,186
With that, rafeedie sentenced
knievel to six months in jail
1730
01:23:26,188 --> 01:23:28,054
and three years probation.
1731
01:23:28,056 --> 01:23:30,156
Judge is a good judge
and he's a fair judge.
1732
01:23:30,158 --> 01:23:33,359
Rundle:
Course, when he was in jail,
1733
01:23:33,361 --> 01:23:34,626
it was like...
1734
01:23:34,628 --> 01:23:36,661
I think in his own way,
1735
01:23:36,663 --> 01:23:39,263
he played it as a game.
1736
01:23:43,469 --> 01:23:46,136
Knoxville: So he's in jail,
but he's on work release.
1737
01:23:46,138 --> 01:23:47,704
So he's only in there at night.
1738
01:23:47,706 --> 01:23:50,106
And he would have his chauffer
1739
01:23:50,108 --> 01:23:53,375
pick him up every morning
and take him to the bar.
1740
01:23:53,377 --> 01:23:56,144
Reporter: Knievel believes
in sharing the wealth.
1741
01:23:56,146 --> 01:23:58,412
So this morning
he hired a dozen limousines
1742
01:23:58,414 --> 01:24:01,214
to transport
his fellow work release inmates
1743
01:24:01,216 --> 01:24:02,615
to their jobs.
1744
01:24:02,617 --> 01:24:05,150
You know, putting him in jail,
1745
01:24:05,152 --> 01:24:08,620
he got more press
than anything else.
1746
01:24:08,622 --> 01:24:11,623
There was no end
to the shenanigans
that guy would pull.
1747
01:24:11,625 --> 01:24:13,558
Reporter:
The inmates were amazed,
1748
01:24:13,560 --> 01:24:17,094
but the authorities
were not so enthusiastic.
1749
01:24:17,096 --> 01:24:18,762
Knoxville: Well,
the judge got pissed,
1750
01:24:18,764 --> 01:24:21,765
and he revoked evel's
work release privileges.
1751
01:24:21,767 --> 01:24:24,167
Tonning:
I was pissed off at him.
1752
01:24:24,169 --> 01:24:27,370
He started believing the hype,
that he was totally impervious,
1753
01:24:27,372 --> 01:24:29,372
and he could get away
with anything.
1754
01:24:29,374 --> 01:24:31,774
I don't think
he thought about the public.
1755
01:24:31,776 --> 01:24:33,642
Well, maybe if he did,
he thought that,
1756
01:24:33,644 --> 01:24:35,343
"that's what they
expect of me."
1757
01:24:35,345 --> 01:24:37,511
The ideal toy company,
which manufactures
1758
01:24:37,513 --> 01:24:40,447
the evel knievel toys,
says it has already lost
1759
01:24:40,449 --> 01:24:44,384
$1.6 million since evel knievel
went into the county jail.
1760
01:24:44,386 --> 01:24:48,187
We had a meeting at ideal
the next day or the day after.
1761
01:24:48,189 --> 01:24:49,555
And I said, "you know...
1762
01:24:49,557 --> 01:24:53,792
you know, we don't...
we don't sell toys of murderers
1763
01:24:53,794 --> 01:24:57,462
or gangsters or stuff
like that,
1764
01:24:57,464 --> 01:25:00,164
and so therefore,
1765
01:25:00,166 --> 01:25:04,334
we are going to suspend sales
in the United States."
1766
01:25:04,336 --> 01:25:06,235
Reporter:
On the toy front,
1767
01:25:06,237 --> 01:25:09,671
it may not be a merry Christmas
for daredevil evel knievel.
1768
01:25:09,673 --> 01:25:11,339
The contracts were canceled,
1769
01:25:11,341 --> 01:25:15,242
and he lost
a lot of money, yeah.
1770
01:25:15,244 --> 01:25:18,211
It all...
it all started coming apart.
1771
01:25:18,213 --> 01:25:21,414
¶ Anymore it doesn't matter ¶
1772
01:25:21,416 --> 01:25:23,549
reporter: Knievel says
his experience in jail
1773
01:25:23,551 --> 01:25:25,117
was a good one,
1774
01:25:25,119 --> 01:25:27,552
but that it has
set him back financially.
1775
01:25:27,554 --> 01:25:32,356
I hated to see him lose
everything he worked for
1776
01:25:32,358 --> 01:25:35,292
in 10 minutes.
1777
01:25:35,293 --> 01:25:38,227
When it was falling apart,
it fell apart very quickly.
1778
01:25:38,230 --> 01:25:40,196
McCloud:
The cars, the boats...
1779
01:25:40,198 --> 01:25:41,764
Robbie knievel:
The lear jets, ferraris,
1780
01:25:41,766 --> 01:25:43,499
everything to go
down the drain?
1781
01:25:43,501 --> 01:25:45,534
That was hard.
1782
01:25:45,536 --> 01:25:48,637
The house that we all loved
1783
01:25:48,639 --> 01:25:52,841
got repossessed
because my dad didn't pay
the property taxes.
1784
01:25:52,843 --> 01:25:55,777
Bank came and got it
and the IRS sold it.
1785
01:25:55,779 --> 01:25:58,146
We loaded up all the furniture,
1786
01:25:58,148 --> 01:26:01,315
everything of any value,
from the saddles to guns,
1787
01:26:01,317 --> 01:26:03,884
and we would just bring
so much out at a time,
1788
01:26:03,886 --> 01:26:06,319
and we'd have a garage sale.
1789
01:26:06,321 --> 01:26:09,889
The arc of the sky cycle is like
what happened to his career.
1790
01:26:09,891 --> 01:26:11,490
He was at the pinnacle,
1791
01:26:11,492 --> 01:26:13,825
and then he destroyed
his whole life.
1792
01:26:13,827 --> 01:26:17,595
Evel knievel:
I just dropped out of sight
and played golf.
1793
01:26:17,597 --> 01:26:21,898
I just completely withdrew
from the public.
1794
01:26:21,900 --> 01:26:23,733
When I met him,
1795
01:26:23,735 --> 01:26:26,736
he was in a bit of a low point.
1796
01:26:26,738 --> 01:26:30,139
I mean, he was kinda
just getting by.
1797
01:26:30,141 --> 01:26:32,141
Hustling golf... he might make
a couple hundred here,
1798
01:26:32,143 --> 01:26:33,342
a couple hundred here.
1799
01:26:33,344 --> 01:26:34,876
He lived day to day
at that time.
1800
01:26:34,878 --> 01:26:37,278
He didn't keep the fact
that he was married
1801
01:26:37,280 --> 01:26:39,313
a secret or anything,
1802
01:26:39,315 --> 01:26:42,883
and in two weeks I packed up
what I wanted to take with me,
1803
01:26:42,885 --> 01:26:45,185
and we went on the road.
1804
01:26:45,187 --> 01:26:48,454
Linda knievel:
And I just let it go.
1805
01:26:48,456 --> 01:26:50,923
I thought,
the heck with it,
you know?
1806
01:26:50,925 --> 01:26:52,524
You know, after 38 years
1807
01:26:52,526 --> 01:26:54,292
of somebody
telling you what to do...
1808
01:26:56,729 --> 01:26:58,361
I didn't like him.
1809
01:26:58,363 --> 01:27:00,496
( Chuckles )
1810
01:27:00,498 --> 01:27:02,164
I didn't like him.
1811
01:27:03,767 --> 01:27:06,768
¶ Nobody wins ¶
1812
01:27:16,245 --> 01:27:18,578
you could see that
his health was declining,
1813
01:27:18,580 --> 01:27:20,580
you know,
he was getting worse
all the time.
1814
01:27:20,582 --> 01:27:24,417
He had a hip replacement,
a pelvis reconstruction,
1815
01:27:24,419 --> 01:27:26,819
a spinal fusion,
a liver transplant,
1816
01:27:26,821 --> 01:27:29,288
seven or eight bouts
of staph infection.
1817
01:27:29,290 --> 01:27:31,523
Evel knievel:
I have hepatitis c,
1818
01:27:31,525 --> 01:27:33,391
and I got it through
blood transfusions,
1819
01:27:33,393 --> 01:27:34,959
and I've been told by
the doctors five years ago
1820
01:27:34,961 --> 01:27:38,262
that I didn't have
five years to live.
1821
01:27:38,264 --> 01:27:40,330
I'm taking it
one day at a time.
1822
01:27:40,332 --> 01:27:42,832
Yeah, you really felt sorry
for him, I did, really.
1823
01:27:42,834 --> 01:27:45,367
I said,
"you're really hurting."
1824
01:27:47,804 --> 01:27:52,406
¶ If you're gonna be dumb,
you've gotta be tough ¶
1825
01:27:52,408 --> 01:27:55,575
¶ when you get knocked down,
you gotta get back up ¶
1826
01:27:57,278 --> 01:27:59,278
¶ I ain't the sharpest rig
in the 10 pack ¶
1827
01:27:59,280 --> 01:28:01,647
¶ but I know enough to know ¶
1828
01:28:01,649 --> 01:28:05,417
¶ if you're gonna be dumb,
you've gotta be tough ¶
1829
01:28:05,419 --> 01:28:07,285
Knoxville:
Then the '90s come around
1830
01:28:07,287 --> 01:28:10,588
and motorcycle jumping
was just one part
1831
01:28:10,590 --> 01:28:14,825
of this whole new huge thing
called action sports.
1832
01:28:14,827 --> 01:28:17,894
Pastrana: It's amazing how
quickly the sports progressed.
1833
01:28:17,896 --> 01:28:20,263
This multimillion motorcycle
1834
01:28:20,265 --> 01:28:23,299
jumping, skateboard riding,
surfing industry
1835
01:28:23,301 --> 01:28:24,533
as definitely come a long way
1836
01:28:24,535 --> 01:28:27,402
from daredevils
to professionals.
1837
01:28:28,838 --> 01:28:31,572
In 2006, I was able to land
the first double back flip
1838
01:28:31,574 --> 01:28:33,641
on a dirt bike.
1839
01:28:33,642 --> 01:28:35,709
No one ever thought
that that was possible.
1840
01:28:35,711 --> 01:28:38,478
The bikes have evolved.
The riding has evolved.
1841
01:28:38,480 --> 01:28:39,912
They have coaches.
They have schools.
1842
01:28:39,914 --> 01:28:41,446
They have camps,
1843
01:28:41,448 --> 01:28:43,347
but the spirit will never die,
1844
01:28:43,349 --> 01:28:46,249
and evel was the one that set
our foundation for the future.
1845
01:28:47,819 --> 01:28:50,419
The thing about the knievels
that's really captivating
1846
01:28:50,421 --> 01:28:52,687
and inspiring to all of us
is the showmanship side of it.
1847
01:28:52,689 --> 01:28:56,857
( Cheers and applause )
1848
01:28:56,859 --> 01:28:59,693
I stay awake at night,
and I dwell on
1849
01:28:59,695 --> 01:29:02,896
how to do
what I do in the biggest,
most grandest way
1850
01:29:02,898 --> 01:29:04,430
and to continue this legacy.
1851
01:29:04,432 --> 01:29:07,633
Announcer:
Matt's definitely... oh!
1852
01:29:07,635 --> 01:29:09,668
Hoffman: The extreme sports
or action sports,
1853
01:29:09,670 --> 01:29:12,003
whatever they're commercially
referred to,
1854
01:29:12,005 --> 01:29:13,604
is definitely a result
1855
01:29:13,606 --> 01:29:16,673
from the way evel dreamed
in the '70s
1856
01:29:16,675 --> 01:29:18,541
and how he wanted
to push the limits.
1857
01:29:23,280 --> 01:29:25,446
( "Jackass" theme song plays )
1858
01:29:25,448 --> 01:29:27,614
You can do stunts
on television?
1859
01:29:27,616 --> 01:29:28,648
( Laughs )
1860
01:29:30,785 --> 01:29:32,584
( Bull grunts )
1861
01:29:32,586 --> 01:29:34,719
( Crowd groans )
1862
01:29:42,295 --> 01:29:43,894
( Crash, laugh )
1863
01:29:43,896 --> 01:29:46,496
Evel had to make his jumps.
1864
01:29:46,498 --> 01:29:48,731
The stunts I do,
I know they're gonna fail.
1865
01:29:48,733 --> 01:29:49,865
( Laughs )
1866
01:29:54,605 --> 01:29:56,938
Mat Hoffman and I
did a tribute to evel.
1867
01:29:56,940 --> 01:29:58,472
Hello, I'm Johnny Knoxville,
1868
01:29:58,474 --> 01:30:00,507
and I'm about to back flip
this bike.
1869
01:30:00,509 --> 01:30:01,875
Hoffman: I think we should
push the limits,
1870
01:30:01,877 --> 01:30:03,643
get some of our friends
together
1871
01:30:03,645 --> 01:30:07,013
and just set some records
and just celebrate evel's life.
1872
01:30:07,015 --> 01:30:09,015
And, uh, that's what we did.
1873
01:30:09,017 --> 01:30:11,350
Ugh!...!
1874
01:30:14,054 --> 01:30:17,355
And I broke my...
in that tribute.
1875
01:30:17,357 --> 01:30:18,923
- Oh! Oh!
- Are you gonna okay?
1876
01:30:18,925 --> 01:30:20,524
Oh, yeah, I feel great.
1877
01:30:20,526 --> 01:30:23,059
No, really, I tore my urethra.
1878
01:30:23,061 --> 01:30:25,528
Thanks a lot, evel.
1879
01:30:31,902 --> 01:30:34,502
Yeah, I've definitely
been compared to evel knievel.
1880
01:30:34,504 --> 01:30:36,370
I think that's because
of the fact
1881
01:30:36,372 --> 01:30:38,505
that I have had
some big crashes.
1882
01:30:40,075 --> 01:30:43,543
So I figured I'd see how far
I can fly the harley Davidson
1883
01:30:43,545 --> 01:30:45,811
in honor of evel knievel.
1884
01:30:48,749 --> 01:30:51,616
Knoxville: When Seth enslow
did that record-breaking
1885
01:30:51,618 --> 01:30:56,554
harley Davidson jump,
he dedicated it to evel.
1886
01:30:56,556 --> 01:30:59,456
And when Robbie maddison
set the new world record
1887
01:30:59,458 --> 01:31:02,959
for distance by jumping
over an entire football field,
1888
01:31:04,429 --> 01:31:05,628
he did it
on the 40th anniversary
1889
01:31:05,630 --> 01:31:08,497
of evel's Caesar's palace jump.
1890
01:31:13,102 --> 01:31:15,502
( Cheers and applause )
1891
01:31:17,839 --> 01:31:20,573
Evel knievel was always
in the back of my mind,
1892
01:31:20,575 --> 01:31:23,809
like,... and it wasn't like
we had forgotten about him.
1893
01:31:23,811 --> 01:31:25,677
We just didn't really know
what he was up to,
1894
01:31:25,679 --> 01:31:28,680
and I think that people started
asking what he was up to.
1895
01:31:28,682 --> 01:31:30,815
Announcer:
The one and only o.G.!
1896
01:31:30,817 --> 01:31:33,551
Evel knievel!
1897
01:31:33,553 --> 01:31:35,819
Hawk: It was great to see
a new generation
1898
01:31:35,821 --> 01:31:37,821
understand how important
he was to us.
1899
01:31:37,823 --> 01:31:40,523
Somehow we raised
his profile again,
1900
01:31:40,525 --> 01:31:43,109
but he deserved that all along.
1901
01:31:43,110 --> 01:31:45,694
Krystal knievel: He greatly
appreciated that the kids
1902
01:31:45,696 --> 01:31:47,696
paid their respects to him,
and they did,
1903
01:31:47,698 --> 01:31:49,130
and he was amazed by that.
1904
01:31:49,132 --> 01:31:51,565
Don't ever forget...
1905
01:31:51,567 --> 01:31:55,201
you can fall many times
in life,
1906
01:31:55,203 --> 01:32:00,272
but you will never be a failure
as long as you try to get up.
1907
01:32:00,274 --> 01:32:02,907
Kelly knievel: I think my dad
liked his role
1908
01:32:02,909 --> 01:32:05,175
as a elder statesman
at the end of his life.
1909
01:32:05,177 --> 01:32:07,911
He thought it was really cool,
and where he deserved to be,
1910
01:32:07,913 --> 01:32:09,579
deservedly so.
1911
01:32:09,581 --> 01:32:12,114
I'm looking forward
to seeing what happens
1912
01:32:12,116 --> 01:32:13,849
in the next 20 years,
1913
01:32:13,851 --> 01:32:15,784
if I am so lucky
to live that long.
1914
01:32:15,786 --> 01:32:19,888
I had to have a hip replacement,
a complete hip replacement.
1915
01:32:19,890 --> 01:32:21,890
I had to have a...
1916
01:32:24,160 --> 01:32:26,693
you guys,
I'm really having problems.
1917
01:32:28,596 --> 01:32:32,164
Why don't we...
please.
1918
01:32:32,166 --> 01:32:35,600
Knoxville: After a lifetime
of injuries and surgeries,
1919
01:32:35,602 --> 01:32:39,136
the thing that really kicked
his ass was lung disease.
1920
01:32:41,273 --> 01:32:43,006
Williams:
If you'd asked him,
1921
01:32:43,008 --> 01:32:46,909
"would you rather have lived
this long, Bobby,
1922
01:32:46,911 --> 01:32:49,578
and be this sick or
1923
01:32:49,580 --> 01:32:51,846
died at the end of the ramp?"
1924
01:32:51,848 --> 01:32:54,949
I think he would have chosen
the end of the ramp.
1925
01:32:56,852 --> 01:32:59,886
Wilson: The last couple
of years of his life were hell.
1926
01:32:59,888 --> 01:33:01,621
He was having trouble
breathing,
1927
01:33:01,623 --> 01:33:03,656
and being in that living hell,
1928
01:33:03,658 --> 01:33:08,594
he put his life in perspective.
1929
01:33:08,596 --> 01:33:10,729
I think he probably
thought a lot
1930
01:33:10,731 --> 01:33:12,864
about the things he'd done
1931
01:33:12,866 --> 01:33:15,967
and thought about how badly
he treated some people.
1932
01:33:20,039 --> 01:33:22,039
Krystal knievel:
He was preparing for the end
1933
01:33:22,041 --> 01:33:23,306
on every level.
1934
01:33:23,308 --> 01:33:27,643
He righted a lot of wrongs
with people
1935
01:33:27,645 --> 01:33:29,678
because he felt
like that was important.
1936
01:33:29,680 --> 01:33:31,613
It became important to him.
1937
01:33:34,851 --> 01:33:38,652
Frey: He told me that he had led
a life that he was ashamed of
1938
01:33:38,654 --> 01:33:40,654
in a lot of ways,
1939
01:33:40,656 --> 01:33:42,656
and he was just trying
1940
01:33:42,658 --> 01:33:44,658
to talk to the people
that he truly...
1941
01:33:44,660 --> 01:33:45,925
that truly meant
something to him
1942
01:33:45,927 --> 01:33:49,662
was the way he put it,
and put it right.
1943
01:33:49,664 --> 01:33:53,832
McCloud: He said to me,
"I was so sick."
1944
01:33:53,834 --> 01:33:57,969
He said, "I was just
a sick person with women.
1945
01:33:57,971 --> 01:33:59,737
It was so wrong,"
1946
01:33:59,739 --> 01:34:01,171
and I said, "ah, dad,
1947
01:34:01,173 --> 01:34:03,973
it's so good
to hear you say that."
1948
01:34:05,943 --> 01:34:08,376
Knoxville: He tried to make
amends with people at the end,
1949
01:34:08,378 --> 01:34:10,211
and that's great,
but it's kind of tough
1950
01:34:10,213 --> 01:34:14,048
to put the toothpaste back
in the tube at that point.
1951
01:34:14,050 --> 01:34:15,649
He caused a lot of hurt.
1952
01:34:17,052 --> 01:34:20,353
Well, first time I ever
heard him say "I'm sorry,"
1953
01:34:20,355 --> 01:34:23,622
he was pretty much
on his death bed.
1954
01:34:23,624 --> 01:34:26,391
Yeah, he just said
"I'm sorry."
1955
01:34:26,393 --> 01:34:29,293
That was it.
1956
01:34:29,295 --> 01:34:31,695
You know...
1957
01:34:31,697 --> 01:34:34,831
The most important thing
in life, uh,
1958
01:34:34,833 --> 01:34:38,835
that really counts
is your scorecard with God.
1959
01:34:38,837 --> 01:34:42,171
The real Bob knievel,
the Bobby knievel,
1960
01:34:42,173 --> 01:34:46,842
that's the guy I knew,
and that's the guy that I loved.
1961
01:34:46,844 --> 01:34:50,312
And that's the guy that was
emerging back out of the slime.
1962
01:34:50,314 --> 01:34:55,050
( Laughs ) And, uh,
I was moved by it.
1963
01:34:59,322 --> 01:35:02,256
Blackenship: I talked to him
the night before he died.
1964
01:35:02,258 --> 01:35:04,124
He said,
"you gotta do me a favor,"
1965
01:35:04,126 --> 01:35:06,025
and I says, "okay, what?"
1966
01:35:06,027 --> 01:35:10,729
And he said, "say a prayer
for me once and a while."
1967
01:35:10,731 --> 01:35:12,964
And I said,
"okay, all right, all right."
1968
01:35:12,966 --> 01:35:15,666
And he says,
"I'm worse than you think."
1969
01:35:17,369 --> 01:35:19,869
I was on the phone with evel,
1970
01:35:19,871 --> 01:35:24,405
and he started coughing,
and the phone dropped,
1971
01:35:24,407 --> 01:35:26,240
and he went unconscious.
1972
01:35:31,312 --> 01:35:33,678
( Voice breaks )
So that was it.
1973
01:35:37,016 --> 01:35:39,282
But it was hard.
1974
01:35:39,284 --> 01:35:40,916
I wasn't ready.
1975
01:35:45,188 --> 01:35:48,122
He was ready.
1976
01:35:48,124 --> 01:35:50,090
And that's what was important.
1977
01:35:58,466 --> 01:36:04,470
You just never thought
that evel was gonna die.
1978
01:36:04,472 --> 01:36:07,372
Knoxville: You know,
he was indestructible,
1979
01:36:07,374 --> 01:36:09,006
and then...
1980
01:36:09,008 --> 01:36:14,811
It... it just reminded you
that he was human.
1981
01:36:17,315 --> 01:36:21,383
I didn't lose the daredevil.
1982
01:36:21,385 --> 01:36:25,153
I lost this little kid
who at one time
1983
01:36:25,155 --> 01:36:27,121
I thought was my brother.
1984
01:36:29,358 --> 01:36:32,826
That's the indelible knievel
to me.
1985
01:36:35,931 --> 01:36:39,232
Knoxville:
I still think he's a superhero.
1986
01:36:39,234 --> 01:36:43,836
And, yeah, I know
a more complete story now,
1987
01:36:43,838 --> 01:36:47,472
and some of the stuff is really
heartbreaking, you know?
1988
01:36:47,474 --> 01:36:49,273
But to me,
1989
01:36:49,275 --> 01:36:53,810
what he did transcends that.
1990
01:36:53,812 --> 01:36:56,913
Most of us don't take chances
in our lives.
1991
01:36:56,915 --> 01:36:59,815
Most of us weren't willing
to lay it on the line,
1992
01:36:59,817 --> 01:37:01,283
so to speak, like he was.
1993
01:37:03,086 --> 01:37:08,355
What my dad did,
nobody's ever gonna do again.
1994
01:37:08,357 --> 01:37:11,191
But there is a little evel
in all of us.
1995
01:37:13,195 --> 01:37:17,530
I guess I'd like to have him
remembered as, um...
1996
01:37:17,532 --> 01:37:21,066
A man who, when he was down,
1997
01:37:21,068 --> 01:37:22,834
got back up.
1998
01:37:22,836 --> 01:37:26,070
You know, he never quit.
1999
01:37:29,041 --> 01:37:31,941
Saltman: I think,
in fairness to him,
2000
01:37:31,943 --> 01:37:37,279
they should not remember
the evil that evel did.
2001
01:37:37,281 --> 01:37:43,051
Instead he should be remembered
for the good things he did.
2002
01:37:44,387 --> 01:37:46,854
In times of stress,
2003
01:37:46,856 --> 01:37:48,121
I believe somebody
on a white horse
2004
01:37:48,123 --> 01:37:50,823
wearing a white hat
will arrive.
2005
01:37:50,825 --> 01:37:53,425
That's the American way.
2006
01:37:53,427 --> 01:37:56,394
Life's pretty tough.
( Laughs )
2007
01:37:56,396 --> 01:37:58,996
Life can be pretty... tough.
2008
01:37:58,998 --> 01:38:01,064
And, uh...
2009
01:38:03,334 --> 01:38:05,867
You need your heroes, man.
2010
01:38:05,869 --> 01:38:08,836
( Peter frampton's
"show me the way" plays )
2011
01:38:08,838 --> 01:38:10,304
Rundle:
He used to always say to me,
2012
01:38:10,306 --> 01:38:13,573
he says, "that canyon
has not moved one inch,
2013
01:38:13,575 --> 01:38:15,841
and I do not see
a big long line of daredevils
2014
01:38:15,843 --> 01:38:17,309
waiting to jump it."
2015
01:38:34,894 --> 01:38:38,395
¶ I wonder how you're feeling ¶
2016
01:38:38,397 --> 01:38:42,031
¶ there's ringing in my ears ¶
2017
01:38:42,033 --> 01:38:47,836
¶ and no one to relate to
'cept the sea ¶
2018
01:38:49,472 --> 01:38:53,073
¶ who can I believe in? ¶
2019
01:38:53,075 --> 01:38:56,609
¶ I'm kneeling on the floor ¶
2020
01:38:56,611 --> 01:38:59,912
¶ there has to be a force ¶
2021
01:38:59,914 --> 01:39:04,116
¶ who do I phone? ¶
2022
01:39:04,118 --> 01:39:07,486
¶ the stars
are out and shining ¶
2023
01:39:07,488 --> 01:39:11,189
¶ but all I really
want to know ¶
2024
01:39:11,191 --> 01:39:14,559
¶ oh, won't you ¶
2025
01:39:14,561 --> 01:39:18,296
¶ show me the way, yeah ¶
2026
01:39:18,298 --> 01:39:21,866
¶ I want you ¶
2027
01:39:21,868 --> 01:39:25,102
¶ to show me the way, yeah ¶
2028
01:39:33,644 --> 01:39:37,479
¶ well, I can see no reason ¶
2029
01:39:37,481 --> 01:39:41,015
¶ you're living
on your nerves ¶
2030
01:39:41,017 --> 01:39:47,020
¶ when someone drops a cup
and I submerge ¶
2031
01:39:48,590 --> 01:39:52,358
¶ I'm swimming in a circle ¶
2032
01:39:52,360 --> 01:39:55,994
¶ I feel I'm going down ¶
2033
01:39:55,996 --> 01:40:01,966
¶ there has to be a fool
to play my part ¶
2034
01:40:03,469 --> 01:40:06,903
¶ someone thought of healing ¶
2035
01:40:06,905 --> 01:40:10,206
¶ but all I really
want to know ¶
2036
01:40:10,208 --> 01:40:13,676
¶ I want you ¶
2037
01:40:13,678 --> 01:40:17,446
¶ to show me the way ¶
2038
01:40:17,448 --> 01:40:21,016
¶ I want you ¶
2039
01:40:21,018 --> 01:40:24,953
¶ to show me the way ¶
2040
01:40:24,955 --> 01:40:28,489
¶ I want you ¶
2041
01:40:28,491 --> 01:40:32,559
¶ day after day. ¶
2042
01:40:32,561 --> 01:40:36,329
( song fades )