WEBVTT FILE

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Announcer:<i> The following program</i>
<i>is brought to you</i>

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<i>in living color.</i>

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<i>( Theme music playing )</i>

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Carson:<i> Tonight we have</i>
<i>evel knievel.</i>

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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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<i>He does incredible stunts</i>
<i>with motorcycles,</i>

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<i>and he has broken,</i>
<i>I guess, more bones</i>

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<i>than anybody in history,</i>
<i>and yet he keeps at this.</i>

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So let us meet the gentlemen.
Here is evel knievel.

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<i>( Lively music plays,</i>
<i>applause )</i>

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Johnny Knoxville:
<i>I grew up in the '70s.</i>

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<i>And evel knievel was the '70s.</i>

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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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<i>What happened?</i>

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Knievel:<i> The motorcycle</i>
<i>landed short,</i>

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<i>ripped the handlebars</i>
<i>out of my hands,</i>

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<i>and I bounced for 60 yards</i>
<i>into the dunes parking lot.</i>

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Carson:<i> God.</i>

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<i>You're an incredible man.</i>

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Knoxville:<i> I didn't think of him</i>
<i>as a daredevil.</i>

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<i>I thought of him</i>
<i>as a superhero.</i>

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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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<i>That's such a large part</i>
<i>of our culture now.</i>

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<i>He inspired all that.</i>

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<i>But there'll never be</i>
<i>another evel.</i>

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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:<i> Mm-hmm.</i>

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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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<i>( T. Rex's "20th century boy"</i>
<i>plays )</i>

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<i>¶ Friends say it's fine,</i>
<i>friends say it's good ¶</i>

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<i>¶ everybody says</i>
<i>it's just like rock n' roll ¶</i>

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<i>¶ I move like a cat,</i>
<i>charge like a ram ¶</i>

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<i>¶ sting like a bee ¶</i>

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<i>¶ babe, I wanna be your man ¶</i>

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<i>¶ hey ¶</i>

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<i>¶ well, it's plain to see</i>
<i>you were meant for me ¶</i>

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<i>¶ yeah, I'm your boy,</i>
<i>the 20th century toy ¶</i>

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<i>¶ yeah ¶</i>

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<i>¶ 20th century toy ¶</i>

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<i>¶ I wanna be your boy ¶</i>

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<i>¶ 20th century toy ¶</i>

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<i>¶ I wanna be your boy ¶</i>

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<i>( music fades )</i>

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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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<i>Tommy lasorda.</i>

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<i>Billie Jean king was there.</i>

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<i>Muhammad Ali</i>
<i>when he was Cassius Clay,</i>

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<i>first made his appearance here.</i>

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They were legitimate athletes
in their chosen professions.

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Saltman:<i> All of a sudden,</i>
<i>there was this this commotion</i>

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<i>on ventura boulevard.</i>

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<i>There was this nutcase</i>

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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:<i> Even the hard-bitten</i>
<i>sports announcers</i>

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<i>of that day and age</i>
<i>were taken aback by this guy,</i>

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<i>who of course</i>
<i>turned out to be evel knievel.</i>

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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:<i> Grandma and grandpa</i>
<i>did the best they could do,</i>

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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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<i>He wanted to be</i>
<i>with his father.</i>

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Pat Williams:<i> We were up</i>
<i>at my grandma's house,</i>

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<i>and he and I</i>
<i>were wrestling around,</i>

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<i>and I punched him in the mouth.</i>

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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> I think</i>
<i>growing up in butte, Montana,</i>

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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:
<i>Butte, Montana,</i>

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<i>was just a tough-ass</i>
<i>mining town.</i>

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When the mines were going full,
the bars were open 24 hours.

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<i>There was a lot</i>
<i>of prostitution.</i>

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Man:<i> There was about</i>
<i>3,000 whores at that time.</i>

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Man:<i> It was just miners</i>
<i>drinkin' and fightin'.</i>

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Williams:<i> You had to learn</i>
<i>to cope in butte.</i>

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<i>Sometimes coping meant</i>
<i>with your fists.</i>

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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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<i>Knievel was a fighter</i>
<i>from the get-go,</i>

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<i>even during grade school.</i>

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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:<i> He liked to have</i>
<i>the cops chase him.</i>

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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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<i>( Rock 'n' roll music playing )</i>

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Linda bork knievel:
<i>One day I go run up</i>
<i>to the store,</i>

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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>I was scared,</i>

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<i>but I was kind of flattered,</i>
<i>you know?</i>

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Gee,
he's paying attention to me,

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<i>and then one day he just said,</i>

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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:<i> Well, I don't know</i>
<i>if he kidnapped her or not.</i>

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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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<i>He'd run 'em,</i>
<i>there'll be a shady side to it.</i>

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<i>He was happier</i>
<i>if there was something</i>
<i>a little shady about it.</i>

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Linda knievel:
<i>He made up his own job.</i>

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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.

183
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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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<i>that there was a known</i>
<i>safecracker in town.</i>

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<i>Now I knew they were talking</i>
<i>about evel.</i>

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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:
<i>At the age of 19,</i>

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he starts a semi-pro hockey team
and convinces

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<i>the czechoslovakian</i>
<i>national team</i>

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<i>to come to butte to play them.</i>

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<i>( Laughs )</i>
<i>And the Czechs kill 'em.</i>

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Like, smoke 'em 22 to 3.

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<i>But I don't think evel</i>
<i>was that upset about the score.</i>

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Pavlovich:
<i>I think he left</i>

199
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<i>in the middle</i>
<i>of the second period,</i>

200
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and the money disappeared.

201
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There was no more money
to pay 'em.

202
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So, you know,
draw your own conclusions.

203
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Where did the money go?
( Laughs )

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Williams:<i> Well,</i>
<i>butte likes people</i>

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<i>who bounce up against</i>
<i>the edges of the envelope.</i>

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They're forgiving
about some criminal activity,

207
00:10:22.842 --> 00:10:25.809
but they don't
particularly like criminals.

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Tonning:
<i>He had three kids at the time.</i>

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He threw all of his
burglar bags in the river

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and decided to go straight.

211
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So knievel gets this job
selling insurance

212
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<i>for combined insurance company,</i>

213
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<i>and it was run by this guy,</i>
<i>w. Clement stone,</i>

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<i>who wrote a book called</i>

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<i>"success through a positive</i>
<i>mental attitude."</i>

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I feel healthy.
I feel happy. I feel terrific.

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Jay tamburina:
<i>I think it really changed</i>
<i>his thinking drastically.</i>

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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.

221
00:11:01.975 --> 00:11:03.708
When he was selling insurance,
he was selling insurance,

222
00:11:03.710 --> 00:11:05.242
and he was selling a lot of it.

223
00:11:05.244 --> 00:11:08.411
Tamburina:<i> I remember he went</i>
<i>to the mental hospital</i>

224
00:11:08.413 --> 00:11:11.046
<i>in... in...</i>
<i>I believe it was deer lodge.</i>

225
00:11:11.048 --> 00:11:14.916
<i>And he wrote 271 policies</i>

226
00:11:14.918 --> 00:11:17.118
in this hospital,
mental hospital.

227
00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:19.420
<i>This was a super record,</i>
<i>nobody had ever written</i>

228
00:11:19.422 --> 00:11:21.722
<i>that many policies</i>
<i>in a week ever.</i>

229
00:11:21.724 --> 00:11:23.990
<i>And he talked to the president</i>
<i>of the company at that time</i>

230
00:11:23.992 --> 00:11:26.892
and said, "I'll break
every record in the company,

231
00:11:26.894 --> 00:11:28.727
"every single one that exists,

232
00:11:28.729 --> 00:11:31.062
and you make me a vice president
after I do that."

233
00:11:31.064 --> 00:11:34.165
And Mr. stawn says, "sorry,
that isn't gonna happen."

234
00:11:34.167 --> 00:11:36.400
Well, knievel didn't like that.

235
00:11:36.402 --> 00:11:38.935
Knoxville:
<i>So he picks up his family</i>

236
00:11:38.937 --> 00:11:41.871
<i>and moves</i>
<i>to Moses lake, Washington,</i>

237
00:11:41.873 --> 00:11:44.807
<i>where he gets a job</i>
<i>selling Honda motorcycles.</i>

238
00:11:44.809 --> 00:11:46.341
Gunn:<i> He was making</i>
<i>a good living at it,</i>

239
00:11:46.343 --> 00:11:48.409
<i>but it wasn't</i>
<i>good enough for him.</i>

240
00:11:48.411 --> 00:11:52.312
He says, "I think I need
to do something weird,

241
00:11:52.314 --> 00:11:55.415
"some kind of a stunt
so it'll get people

242
00:11:55.417 --> 00:11:58.084
to come down here
and see the motorcycles."

243
00:11:58.086 --> 00:12:01.287
So he had this crazy idea
about doing this jump.

244
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:<i> My part in</i>
<i>that Mountain lion jump</i>

247
00:12:10.998 --> 00:12:14.432
<i>was I wore a white coat</i>
<i>like a doctor,</i>

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
<i>We put them</i>
<i>in a big refrigerator carton,</i>

255
00:12:32.182 --> 00:12:34.815
<i>and they were pissed off.</i>

256
00:12:34.817 --> 00:12:36.950
<i>So he goes around the track,</i>
<i>and then he goes up the ramp.</i>

257
00:12:36.952 --> 00:12:38.851
<i>And, well, the minute</i>
<i>he went up in the air</i>

258
00:12:38.853 --> 00:12:40.118
<i>I could see</i>
<i>he wasn't gonna make it.</i>

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
<i>Talk about people running</i>
<i>and getting out of there.</i>

263
00:12:49.194 --> 00:12:51.360
<i>- -!</i>
<i>( Laughs )</i>

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>I was a bartender</i>
<i>at Marty's bar</i>

277
00:13:29.127 --> 00:13:32.294
<i>in orange, California,</i>
<i>and this fella comes in,</i>

278
00:13:32.296 --> 00:13:36.498
<i>sits at the end of the bar,</i>
<i>and we start talking.</i>

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
<i>Somehow I was able</i>
<i>to get two pickups,</i>

285
00:14:00.052 --> 00:14:03.486
<i>a tractor,</i>
<i>and 40-foot trailer.</i>

286
00:14:03.488 --> 00:14:07.323
<i>The logo on the side</i>
<i>was "evel knievel</i>

287
00:14:07.325 --> 00:14:09.191
<i>and his motorcycle</i>
<i>daredevils."</i>

288
00:14:11.261 --> 00:14:15.429
<i>Well, the name evel came</i>
<i>from his wild years in butte.</i>

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:<i> He heard that,</i>
<i>and he liked that.</i>

295
00:14:32.077 --> 00:14:34.143
Perior:
<i>He changed it to e-v-e-l</i>

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
<i>and klesh Fargo.</i>

300
00:14:47.990 --> 00:14:50.423
Gunn:
<i>So he started thinking up</i>

301
00:14:50.425 --> 00:14:52.525
<i>different stunts to do.</i>

302
00:14:52.527 --> 00:14:54.226
Perior:
<i>The flaming boards,</i>

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:<i> And he'd hit that</i>
<i>first board and just go boom!</i>

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
<i>And then, boom!</i>
<i>Hit the second one!</i>

307
00:15:06.038 --> 00:15:07.570
<i>Sparks would fly!</i>
<i>And, boom, hit the third one!</i>

308
00:15:07.572 --> 00:15:10.406
<i>Hit the fourth one,</i>
<i>and the fifth one...</i>

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
<i>and talked him</i>
<i>into joining the show.</i>

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
<i>And he would crash</i>
<i>on every single one.</i>

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
<i>He'd do these stunts,</i>
<i>and he never tried 'em before.</i>

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
<i>but he didn't jump high enough.</i>

320
00:15:47.536 --> 00:15:51.937
Perior:<i> And the motorcycle</i>
<i>hit him and flipped him over.</i>

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> I think at that</i>
<i>point is when he decided</i>

323
00:16:00.313 --> 00:16:02.913
<i>he was just gonna stick</i>
<i>to jumping the motorcycles.</i>

324
00:16:16.093 --> 00:16:18.126
Robbie knievel:
<i>The equipment my dad jumped on,</i>

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:
<i>The thing weighed 500 pounds.</i>

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:<i> Bob jumped further</i>
<i>and further with each show.</i>

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
<i>How do you convince people</i>
<i>to come to a sport</i>

338
00:16:52.456 --> 00:16:54.322
<i>they had never heard of?</i>

339
00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:59.159
<i>We were $52,000 in debt.</i>

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
<i>Well, of course, then he saw</i>
<i>that he didn't need the team.</i>

343
00:17:11.472 --> 00:17:13.505
<i>He went on his own.</i>

344
00:17:13.507 --> 00:17:17.542
<i>Now it would just be him</i>
<i>looking for his big break.</i>

345
00:17:21.548 --> 00:17:24.282
-<i> ( Dramatic music plays )</i>
- Announcer:
<i>Spanning the globe...</i>

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:
<i>And the agony of defeat.</i>

350
00:17:34.359 --> 00:17:36.292
Knoxville:<i> The thrill of victory</i>
<i>and the agony of defeat,</i>

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:<i> The crash, like,</i>
<i>that's what you remember</i>
<i>from "wide world of sports."</i>

354
00:17:45.001 --> 00:17:47.668
Announcer:<i> The human drama</i>
<i>of athletic competition.</i>

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:
<i>Abc's "wide world of sports..."</i>

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
<i>Sports was drama.</i>
<i>Sports was a story.</i>

360
00:18:01.982 --> 00:18:03.414
Announcer:
<i>The trill of victory.</i>

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:<i> The human drama</i>
<i>of athletic competition.</i>

365
00:18:12.557 --> 00:18:14.423
Leeuwen:<i> Everybody'd</i>
<i>rush home from church</i>

366
00:18:14.425 --> 00:18:16.658
<i>and watch abc</i>
<i>"wide world of sports" at 1:00,</i>

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:<i> This is</i>
<i>abc's "wide world of sports."</i>

369
00:18:21.531 --> 00:18:23.764
Knoxville:<i> Evel knows</i>
<i>that the motorcycle race</i>

370
00:18:23.766 --> 00:18:27.434
<i>at ascot speedway is featured</i>
<i>on "wide world of sports."</i>

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
<i>and leap through the air</i>
<i>some 90 feet.</i>

377
00:18:44.032 --> 00:18:46.182
<i>That's what he's gonna try to</i>
<i>do today over 15 automobiles.</i>

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:
<i>And he's set to go.</i>

382
00:18:55.126 --> 00:18:57.226
<i>He'll build up speed</i>
<i>as quickly as he can.</i>

383
00:18:57.228 --> 00:18:58.627
<i>And here he goes!</i>

384
00:19:02.766 --> 00:19:04.365
<i>He makes it!</i>

385
00:19:04.367 --> 00:19:07.768
<i>A beautiful leap</i>
<i>as evel knievel</i>

386
00:19:07.770 --> 00:19:11.138
<i>gets the roar approval</i>
<i>from the crowd.</i>

387
00:19:11.140 --> 00:19:13.240
Leeuwen:<i> Here here we are</i>
<i>at "wide world of sports."</i>

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
<i>It'd be jump those fountains</i>
<i>at Caesar's palace.</i>

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
<i>look at the fountains...</i>
<i>what was he thinking?</i>

403
00:19:58.646 --> 00:20:00.612
<i>Where did that come from?</i>

404
00:20:00.614 --> 00:20:02.547
Knoxville:<i> So evel wants</i>
<i>to do this stunt in Vegas,</i>

405
00:20:02.549 --> 00:20:04.916
<i>but no one knows</i>
<i>who the hell he is.</i>

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:<i> This guy called</i>
<i>every news outlet,</i>

408
00:20:10.390 --> 00:20:14.358
<i>told them that evel knievel,</i>
<i>famed stunt motorcyclist,</i>

409
00:20:14.360 --> 00:20:16.727
<i>was going to jump</i>
<i>Caesar's palace</i>

410
00:20:16.729 --> 00:20:19.229
<i>come Saturday morning,</i>
<i>be there.</i>

411
00:20:19.231 --> 00:20:21.397
Knoxville:<i> So then he calls</i>
<i>Jay Sarno.</i>

412
00:20:21.399 --> 00:20:23.198
<i>The guy who runs caesars,</i>

413
00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.400
<i>and each time he would call</i>
<i>as a different person,</i>

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> I told him</i>
<i>my name was Larson.</i>

416
00:20:29.872 --> 00:20:31.438
<i>I was with</i> sports illustrated.

417
00:20:31.440 --> 00:20:33.273
<i>I said, "you ever heard</i>
<i>of 'evel neevel'?"</i>

418
00:20:33.275 --> 00:20:35.408
<i>He said, "who the hell's this</i>
<i>'evel neevel'?"</i>

419
00:20:35.410 --> 00:20:37.543
<i>So I waited two more days</i>
<i>and I called him back up,</i>

420
00:20:37.545 --> 00:20:39.478
<i>and I said,</i>
<i>"this is Dennis lewin from</i>
<i>'wide world of sports, '</i>

421
00:20:39.480 --> 00:20:41.379
<i>do you know evel knievel?"</i>
<i>He says, "'avel navel.</i>

422
00:20:41.381 --> 00:20:43.314
<i>Evel neevel. Evel knievel.'</i>
<i>Who is this crazy guy?"</i>

423
00:20:43.316 --> 00:20:45.516
<i>He said,</i>
<i>"everybody's calling me up</i>
<i>about him.</i>

424
00:20:45.518 --> 00:20:48.619
<i>He said, I think</i>
<i>we got a deal with him.</i>
<i>I don't know. Call back."</i>

425
00:20:48.621 --> 00:20:49.753
<i>( Laughter )</i>

426
00:20:52.290 --> 00:20:53.822
Knoxville:
<i>Like a lot of his stunts,</i>

427
00:20:53.824 --> 00:20:55.723
<i>Caesar's palace</i>
<i>was one of those</i>

428
00:20:55.725 --> 00:20:57.291
<i>that he dreamed up and sold</i>

429
00:20:57.293 --> 00:20:59.426
<i>before he even knew</i>
<i>it was possible.</i>

430
00:20:59.428 --> 00:21:01.628
<i>And then on the day,</i>
<i>he's got the crowds there,</i>

431
00:21:01.630 --> 00:21:04.297
<i>and he doesn't know</i>
<i>if he can make it.</i>

432
00:21:04.299 --> 00:21:05.698
<i>He's just got to go for it.</i>

433
00:21:07.835 --> 00:21:10.468
Robin knievel-dick:
<i>I talked with him for a while</i>
<i>before he jumped,</i>

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
<i>You could tell he was nervous.</i>

436
00:21:20.579 --> 00:21:22.979
<i>He was making runs</i>
<i>at the ramp and,</i>

437
00:21:22.981 --> 00:21:25.314
<i>you know,</i>
<i>we could hear the motorcycle.</i>

438
00:21:25.316 --> 00:21:26.815
<i>And we could hear the crowd,</i>

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
<i>( Woman screams )</i>

442
00:21:42.597 --> 00:21:46.765
Tonning:<i> My God.</i>
<i>That was horrible.</i>

443
00:21:46.767 --> 00:21:48.633
<i>I thought he was gonna...</i>
<i>I thought he was dead.</i>

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> I don't think</i>
<i>he was unconscious.</i>

446
00:22:25.637 --> 00:22:28.004
<i>But he was hurting.</i>

447
00:22:28.006 --> 00:22:30.973
<i>So off to the hospital we went.</i>

448
00:22:30.975 --> 00:22:33.308
Knoxville:
<i>He had a broken wrist,</i>

449
00:22:33.310 --> 00:22:36.411
<i>two broken ankles,</i>
<i>crushed his pelvis.</i>

450
00:22:36.413 --> 00:22:38.646
<i>And then somehow,</i>

451
00:22:38.648 --> 00:22:40.881
<i>word gets out</i>
<i>that he's in a coma</i>

452
00:22:40.883 --> 00:22:42.649
<i>and might not make it.</i>

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:
<i>Pretty soon, the crash footage</i>
<i>was everywhere.</i>

464
00:23:08.904 --> 00:23:11.404
Geraldo Rivera:<i> We saw him jump</i>
<i>Caesar's palace.</i>

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
<i>( Cheers and applause )</i>

473
00:23:35.126 --> 00:23:38.727
Gunn:
<i>He became instantly famous.</i>

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
<i>There was a certain cynicism</i>
<i>throughout the country.</i>

477
00:23:55.845 --> 00:23:57.544
<i>Society was changing.</i>

478
00:23:57.546 --> 00:23:59.379
Man:<i> You had corruption</i>
<i>in government.</i>

479
00:23:59.381 --> 00:24:00.713
Well, I'm not a crook.

480
00:24:00.715 --> 00:24:03.582
<i>¶ When I look out</i>
<i>my window... ¶</i>

481
00:24:03.584 --> 00:24:08.753
man:<i> The country had been</i>
<i>battered by many years of war.</i>

482
00:24:08.755 --> 00:24:12.623
Hamilton:<i> America was coming</i>
<i>apart at the seams.</i>

483
00:24:12.625 --> 00:24:17.127
<i>¶ Must be the season</i>
<i>of the witch ¶</i>

484
00:24:17.129 --> 00:24:20.930
<i>¶ must be the season</i>
<i>of the witch. ¶</i>

485
00:24:20.932 --> 00:24:23.732
Williams:<i> We were a little</i>
<i>down on ourselves,</i>

486
00:24:23.734 --> 00:24:26.735
<i>and along comes this kid</i>
<i>from butte, Montana,</i>

487
00:24:26.737 --> 00:24:30.538
<i>who showed us who we were</i>
<i>and wanted to be again.</i>

488
00:24:30.540 --> 00:24:33.040
<i>¶ He wears red,</i>
<i>white, and blue ¶</i>

489
00:24:33.042 --> 00:24:35.108
<i>¶ stars and stripes, too... ¶</i>

490
00:24:35.110 --> 00:24:39.612
earle castine:
<i>I guess we were looking</i>
<i>for some sort of a hero.</i>

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
<i>¶ Evel knievel's</i>
<i>for God and country, too... ¶</i>

494
00:24:48.956 --> 00:24:51.656
Sullivan:<i> Most motorcycle</i>
<i>people wore black.</i>

495
00:24:51.658 --> 00:24:54.191
<i>That was what</i>
<i>evel wanted to change,</i>

496
00:24:54.193 --> 00:24:57.494
<i>and that's where</i>
<i>the red, white, and blue</i>
<i>leathers came from.</i>

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
<i>but he also saw that that would</i>

500
00:25:07.004 --> 00:25:08.770
<i>give him a boost to his image,</i>

501
00:25:08.772 --> 00:25:11.139
<i>and people</i>
<i>were respecting him more.</i>

502
00:25:11.141 --> 00:25:13.741
Wilson:<i> And he came out</i>
<i>of those mountains</i>

503
00:25:13.743 --> 00:25:17.544
<i>in his star-spangled suit,</i>
<i>with his cane, and he said,</i>

504
00:25:17.546 --> 00:25:20.013
<i>"I am gonna face death."</i>

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:<i> For that disenchanted,</i>
<i>disillusioned generation,</i>

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:
<i>He did it! He did it!</i>

511
00:25:50.773 --> 00:25:53.206
Knoxville:
<i>You know, there was three</i>
<i>TV stations back then,</i>

512
00:25:53.208 --> 00:25:56.876
<i>and when evel was on abc,</i>
<i>everyone knew it.</i>

513
00:25:56.878 --> 00:25:58.744
<i>That's what you did</i>
<i>that night is watch,</i>

514
00:25:58.746 --> 00:26:00.479
<i>and that's</i>
<i>what you talked about</i>

515
00:26:00.481 --> 00:26:02.881
<i>for the next</i>
<i>few weeks afterwards.</i>

516
00:26:02.883 --> 00:26:05.850
Wilson:
<i>He was so popular that out of</i>

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:
<i>Motorcycle daredevil</i>
<i>evel knievel!</i>

521
00:26:17.529 --> 00:26:19.095
Hoffman:
<i>He was the talk of the world.</i>

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
- <i> Do you have fear?</i>
- 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:
<i>He said to me one time,</i>

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
<i>You know, Bobby used to say,</i>
<i>"nobody wants to see me die,</i>

538
00:26:56.760 --> 00:26:59.260
<i>but they don't</i>
<i>want to miss it if I do."</i>

539
00:26:59.262 --> 00:27:01.262
Announcer:
<i>And just to go up that ramp</i>

540
00:27:01.264 --> 00:27:04.832
<i>and take a look at the distance</i>
<i>that he's got to, in effect,</i>

541
00:27:04.834 --> 00:27:07.968
<i>hurdle aboard</i>
<i>his harley Davidson machine.</i>

542
00:27:07.970 --> 00:27:11.604
Gifford:<i> He knew</i>
<i>if he wasn't just perfect</i>
<i>when he left that ramp,</i>

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:<i> You know,</i>
<i>you were always...</i>

548
00:27:43.300 --> 00:27:45.934
<i>the question of whether or not</i>
<i>he might not make it alive.</i>

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:<i> If he crashed,</i>
<i>you know, and got hurt,</i>

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:<i> Doctors,</i>
<i>especially surgeons,</i>

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:
<i>They would say,</i>

559
00:28:16.428 --> 00:28:18.094
<i>"you'll have this cast</i>
<i>for eight weeks,"</i>

560
00:28:18.096 --> 00:28:20.863
<i>and he would take it off</i>
<i>in three.</i>

561
00:28:20.865 --> 00:28:23.365
Man:<i> This may look like</i>
<i>just some abstract plumbing,</i>

562
00:28:23.367 --> 00:28:25.700
<i>but this is actually</i>
<i>the right hip</i>

563
00:28:25.702 --> 00:28:28.135
<i>and right femur</i>
<i>of evel knievel.</i>

564
00:28:28.137 --> 00:28:30.904
Evel knievel:<i> I think I've</i>
<i>probably become immune to pain.</i>

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:
<i>When we were growing up</i>

568
00:28:39.913 --> 00:28:41.913
<i>and my dad broke bones,</i>
<i>and he was in pain,</i>

569
00:28:41.915 --> 00:28:43.447
<i>he never bitched about it.</i>

570
00:28:43.449 --> 00:28:45.182
<i>He never complained about it.</i>

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
<i>It was just he accepted that</i>
<i>that's what he had chosen to do</i>

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> I had</i>
<i>sort of been brought along</i>
<i>the way of a teen idol.</i>

586
00:29:33.891 --> 00:29:35.941
Mm-mmm.

587
00:29:35.942 --> 00:29:37.992
<i>I had enough star power going,</i>

588
00:29:37.995 --> 00:29:39.928
<i>but I kept trying</i>
<i>to toughen up my act.</i>

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>I remember seeing the footage</i>
<i>from Caesar's palace,</i>

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
<i>In my mind there was only one</i>
<i>guy that could do this right.</i>

596
00:29:59.079 --> 00:30:01.312
<i>John milius,</i>
<i>he'd written "dirty Harry,"</i>

597
00:30:01.314 --> 00:30:03.147
<i>"Jeremiah Johnson,"</i>

598
00:30:03.149 --> 00:30:06.049
<i>and of course later</i>
<i>"apocalypse now."</i>

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
<i>So he tells me</i>
<i>to come meet him in Hollywood</i>

604
00:30:21.131 --> 00:30:25.166
<i>at the saharan hotel</i>
<i>that was up on sunset.</i>

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
<i>( Motor revving )</i>

636
00:31:35.390 --> 00:31:38.491
Ron wichman:
<i>Evel was not happy with it,</i>
<i>I don't believe,</i>

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> I don't think evel</i>
<i>appreciated me</i>

641
00:31:47.100 --> 00:31:50.167
<i>climbing into his leathers</i>
<i>and getting on his motorcycle,</i>

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
<i>when he came out,</i>
<i>he was saying these things,</i>

645
00:31:57.475 --> 00:31:59.241
<i>and they were</i>
<i>extraordinary words</i>

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
<i>at what I am doing,</i>
<i>I'm gonna continue to do it.</i>

659
00:32:38.107 --> 00:32:41.108
Wilson:<i> He created a character</i>
<i>named evel knievel,</i>

660
00:32:41.110 --> 00:32:43.577
<i>and then tried</i>
<i>to live the part.</i>

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
<i>and that's what he presented</i>
<i>to the world.</i>

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
<i>He definitely</i>
<i>thought of himself</i>

667
00:33:02.394 --> 00:33:06.362
<i>as the guy in the white hat,</i>
<i>the good guy.</i>

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
<i>and if you get</i>
<i>into his background,</i>

676
00:33:25.446 --> 00:33:27.012
<i>you can understand that.</i>

677
00:33:27.014 --> 00:33:29.180
<i>He wanted identity.</i>
<i>He needed that.</i>

678
00:33:30.550 --> 00:33:33.350
He just wanted to be loved.

679
00:33:33.352 --> 00:33:36.486
<i>( Peter frampton's</i>
<i>"show me the way" plays )</i>

680
00:33:41.959 --> 00:33:45.226
<i>¶ I wonder how you're feeling ¶</i>

681
00:33:45.228 --> 00:33:47.428
<i>¶ there's ringing</i>
<i>in my ears... ¶</i>

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:
<i>My dad, he invented</i>
<i>the licensing business.</i>

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:<i> Yeah, he had a deal</i>
<i>with everyone...</i>

695
00:34:16.053 --> 00:34:17.719
<i>mack truck, harley Davidson,</i>

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:<i> This is evel knievel</i>
<i>and his stunt cycle.</i>

698
00:34:23.392 --> 00:34:25.725
<i>He's the only rider</i>
<i>to do so many stunts,</i>

699
00:34:25.727 --> 00:34:27.326
<i>mid-air summersaults...</i>

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:<i> When 'ideal' came out</i>
<i>with the evel knievel toy,</i>

702
00:34:33.533 --> 00:34:36.066
<i>the president of 'ideal'</i>
<i>called me aside and said,</i>

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:
<i>It's an evel knievel rally!</i>

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
<i>It was as cool as you could</i>
<i>possibly get at the time.</i>

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:<i> The evel knievel</i>
<i>stunt cycle comes with figure,</i>

717
00:35:10.527 --> 00:35:13.494
<i>winder, gt wheelie stand,</i>
<i>and front flip bar.</i>

718
00:35:13.496 --> 00:35:14.695
<i>New from ideal.</i>

719
00:35:14.697 --> 00:35:17.497
Rose:
<i>The toy sold out.</i>

720
00:35:17.499 --> 00:35:20.366
Pavlovich:<i> I would say he made</i>
<i>more money off of ideal toy</i>

721
00:35:20.368 --> 00:35:22.234
<i>then he did</i>
<i>on any of his jumps.</i>

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:
<i>It was an amazing time.</i>

730
00:35:43.085 --> 00:35:46.386
<i>The money was rolling in</i>
<i>by the millions.</i>

731
00:35:46.388 --> 00:35:48.788
Kelly knievel:<i> Everywhere</i>
<i>he went, he went first-class.</i>

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:<i> All of a sudden,</i>
<i>there's five ferraris,</i>

734
00:35:53.127 --> 00:35:55.660
<i>two lear jets,</i>
<i>five other airplanes.</i>

735
00:35:55.662 --> 00:35:57.461
Linda knievel:<i> He'd get a boat,</i>
<i>oh, he needed a bigger boat</i>

736
00:35:57.463 --> 00:36:00.197
<i>oh, how about a yacht?</i>
<i>How about another yacht?</i>

737
00:36:00.199 --> 00:36:02.132
Tracey McCloud:
<i>With helicopters on top.</i>

738
00:36:02.134 --> 00:36:04.134
Leeuwen:<i> He's got "evel eye I"</i>
<i>painted on the side of it.</i>

739
00:36:04.136 --> 00:36:06.369
Reporter:
<i>He's no easy rider.</i>

740
00:36:06.371 --> 00:36:09.405
<i>He's proud of the material</i>
<i>things his money can buy...</i>

741
00:36:09.407 --> 00:36:13.409
<i>his Cadillac's, his $140,000</i>
<i>luxury-appointed van.</i>

742
00:36:13.411 --> 00:36:15.310
Wilson:<i> He took me</i>
<i>into his office,</i>

743
00:36:15.312 --> 00:36:17.312
<i>opened up a huge safe he had,</i>

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
<i>like it had been thrown</i>
<i>in there like confetti.</i>

749
00:36:29.156 --> 00:36:32.123
Tonning:<i> He built</i>
<i>a big, beautiful home</i>

750
00:36:32.125 --> 00:36:33.390
<i>on the 18th green</i>

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
<i>Right in the middle of it</i>
<i>was the actual handle.</i>

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:<i> Yeah, my dad</i>
<i>had an affinity for clothes.</i>

757
00:36:51.841 --> 00:36:53.607
<i>He liked to dress with flair.</i>

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:
<i>Evel was very flashy.</i>

765
00:37:07.654 --> 00:37:10.421
<i>Walked with a cane</i>
<i>with diamonds in his cane,</i>

766
00:37:10.423 --> 00:37:14.258
<i>and his jewelry had diamonds,</i>
<i>and he had gold all over.</i>

767
00:37:14.260 --> 00:37:16.360
Robbie knievel:
<i>He always loved Elvis.</i>

768
00:37:16.362 --> 00:37:19.429
<i>And they traded</i>
<i>the belt buckle and the cape.</i>

769
00:37:19.431 --> 00:37:23.299
<i>My dad was a big fan of</i>
<i>liberace for being a showman.</i>

770
00:37:23.301 --> 00:37:24.700
Evel knievel:
<i>All the money in the world</i>

771
00:37:24.702 --> 00:37:26.268
<i>can't buy your way into heaven.</i>

772
00:37:26.270 --> 00:37:27.569
<i>It can't buy</i>
<i>your way out of hell.</i>

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:<i> When he came into</i>
<i>money and fame and fortune,</i>

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>I know because he and I'd go</i>
<i>out drinking once in a while,</i>

785
00:38:02.901 --> 00:38:05.334
<i>and, hell, they'd line up.</i>

786
00:38:05.336 --> 00:38:07.002
<i>And he'd pick</i>
<i>the prettiest one.</i>

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:
<i>He'd turn the hat trick</i>
<i>half the time,</i>

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:<i> Come on,</i>
<i>I mean, back in the '70s,</i>

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>¶ I'm the other woman... ¶</i>

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:
<i>You know, she stood by him,</i>

800
00:38:43.770 --> 00:38:46.704
<i>and a lot of times,</i>
<i>he didn't treat her right.</i>

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:
<i>He didn't hide anything,</i>

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>I don't know, I just...</i>

811
00:39:16.329 --> 00:39:19.463
<i>you don't leave that man</i>
<i>unless he wants you to.</i>

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
<i>And when he became evel,</i>

832
00:40:11.441 --> 00:40:14.442
<i>it's like the world</i>
<i>took him away from us.</i>

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:
<i>King of the daredevil,</i>

838
00:40:23.583 --> 00:40:26.116
<i>number one, evel knievel!</i>

839
00:40:26.118 --> 00:40:27.784
Knoxville:<i> Evel was on top</i>
<i>of the world,</i>

840
00:40:27.786 --> 00:40:30.753
<i>but he was starting to lose</i>
<i>his grip a little,</i>

841
00:40:30.755 --> 00:40:34.723
<i>and that thing with</i>
<i>the hell's angels didn't help.</i>

842
00:40:34.725 --> 00:40:38.159
Sullivan:<i> Evel was at odds</i>
<i>against the hell's angels</i>

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:<i> They're murderers,</i>
<i>thieves, or drug dealers,</i>

846
00:40:48.436 --> 00:40:50.636
<i>I mean, these guys are dogs.</i>

847
00:40:50.638 --> 00:40:52.170
<i>They belong in penitentiaries.</i>

848
00:40:52.172 --> 00:40:53.638
Gunn:
<i>Must of got through to 'em.</i>

849
00:40:53.640 --> 00:40:55.473
<i>You know, they got pissed off.</i>

850
00:40:55.475 --> 00:40:59.610
<i>And San Francisco</i>
<i>was one of their main areas.</i>

851
00:40:59.612 --> 00:41:01.044
Sullivan:<i> The announcer</i>
<i>was the guy</i>

852
00:41:01.046 --> 00:41:03.112
<i>that started the whole thing.</i>

853
00:41:03.114 --> 00:41:04.713
<i>When he introduced knievel,</i>
<i>he says,</i>

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
<i>He barely made that jump,</i>
<i>came back around,</i>

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
<i>The hell's angel threw him down</i>
<i>just when I got there,</i>

863
00:41:31.469 --> 00:41:33.635
<i>and I give this guy</i>
<i>a body check.</i>

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
<i>Hell's angels come</i>
<i>bowling in over there</i>

867
00:41:43.578 --> 00:41:45.177
<i>and the people come out</i>
<i>of the stands</i>

868
00:41:45.179 --> 00:41:46.811
<i>and started beating on 'em.</i>

869
00:41:48.648 --> 00:41:51.715
<i>They put two of those</i>
<i>hell's angels in the hospital.</i>

870
00:41:57.521 --> 00:42:00.088
Sullivan:
<i>After the cow palace incident,</i>

871
00:42:00.090 --> 00:42:02.923
<i>evel got a little bit paranoid.</i>

872
00:42:05.160 --> 00:42:07.059
<i>He said, "do you have a gun?"</i>

873
00:42:07.061 --> 00:42:08.860
<i>I said, "yeah,</i>
<i>I got a couple of 'em."</i>

874
00:42:08.862 --> 00:42:10.928
<i>Well, he says, "those hell's</i>
<i>angel's, you never know,</i>

875
00:42:10.930 --> 00:42:13.230
<i>they're gonna walk in here</i>
<i>with a shotgun," and he says,</i>

876
00:42:13.232 --> 00:42:14.965
<i>"I gotta be ready for 'em."</i>

877
00:42:26.812 --> 00:42:31.680
Knoxville:<i> The man had crashed</i>
<i>numerous times,</i>

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:
<i>Watch that right shoulder.</i>

882
00:42:43.959 --> 00:42:46.960
<i>Broken, right there,</i>
<i>the right collarbone.</i>

883
00:42:46.962 --> 00:42:48.661
Woman:
<i>Are you ever afraid?</i>

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:<i> Why?</i>
- 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:<i> He was constantly</i>
<i>being tormented</i>

888
00:42:59.872 --> 00:43:01.171
<i>with the thought of,</i>

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>I knew he was scared,</i>
<i>but he would never...</i>

901
00:43:35.901 --> 00:43:37.834
<i>he would never say no.</i>

902
00:43:37.836 --> 00:43:39.602
<i>You know,</i>
<i>he'd go ahead and do it.</i>

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
<i>he became just schitzo...</i>

906
00:43:50.011 --> 00:43:51.744
<i>I mean, paranoid.</i>

907
00:43:51.746 --> 00:43:54.813
Gunn:<i> He got paranoid</i>
<i>about protecting his stuff,</i>

908
00:43:54.815 --> 00:43:56.948
<i>paranoid about</i>
<i>who he let in and...</i>

909
00:43:56.950 --> 00:43:59.617
Williams:<i> We'd be talking,</i>
<i>and almost as if</i>

910
00:43:59.619 --> 00:44:01.018
<i>he was schizophrenic,</i>

911
00:44:01.020 --> 00:44:03.887
<i>he'd flip</i>
<i>and become ugly about things.</i>

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:<i> It's really</i>
<i>interesting when you...</i>

921
00:44:30.644 --> 00:44:33.111
<i>you are a man</i>
<i>like evel knievel,</i>

922
00:44:33.113 --> 00:44:36.714
<i>and you've created this myth,</i>
<i>and once you're defined,</i>

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:
<i>Throughout his life,</i>

928
00:44:49.893 --> 00:44:52.593
<i>he was insatiable.</i>

929
00:44:52.595 --> 00:44:55.629
<i>Even when he was</i>
<i>the most famous daredevil</i>

930
00:44:55.631 --> 00:44:58.965
<i>that ever lived,</i>
<i>he wasn't satisfied.</i>

931
00:44:58.967 --> 00:45:02.902
<i>He had to make another half</i>
<i>a million dollars on a jump.</i>

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
<i>He couldn't satisfy himself.</i>
<i>He had to do something else.</i>

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:<i> One of</i>
<i>the favorite pictures of my dad</i>

940
00:45:32.063 --> 00:45:34.930
<i>is he is on the rim</i>
<i>of the grand canyon</i>

941
00:45:34.932 --> 00:45:37.299
<i>and there's these</i>
<i>two navajo chiefs there.</i>

942
00:45:37.301 --> 00:45:38.800
<i>And my dad's pointing</i>

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:<i> My dream</i>
<i>was to jump the grand canyon.</i>

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
<i>the snake river canyon</i>
<i>in the state of Idaho.</i>

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
<i>The jump across the canyon</i>
<i>will be approximately a mile.</i>

954
00:46:12.029 --> 00:46:14.963
<i>It's somewhere between 1,000</i>
<i>and 1500 feet to the bottom.</i>

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
<i>and that's impossible.</i>

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
<i>Our partner was Bob treaux,</i>

964
00:46:36.248 --> 00:46:39.482
<i>and he was known as</i>
<i>the father of steam rocketry.</i>

965
00:46:39.484 --> 00:46:41.116
<i>And that was our answer</i>

966
00:46:41.118 --> 00:46:44.819
<i>for getting evel knievel</i>
<i>over the canyon...</i>

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:
<i>The super stunt,</i>

975
00:47:01.402 --> 00:47:03.902
<i>billed as the death-defying</i>
<i>event of the century</i>

976
00:47:03.904 --> 00:47:06.337
<i>will be viewed</i>
<i>by almost two million people,</i>

977
00:47:06.339 --> 00:47:09.206
<i>most of them watching on</i>
<i>closed-circuit movie screens.</i>

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
<i>When there was an event of any</i>
<i>magnitude during that period,</i>

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
<i>Remember,</i>

985
00:47:27.456 --> 00:47:28.955
<i>the first time</i>
<i>I saw evel knievel,</i>

986
00:47:28.957 --> 00:47:30.990
<i>he showed up</i>
<i>on ventura boulevard</i>

987
00:47:30.992 --> 00:47:33.892
<i>doing wheelies</i>
<i>on his motorcycle.</i>

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
<i>when I had control of</i>
<i>the publicity and promotion.</i>

991
00:47:41.567 --> 00:47:44.834
<i>For a brief moment</i>
<i>in our dull, mundane life,</i>

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>I thought what he was doing</i>
<i>was exciting.</i>

994
00:47:50.974 --> 00:47:52.873
<i>So it's never hard to sell</i>
<i>something you believed in.</i>

995
00:47:52.875 --> 00:47:55.041
<i>And I believed in it.</i>

996
00:47:56.310 --> 00:47:59.210
<i>We did a 30-day tour,</i>
<i>which was my idea,</i>

997
00:47:59.212 --> 00:48:04.248
<i>to do press conferences at,</i>
<i>like, literally 90 airports.</i>

998
00:48:04.250 --> 00:48:05.916
How are you?

999
00:48:05.918 --> 00:48:08.168
Reporter:<i> When knievel</i>
<i>flies into town each day</i>

1000
00:48:08.169 --> 00:48:10.419
<i>in his two lear jets,</i>
<i>his pilot, whacha macullum,</i>

1001
00:48:10.422 --> 00:48:15.091
<i>and his co-pilot wear crimson</i>
<i>crushed-velvet dinner jackets.</i>

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
<i>There were close to 2500</i>
<i>press credentials given out.</i>

1005
00:48:23.467 --> 00:48:25.266
<i>It was bigger than</i>
<i>any Ali fight,</i>

1006
00:48:25.268 --> 00:48:26.934
<i>and I did them all.</i>

1007
00:48:26.936 --> 00:48:30.403
<i>Bigger, bigger than</i>
<i>a presidential entourage.</i>

1008
00:48:33.207 --> 00:48:36.975
<i>Don e. Branker was in charge</i>
<i>of all the logistics.</i>

1009
00:48:36.977 --> 00:48:38.376
Don e. Branker:
<i>I was a concert promoter.</i>

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
<i>and then evel comes along</i>
<i>with a pay-per-view</i>

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
<i>The unknowns were magnificent.</i>

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
<i>will try to cross</i>
<i>a canyon in Idaho</i>

1018
00:48:59.562 --> 00:49:01.295
<i>riding a rocket.</i>

1019
00:49:01.297 --> 00:49:04.164
<i>If he makes it, he'll be</i>
<i>many times a millionaire.</i>

1020
00:49:04.166 --> 00:49:07.100
<i>If he doesn't, he'll be dead.</i>

1021
00:49:15.643 --> 00:49:18.343
( Laughs )

1022
00:49:18.345 --> 00:49:20.445
Rivera:<i> He was a hero of mine</i>
<i>in many ways.</i>

1023
00:49:20.447 --> 00:49:23.681
<i>I was a little crazy.</i>
<i>He was a whole lot crazy.</i>

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
<i>It was the kind of stunt</i>
<i>where you would actually see,</i>

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
<i>So that means you</i>
<i>have to regain</i>
<i>your consciousness.</i>

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:
<i>Evel had no training.</i>

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:<i> He had</i>
<i>a dead stick kind of thing</i>

1049
00:50:24.497 --> 00:50:28.165
<i>where it was spring-loaded,</i>
<i>and if he passed out</i>

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:<i> There were actually</i>
<i>three of the steam-powered</i>

1053
00:50:36.040 --> 00:50:37.739
<i>sky cycles built.</i>
<i>The original,</i>

1054
00:50:37.741 --> 00:50:40.408
<i>called the x1,</i>
<i>was tested without a pilot</i>

1055
00:50:40.410 --> 00:50:42.209
<i>about three weeks ago.</i>

1056
00:50:42.211 --> 00:50:45.078
<i>It ended up</i>
<i>at the bottom of the canyon.</i>

1057
00:50:51.453 --> 00:50:54.187
Evel knievel:
<i>That was a test shot.</i>
<i>We made some mistakes.</i>

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:
<i>What the press did not know</i>

1061
00:51:00.127 --> 00:51:03.695
<i>is that the first one</i>
<i>was designed to fail.</i>

1062
00:51:03.697 --> 00:51:05.697
<i>We purposefully</i>
<i>underpowered the rocket</i>

1063
00:51:05.699 --> 00:51:08.132
<i>so it wouldn't make it</i>
<i>to the other side.</i>

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:<i> Eventually,</i>
<i>we did convince evel</i>

1068
00:51:16.741 --> 00:51:20.075
<i>to do a real test,</i>
<i>but he'd only do it</i>

1069
00:51:20.077 --> 00:51:22.343
<i>if it was done in secret</i>
<i>so the press</i>

1070
00:51:22.345 --> 00:51:25.279
<i>wouldn't get any pictures</i>
<i>of it or anything.</i>

1071
00:51:28.550 --> 00:51:30.249
<i>We thought it would make it.</i>

1072
00:51:30.251 --> 00:51:33.352
<i>But there was a problem</i>
<i>with the parachute.</i>

1073
00:51:33.354 --> 00:51:37.055
<i>It deployed early...</i>

1074
00:51:37.057 --> 00:51:40.091
<i>And it also landed right</i>
<i>in the middle of the river.</i>

1075
00:51:40.093 --> 00:51:42.293
Saltman:
<i>Knievel was there to see that.</i>

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>I was thinking to myself</i>

1079
00:51:50.535 --> 00:51:53.202
<i>that he was really looking</i>
<i>at his mortality,</i>

1080
00:51:53.204 --> 00:51:54.670
<i>and thinking, you know,</i>

1081
00:51:54.672 --> 00:51:57.506
<i>this might not be</i>
<i>such a good idea.</i>

1082
00:51:57.508 --> 00:52:02.042
<i>However, give him credit,</i>
<i>he was going through with it.</i>

1083
00:52:04.112 --> 00:52:07.213
Branker:<i> At this point,</i>
<i>we're batting zero for two,</i>

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:
<i>You'll make it!</i>

1086
00:52:14.054 --> 00:52:17.121
<i>You will!</i>
<i>You will!</i>

1087
00:52:17.123 --> 00:52:20.190
Saltman:<i> He became</i>
<i>more and more surly,</i>

1088
00:52:20.192 --> 00:52:22.292
<i>screeching orders at everybody</i>
<i>that he could,</i>

1089
00:52:22.294 --> 00:52:25.094
<i>belittling...</i>
<i>he belittled little people.</i>

1090
00:52:25.096 --> 00:52:26.728
<i>He was just mean.</i>

1091
00:52:26.730 --> 00:52:28.696
Branker:
<i>About a week out</i>

1092
00:52:28.698 --> 00:52:31.265
<i>is when we started</i>
<i>sensing things</i>

1093
00:52:31.267 --> 00:52:33.267
<i>not going our way</i>
<i>with the press,</i>

1094
00:52:33.269 --> 00:52:35.068
<i>'cause the press</i>
<i>is up here living now,</i>

1095
00:52:35.070 --> 00:52:36.803
<i>an the press started</i>
<i>to see the real evel.</i>

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> I don't smile at anybody.</i>

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:<i> That's when he came</i>
<i>down the stairs with his cane,</i>

1106
00:53:09.297 --> 00:53:12.131
<i>and he grabbed my camera,</i>
<i>and he's a pretty strong guy.</i>

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:<i> Are you going to apologize</i>
<i>to that cameraman</i>

1110
00:53:19.873 --> 00:53:21.806
<i>for roughing him up?</i>

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:
<i>As hard as we tried,</i>

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> I think</i>
<i>you should apologize.</i>

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:<i> There was a point</i>
<i>where we were all</i>

1130
00:54:05.343 --> 00:54:08.210
<i>kind of sitting around</i>
<i>and saying, "the guy's a jerk.</i>

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
<i>Sayonara.</i>

1136
00:54:24.526 --> 00:54:27.026
Man:<i> People started coming in,</i>
<i>and it started getting crazy.</i>

1137
00:54:27.028 --> 00:54:28.494
<i>Every biker</i>
<i>in the United States</i>

1138
00:54:28.496 --> 00:54:30.395
<i>that didn't have a job</i>
<i>was there.</i>

1139
00:54:30.397 --> 00:54:33.664
Branker:<i> You have umpteen</i>
<i>different motorcycling groups,</i>

1140
00:54:33.666 --> 00:54:35.766
<i>none of which you'd invite</i>
<i>to your house for dinner.</i>

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:<i> You could say</i>
<i>it was like a Woodstock,</i>

1143
00:54:42.607 --> 00:54:45.708
<i>but the evil twin of Woodstock.</i>

1144
00:54:45.710 --> 00:54:48.744
<i>It was like not a happy</i>
<i>flower children</i>

1145
00:54:48.746 --> 00:54:50.345
<i>sitting around in the rain.</i>

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:<i> Wackos with tattoos</i>
<i>all over their bodies</i>

1148
00:54:55.351 --> 00:54:57.751
drinking beer
and screwing in public

1149
00:54:57.753 --> 00:55:01.054
<i>and all kinds of...</i>
<i>yeah, it was... it was bedlam.</i>

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:<i> They had a marching band</i>
<i>from butte high school</i>

1153
00:55:09.864 --> 00:55:11.430
<i>that was there.</i>

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:<i> The crowd</i>
<i>just started mingling</i>

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
<i>We also had with us</i>
<i>the drill team,</i>

1179
00:56:23.525 --> 00:56:25.825
<i>and the drill team,</i>
<i>their name was the purple bees,</i>

1180
00:56:25.827 --> 00:56:29.361
<i>and a good friend of mine,</i>
<i>they tore her dress right off.</i>

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:
<i>The crowd were given</i>
<i>oh, beer,</i>

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:<i> They actually rolled</i>
<i>the beer trucks over...</i>

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
<i>and everybody was walking</i>
<i>through the camps</i>

1190
00:56:55.151 --> 00:56:56.783
<i>with cases of beer.</i>

1191
00:56:56.785 --> 00:56:58.584
<i>Next thing you know,</i>
<i>they took the outhouses,</i>

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
<i>The place was absolutely</i>
<i>out of control at that point.</i>

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>I could hear</i>
<i>out in the darkness,</i>

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
<i>And finally I reached the point</i>
<i>where I said,</i>

1203
00:57:26.741 --> 00:57:28.741
<i>"you know what? I'm gonna call</i>
<i>the national guard in."</i>

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:<i> There were more</i>
<i>than 33,000 paid admissions.</i>

1210
00:57:42.487 --> 00:57:44.487
<i>As you can see,</i>
<i>they needed control.</i>

1211
00:57:44.489 --> 00:57:46.922
<i>They were perilously close</i>
<i>to the edge of the canyon</i>

1212
00:57:46.924 --> 00:57:49.057
<i>some 600 feet straight down.</i>

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
<i>and they put up</i>
<i>a standard cyclone fence.</i>

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
<i>they're gonna go</i>
<i>right over the edge.</i>

1223
00:58:12.912 --> 00:58:14.811
Campoy:<i> You know,</i>
<i>I thought it was pretty ironic</i>

1224
00:58:14.813 --> 00:58:17.780
<i>how don e.</i>
<i>Solved the security problem.</i>

1225
00:58:17.782 --> 00:58:20.115
<i>He went down to where</i>
<i>the hell's angels were camped</i>

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
<i>( Band playing</i>
<i>"the star spangled banner" )</i>

1237
00:58:50.209 --> 00:58:52.943
Saltman:
<i>On the morning of the jump,</i>

1238
00:58:52.945 --> 00:58:57.013
<i>I looked at him</i>
<i>and I saw a very pensive,</i>

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>I don't know why he</i> would
<i>look comfortable,</i>

1242
00:59:05.722 --> 00:59:09.824
<i>climbing into a tin can</i>
<i>to fly over a canyon.</i>

1243
00:59:09.826 --> 00:59:11.692
Reporter:<i> There is</i>
<i>Bob treaux himself,</i>

1244
00:59:11.694 --> 00:59:13.960
<i>the chief engineer</i>
<i>testing the wind.</i>

1245
00:59:13.962 --> 00:59:17.596
Sprow:<i> The 15-mile-an-hour wind</i>
<i>was not the right direction.</i>

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> I just said,</i>
<i>"you know, Bob, I don't think</i>
<i>you ought to do it.</i>

1248
00:59:23.102 --> 00:59:25.535
<i>"I think this is crazy.</i>

1249
00:59:25.537 --> 00:59:27.270
<i>I think this thing</i>
<i>isn't gonna make it."</i>

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:
<i>There was no braggadocio.</i>

1258
00:59:48.890 --> 00:59:51.857
<i>There was no bravado.</i>

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:
<i>Yeah, I remember my dad</i>

1262
01:00:01.601 --> 01:00:03.600
<i>brought me in the trailer</i>
<i>and that...</i>

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
<i>Yeah, that was a very</i>
<i>sobering moment.</i>

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:
<i>There he goes up the ramp</i>

1274
01:00:40.998 --> 01:00:42.597
<i>toward the launch site</i>

1275
01:00:42.599 --> 01:00:44.999
<i>and towards the vehicle.</i>

1276
01:00:45.001 --> 01:00:48.736
<i>And he's being introduced</i>
<i>to the crowd now.</i>

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:<i> And then instead</i>
<i>of a roar, a silence...</i>

1284
01:01:15.060 --> 01:01:18.361
<i>like an eerie silence</i>
<i>fell over the crowd</i>

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:
<i>Evel got out of the crane</i>

1287
01:01:36.812 --> 01:01:39.212
<i>and into the sky cycle,</i>
<i>and the whole time,</i>

1288
01:01:39.214 --> 01:01:41.247
<i>patriotic music</i>
<i>is being played,</i>

1289
01:01:41.249 --> 01:01:43.082
<i>and at that time,</i>

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:
<i>Fecundo and I strapped him in,</i>

1292
01:01:47.654 --> 01:01:52.790
<i>and got a couple of pictures</i>
<i>of him in the cockpit.</i>

1293
01:01:52.792 --> 01:01:54.191
Campoy:<i> He looked</i>
<i>a lot different than he did</i>

1294
01:01:54.193 --> 01:01:55.825
<i>when we started this project.</i>

1295
01:01:55.827 --> 01:01:58.661
<i>His hair was gray,</i>
<i>and he was really serious.</i>

1296
01:01:58.663 --> 01:01:59.928
Saltman:
<i>We had a big clock...</i>

1297
01:01:59.930 --> 01:02:03.731
<i>10 seconds, nine seconds.</i>

1298
01:02:03.733 --> 01:02:05.666
Branker:<i> Eight, seven...</i>
<i>you look at the audience,</i>

1299
01:02:05.668 --> 01:02:07.367
<i>no one's even breathing.</i>

1300
01:02:07.369 --> 01:02:09.635
<i>Five... four...</i>

1301
01:02:09.637 --> 01:02:12.037
Announcer:
<i>Three, two, one.</i>

1302
01:02:17.844 --> 01:02:20.911
Saltman:<i> Immediately,</i>
<i>something failed.</i>

1303
01:02:20.913 --> 01:02:24.848
<i>It fizzled.</i>
<i>It went down like a bullet.</i>

1304
01:02:24.850 --> 01:02:26.916
Reporter:<i> The parachute is out.</i>
<i>The main chute is out.</i>

1305
01:02:26.918 --> 01:02:28.183
<i>There she goes.</i>

1306
01:02:28.185 --> 01:02:29.917
Reporter:
<i>It's going to crash.</i>

1307
01:02:32.988 --> 01:02:34.854
<i>Just missed the rocks!</i>

1308
01:02:34.856 --> 01:02:36.789
<i>David, I can't see anything.</i>

1309
01:02:36.791 --> 01:02:38.290
Berg:
<i>I had my camera.</i>

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
<i>Just, shwoop.</i>

1314
01:02:47.032 --> 01:02:49.899
Man:<i> It was a stampede,</i>
<i>that's exactly what it was.</i>

1315
01:02:49.901 --> 01:02:52.301
Branker:<i> I saw bikers pluck</i>
<i>people out of the sky.</i>

1316
01:02:52.303 --> 01:02:54.670
<i>It was right out of a movie,</i>
<i>you know?</i>

1317
01:02:54.672 --> 01:02:57.406
Reporter:<i> Robert Craig knievel</i>
<i>appears to have landed</i>

1318
01:02:57.408 --> 01:02:59.207
<i>in the snake river.</i>

1319
01:02:59.209 --> 01:03:02.310
<i>Evel definitely tried</i>
<i>to get out, but he couldn't.</i>

1320
01:03:02.312 --> 01:03:04.312
Reporter:
<i>Even I am very scared.</i>

1321
01:03:04.314 --> 01:03:05.880
Pavlovich:
<i>I thought he's gone.</i>

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:<i> There was people</i>
<i>running up</i>

1325
01:03:12.888 --> 01:03:15.355
<i>looking over the edge,</i>
<i>and Linda was scared,</i>

1326
01:03:15.357 --> 01:03:17.824
<i>and the boys were scared.</i>

1327
01:03:17.826 --> 01:03:19.425
Robbie knievel:
<i>I thought my dad was dead.</i>

1328
01:03:19.427 --> 01:03:21.059
I was screaming, crying.

1329
01:03:21.061 --> 01:03:23.828
Saltman:<i> I got into</i>
<i>my helicopter,</i>

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
<i>And I said this...</i>

1334
01:03:34.940 --> 01:03:37.540
<i>thank God that</i>
<i>son of a bitch is alive.</i>

1335
01:03:37.542 --> 01:03:39.341
Reporter:<i> Evel knievel</i>
<i>is standing</i>

1336
01:03:39.343 --> 01:03:40.542
<i>in the boat and waving.</i>

1337
01:03:40.544 --> 01:03:43.344
<i>He is alive and well.</i>

1338
01:03:43.346 --> 01:03:46.013
<i>( Reporters overlapping )</i>

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:<i> What had happened</i>
<i>is it went up.</i>

1347
01:04:14.974 --> 01:04:17.874
<i>I knew immediately that</i>
<i>the chute had been deployed.</i>

1348
01:04:17.876 --> 01:04:19.342
Malewicki:<i> It came off</i>

1349
01:04:19.344 --> 01:04:22.011
<i>because of a mechanical problem</i>
<i>with the design.</i>

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:
<i>It was clear to me,</i>
<i>or to us,</i>

1357
01:04:39.027 --> 01:04:41.093
<i>that it was a mechanical</i>
<i>failure,</i>

1358
01:04:41.095 --> 01:04:43.095
<i>but there was another story</i>
<i>being banded about</i>

1359
01:04:43.097 --> 01:04:45.197
<i>back at the press tent</i>
<i>that perhaps</i>

1360
01:04:45.199 --> 01:04:47.966
<i>evel had released</i>
<i>the chute early.</i>

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
<i>When I went to the press tent</i>
<i>after the jump,</i>

1363
01:04:54.040 --> 01:04:56.206
<i>the press was asking for me</i>
<i>to come and make a statement.</i>

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>I really liked the rocket crew.</i>

1366
01:05:04.014 --> 01:05:05.880
<i>They're just a bunch</i>
<i>of nice guys.</i>

1367
01:05:05.882 --> 01:05:09.550
<i>I just knew that the m.O.</i>
<i>Of how he treated people</i>

1368
01:05:09.552 --> 01:05:11.018
<i>nothing was ever his fault.</i>

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:<i> So it got out</i>
<i>that it was evel's fault.</i>

1373
01:05:23.364 --> 01:05:25.297
Reporter:<i> But the nagging</i>
<i>question remains...</i>

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:
<i>Then the press tore him up.</i>

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:<i> It was evel knievel</i>
<i>against the snake river canyon,</i>

1382
01:05:50.019 --> 01:05:53.987
<i>and the canyon</i>
<i>was the sentimental favorite.</i>

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
<i>which was the pardon</i>
<i>of Nixon by president Ford.</i>

1388
01:06:05.966 --> 01:06:09.200
<i>That was a major transition</i>
<i>in the country.</i>

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
<i>( Roger Miller's</i>
<i>"england swings" plays )</i>

1398
01:06:41.430 --> 01:06:44.431
<i>¶ England swings</i>
<i>like a pendulum do... ¶</i>

1399
01:06:44.433 --> 01:06:47.567
gunn:<i> He had never</i>
<i>been to england before.</i>

1400
01:06:47.569 --> 01:06:52.171
<i>He thought a new crowd,</i>
<i>new group.</i>

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:<i> Well, they hadn't heard</i>
<i>the Teddy Roosevelt speech,</i>

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
<i>¶ Two by two ¶</i>

1405
01:07:02.115 --> 01:07:05.082
<i>¶ westminster abbey,</i>
<i>the tower, big Ben... ¶</i>

1406
01:07:05.084 --> 01:07:07.384
reporter:<i> Evel knievel</i>
<i>is alive, well,</i>

1407
01:07:07.386 --> 01:07:10.420
<i>and back in action in famed old</i>
<i>wembley stadium,</i>

1408
01:07:10.422 --> 01:07:12.722
<i>London, england,</i>
<i>for a jump that will be made</i>

1409
01:07:12.724 --> 01:07:14.990
<i>over 13 London buses.</i>

1410
01:07:14.992 --> 01:07:18.026
Wilson:
<i>When he arrived in London,</i>

1411
01:07:18.027 --> 01:07:21.061
<i>he had only sold 3,000 seats</i>
<i>for a 100,000-seat stadium,</i>

1412
01:07:21.064 --> 01:07:22.396
<i>and he was in trouble.</i>

1413
01:07:22.398 --> 01:07:24.464
<i>There was some press there</i>
<i>to meet him.</i>

1414
01:07:24.466 --> 01:07:27.600
<i>He looks at the press,</i>
<i>and what did he do?</i>

1415
01:07:27.602 --> 01:07:30.002
<i>"I'm so glad to be here</i>
<i>in england</i>

1416
01:07:30.004 --> 01:07:32.571
<i>where we came</i>
<i>and won the war for you."</i>

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
<i>We drove around London,</i>
<i>just making friends.</i>

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:
<i>So the yankee pied Piper</i>

1424
01:07:49.086 --> 01:07:52.053
<i>collected the young and the old</i>
<i>and led them all</i>

1425
01:07:52.055 --> 01:07:53.554
<i>to wembley stadium.</i>

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:<i> So we walked</i>
<i>into the arena of wembley</i>

1428
01:08:04.765 --> 01:08:06.765
<i>where the buses were lined up,</i>

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:<i> So I went over</i>
<i>to talk to evel,</i>

1437
01:08:29.252 --> 01:08:32.219
<i>and talk him out of it,</i>
<i>and he was in a trailer.</i>

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:
<i>Here is evel knievel!</i>

1443
01:08:48.402 --> 01:08:51.169
Gifford:<i> You know, evel,</i>
<i>one has to wonder after</i>
<i>the snake river,</i>

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:<i> He told me earlier</i>
<i>that outside of the jump</i>

1453
01:09:14.323 --> 01:09:16.289
<i>at Caesar's palace</i>
<i>where he was severely injured,</i>

1454
01:09:16.291 --> 01:09:18.658
<i>that this will probably be</i>
<i>the most difficult jump</i>

1455
01:09:18.660 --> 01:09:21.494
<i>he has ever made.</i>

1456
01:09:21.496 --> 01:09:27.232
<i>He hurt himself in indio</i>
<i>1967 Caesars Palace.</i>

1457
01:09:27.234 --> 01:09:29.667
<i>Here he goes.</i>
<i>And he will go.</i>

1458
01:09:47.152 --> 01:09:49.652
Wilson:<i> It was almost eerie,</i>
<i>though.</i>

1459
01:09:49.654 --> 01:09:51.854
<i>The motorcycle was ghostly.</i>

1460
01:09:51.856 --> 01:09:56.225
<i>It was tumbling after him,</i>
<i>sort of.</i>

1461
01:09:56.227 --> 01:09:58.427
<i>Then eventually,</i>
<i>it landed on him.</i>

1462
01:10:07.737 --> 01:10:09.670
Gifford:<i> He's down</i>
<i>and he is hurt.</i>

1463
01:10:09.672 --> 01:10:11.638
<i>Oh, my God.</i>

1464
01:10:11.640 --> 01:10:15.742
( Motorcycle revs )

1465
01:10:15.744 --> 01:10:18.644
<i>The man you see now</i>
<i>leaning over evel is John hood.</i>

1466
01:10:18.646 --> 01:10:20.379
<i>That's his chief mechanic.</i>

1467
01:10:20.381 --> 01:10:23.148
Hood:<i> I knew, well,</i>
<i>he's gotta be hurt on this one.</i>

1468
01:10:23.150 --> 01:10:26.217
<i>And I kneeled down</i>
<i>and said, "are you okay?"</i>

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:<i> That crash</i>
<i>was one of the worst</i>

1482
01:11:14.926 --> 01:11:17.626
<i>as far as injuries would go.</i>

1483
01:11:17.628 --> 01:11:21.663
<i>He broke his hand, back,</i>
<i>re-broke his pelvis.</i>

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
<i>"Doug,</i>
<i>you can't use that quote."</i>

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<i> 14</i> 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:<i> The king's island</i>
<i>family entertainment center,</i>

1508
01:12:20.243 --> 01:12:23.244
<i>located just outside</i>
<i>of Cincinnati, Ohio,</i>

1509
01:12:23.246 --> 01:12:25.779
<i>is jam-packed with people</i>
<i>who have come to watch</i>

1510
01:12:25.781 --> 01:12:28.348
<i>evel knievel out of retirement,</i>

1511
01:12:28.350 --> 01:12:32.552
<i>and here he comes right now,</i>
<i>Robert Craig knievel, evel.</i>

1512
01:12:32.554 --> 01:12:34.987
Knoxville:<i> A lot was riding</i>
<i>on this jump.</i>

1513
01:12:34.989 --> 01:12:36.955
<i>Uh, it was a different evel.</i>

1514
01:12:36.957 --> 01:12:39.590
<i>I mean, he actually did</i>
<i>practice jumps.</i>

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:
<i>It was a very gutsy jump.</i>

1518
01:12:48.882 --> 01:12:51.433
<i>The doctors told him</i>
<i>just don't ever do that again.</i>

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:
<i>Everything is go.</i>

1522
01:13:03.580 --> 01:13:06.948
<i>And the total concentration now</i>
<i>is getting that bike</i>

1523
01:13:06.950 --> 01:13:10.518
<i>off the approach ramp</i>
<i>and on to the landing ramp.</i>

1524
01:13:18.461 --> 01:13:20.594
<i>And he's not hesitating.</i>
<i>He'll go.</i>

1525
01:13:26.001 --> 01:13:29.702
<i>( Cheers and applause )</i>

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:<i> King's island was</i>
<i>the longest jump of his career.</i>

1543
01:14:26.949 --> 01:14:30.116
<i>It was the biggest television</i>
<i>audience he ever had,</i>

1544
01:14:30.118 --> 01:14:32.451
<i>and it was</i>
<i>the highest-rated episode</i>

1545
01:14:32.453 --> 01:14:35.720
<i>of "wide world of sports" ever.</i>

1546
01:14:35.722 --> 01:14:37.221
<i>He did some small jumps</i>
<i>after that,</i>

1547
01:14:37.223 --> 01:14:40.123
<i>but he never went</i>
<i>that big again.</i>

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
<i>If you were on a bike,</i>
<i>you'd do stupid shit,</i>

1551
01:14:59.808 --> 01:15:02.841
<i>but you would do stupid shit</i>
<i>in the name of evel knievel.</i>

1552
01:15:06.613 --> 01:15:08.779
Hoffman:<i> I thought</i>
<i>that's why you had a bike.</i>

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:<i> We'd line up</i>
<i>the neighbor kids</i>

1556
01:15:15.052 --> 01:15:16.585
<i>and see who could jump</i>
<i>more neighbors</i>

1557
01:15:16.587 --> 01:15:18.987
<i>without landing on 'em</i>
<i>and things like that,</i>

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:
<i>He was a hero to so many kids,</i>

1573
01:15:53.150 --> 01:15:56.050
<i>but his own son</i>
<i>was his biggest fan.</i>

1574
01:15:57.953 --> 01:16:00.987
Reporter:<i> This is Robbie.</i>
<i>Look at this little guy go.</i>

1575
01:16:00.989 --> 01:16:03.856
<i>Wouldn't you know</i>
<i>it would be the young one</i>
<i>who would steal it.</i>

1576
01:16:03.858 --> 01:16:05.958
<i>He's the one that's got</i>
<i>to have the longest wheelie.</i>

1577
01:16:05.960 --> 01:16:09.728
Robbie knievel:
<i>He totally saw me and him,</i>

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
<i>before I end my career.</i>

1582
01:16:17.936 --> 01:16:19.669
<i>( Cheers and applause )</i>

1583
01:16:27.578 --> 01:16:29.010
That was for you, dad.

1584
01:16:29.012 --> 01:16:31.145
Knoxville:<i> Yeah, Robbie</i>
<i>broke all of his dad's records.</i>

1585
01:16:31.147 --> 01:16:34.647
<i>I mean, hell, he could jump</i>
<i>fourteen buses with no hands.</i>

1586
01:16:36.851 --> 01:16:39.852
<i>But Robbie was jumping</i>
<i>on lighter,</i>

1587
01:16:39.854 --> 01:16:43.856
<i>more powerful bikes</i>
<i>that were designed for jumping.</i>

1588
01:16:43.858 --> 01:16:45.624
Leeuwen:<i> He could jump</i>
<i>farther and longer than evel</i>

1589
01:16:45.626 --> 01:16:47.225
<i>and all that stuff,</i>
<i>but it didn't matter.</i>

1590
01:16:47.227 --> 01:16:48.659
<i>Robbie couldn't tell a story.</i>

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
<i>( Laughter )</i>

1598
01:17:06.943 --> 01:17:08.742
<i>( Applause )</i>

1599
01:17:08.744 --> 01:17:10.777
Williams:<i> Even when Bobbie</i>
<i>wasn't jumping anymore</i>

1600
01:17:10.779 --> 01:17:12.912
<i>he still wanted to be</i>
<i>in the spotlight,</i>

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
<i>- ¶ Viva ¶</i>
<i>- ¶ Viva ¶</i>

1605
01:17:20.653 --> 01:17:22.319
<i>¶ viva knievel ¶</i>

1606
01:17:22.321 --> 01:17:24.721
Hamilton:<i> In the end,</i>
<i>there was one guy</i>

1607
01:17:24.723 --> 01:17:28.925
<i>meant to be evel knievel,</i>
<i>and that was evel.</i>

1608
01:17:28.927 --> 01:17:31.093
<i>Evel had a movie-star quality</i>
<i>about him.</i>

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:
<i>Once it came out,</i>

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
<i>¶ Viva ¶</i>

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:<i> When I knew</i>
<i>I was gonna take on</i>

1626
01:18:19.667 --> 01:18:21.266
<i>the snake river canyon event,</i>

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
<i>And knievel, he was my 50/50</i>
<i>partner, and he says,</i>

1632
01:18:37.047 --> 01:18:40.248
<i>"don't forget,</i>
<i>just tell the truth."</i>

1633
01:18:40.250 --> 01:18:41.849
<i>So with permission,</i>

1634
01:18:41.851 --> 01:18:45.152
<i>I carried</i>
<i>an audio-cassette recorder</i>

1635
01:18:45.154 --> 01:18:47.154
<i>during the evel knievel tour.</i>

1636
01:18:55.797 --> 01:18:58.931
<i>If you listen to the tape,</i>
<i>you can form your own opinion.</i>

1637
01:19:28.028 --> 01:19:31.863
<i>And so when I wrote my book,</i>
<i>I kept out a lot of things,</i>

1638
01:19:31.865 --> 01:19:33.764
<i>stuff I would</i>
<i>never write about,</i>

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> I was at evel's</i>
<i>compound one day,</i>

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> I was on</i>
<i>the 20th century fox lot,</i>

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
<i>And I was actually</i>
<i>glad to see him.</i>

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>I did everything I could</i>
<i>to defend myself.</i>

1682
01:21:27.891 --> 01:21:29.790
<i>And I remember</i>
<i>putting my hand up,</i>

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:
<i>Knievel came to court</i>

1687
01:21:41.183 --> 01:21:43.033
<i>accompanied by his wife Linda</i>
<i>and his attorney.</i>

1688
01:21:43.035 --> 01:21:45.969
<i>The 38-year old daredevil</i>
<i>faces charges of felony assault</i>

1689
01:21:45.971 --> 01:21:47.537
<i>in the baseball bat attack</i>

1690
01:21:47.539 --> 01:21:50.239
<i>on television executive</i>
<i>Sheldon saltman.</i>

1691
01:21:50.241 --> 01:21:52.341
Tonning:
<i>Knievel could've gotten</i>
<i>away with it.</i>

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:<i> It was a very</i>
<i>interesting hour at division 91</i>

1695
01:21:58.515 --> 01:22:01.015
<i>of municipal court</i>
<i>in which evel knievel</i>

1696
01:22:01.017 --> 01:22:03.951
<i>fired his attorney</i>
<i>and entered a plea of guilty.</i>

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
- <i> ( Laughter )</i>
- 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:<i> The judge told</i>
<i>the 39-year-old</i>

1724
01:23:12.444 --> 01:23:15.077
<i>motorcycle daredevil</i>
<i>that while as a judge</i>

1725
01:23:15.079 --> 01:23:17.279
<i>he found knievel's</i>
<i>admission of guilt</i>

1726
01:23:17.281 --> 01:23:19.114
<i>as refreshing,</i>
<i>at the same time,</i>

1727
01:23:19.116 --> 01:23:20.748
<i>rafeedie said, "long ago</i>

1728
01:23:20.750 --> 01:23:24.151
<i>we abandoned frontier justice</i>
<i>in California."</i>

1729
01:23:24.153 --> 01:23:26.186
<i>With that, rafeedie sentenced</i>
<i>knievel to six months in jail</i>

1730
01:23:26.188 --> 01:23:28.054
<i>and three years probation.</i>

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:
<i>Course, when he was in jail,</i>

1733
01:23:33.361 --> 01:23:34.626
<i>it was like...</i>

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:<i> So he's in jail,</i>
<i>but he's on work release.</i>

1737
01:23:46.138 --> 01:23:47.704
<i>So he's only in there at night.</i>

1738
01:23:47.706 --> 01:23:50.106
<i>And he would have his chauffer</i>

1739
01:23:50.108 --> 01:23:53.375
<i>pick him up every morning</i>
<i>and take him to the bar.</i>

1740
01:23:53.377 --> 01:23:56.144
Reporter:<i> Knievel believes</i>
<i>in sharing the wealth.</i>

1741
01:23:56.146 --> 01:23:58.412
<i>So this morning</i>
<i>he hired a dozen limousines</i>

1742
01:23:58.414 --> 01:24:01.214
<i>to transport</i>
<i>his fellow work release inmates</i>

1743
01:24:01.216 --> 01:24:02.615
<i>to their jobs.</i>

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
<i>There was no end</i>
<i>to the shenanigans</i>
<i>that guy would pull.</i>

1747
01:24:11.625 --> 01:24:13.558
Reporter:
<i>The inmates were amazed,</i>

1748
01:24:13.560 --> 01:24:17.094
<i>but the authorities</i>
<i>were not so enthusiastic.</i>

1749
01:24:17.096 --> 01:24:18.762
Knoxville:<i> Well,</i>
<i>the judge got pissed,</i>

1750
01:24:18.764 --> 01:24:21.765
<i>and he revoked evel's</i>
<i>work release privileges.</i>

1751
01:24:21.767 --> 01:24:24.167
Tonning:
<i>I was pissed off at him.</i>

1752
01:24:24.169 --> 01:24:27.370
<i>He started believing the hype,</i>
<i>that he was totally impervious,</i>

1753
01:24:27.372 --> 01:24:29.372
<i>and he could get away</i>
<i>with anything.</i>

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
<i>The ideal toy company,</i>
<i>which manufactures</i>

1758
01:24:37.513 --> 01:24:40.447
<i>the evel knievel toys,</i>
<i>says it has already lost</i>

1759
01:24:40.449 --> 01:24:44.384
<i>$1.6 million since evel knievel</i>
<i>went into the county jail.</i>

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:
<i>On the toy front,</i>

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
<i>¶ Anymore it doesn't matter ¶</i>

1772
01:25:21.416 --> 01:25:23.549
reporter:<i> Knievel says</i>
<i>his experience in jail</i>

1773
01:25:23.551 --> 01:25:25.117
<i>was a good one,</i>

1774
01:25:25.119 --> 01:25:27.552
<i>but that it has</i>
<i>set him back financially.</i>

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:
<i>The cars, the boats...</i>

1779
01:25:40.198 --> 01:25:41.764
Robbie knievel:
<i>The lear jets, ferraris,</i>

1780
01:25:41.766 --> 01:25:43.499
<i>everything to go</i>
<i>down the drain?</i>

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>I just dropped out of sight</i>
<i>and played golf.</i>

1793
01:26:17.597 --> 01:26:21.898
<i>I just completely withdrew</i>
<i>from the public.</i>

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
<i>He didn't keep the fact</i>
<i>that he was married</i>

1801
01:26:37.280 --> 01:26:39.313
<i>a secret or anything,</i>

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:
<i>And I just let it go.</i>

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
<i>¶ Nobody wins ¶</i>

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>I have hepatitis c,</i>

1818
01:27:31.525 --> 01:27:33.391
<i>and I got it through</i>
<i>blood transfusions,</i>

1819
01:27:33.393 --> 01:27:34.959
<i>and I've been told by</i>
<i>the doctors five years ago</i>

1820
01:27:34.961 --> 01:27:38.262
<i>that I didn't have</i>
<i>five years to live.</i>

1821
01:27:38.264 --> 01:27:40.330
<i>I'm taking it</i>
<i>one day at a time.</i>

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>I said,</i>
<i>"you're really hurting."</i>

1824
01:27:47.804 --> 01:27:52.406
<i>¶ If you're gonna be dumb,</i>
<i>you've gotta be tough ¶</i>

1825
01:27:52.408 --> 01:27:55.575
<i>¶ when you get knocked down,</i>
<i>you gotta get back up ¶</i>

1826
01:27:57.278 --> 01:27:59.278
<i>¶ I ain't the sharpest rig</i>
<i>in the 10 pack ¶</i>

1827
01:27:59.280 --> 01:28:01.647
<i>¶ but I know enough to know ¶</i>

1828
01:28:01.649 --> 01:28:05.417
<i>¶ if you're gonna be dumb,</i>
<i>you've gotta be tough ¶</i>

1829
01:28:05.419 --> 01:28:07.285
Knoxville:
<i>Then the '90s come around</i>

1830
01:28:07.287 --> 01:28:10.588
<i>and motorcycle jumping</i>
<i>was just one part</i>

1831
01:28:10.590 --> 01:28:14.825
<i>of this whole new huge thing</i>
<i>called action sports.</i>

1832
01:28:14.827 --> 01:28:17.894
Pastrana:<i> It's amazing how</i>
<i>quickly the sports progressed.</i>

1833
01:28:17.896 --> 01:28:20.263
<i>This multimillion motorcycle</i>

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
<i>In 2006, I was able to land</i>
<i>the first double back flip</i>

1838
01:28:31.574 --> 01:28:33.641
<i>on a dirt bike.</i>

1839
01:28:33.642 --> 01:28:35.709
<i>No one ever thought</i>
<i>that that was possible.</i>

1840
01:28:35.711 --> 01:28:38.478
<i>The bikes have evolved.</i>
<i>The riding has evolved.</i>

1841
01:28:38.480 --> 01:28:39.912
<i>They have coaches.</i>
<i>They have schools.</i>

1842
01:28:39.914 --> 01:28:41.446
<i>They have camps,</i>

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
<i>( Cheers and applause )</i>

1848
01:28:56.859 --> 01:28:59.693
<i>I stay awake at night,</i>
<i>and I dwell on</i>

1849
01:28:59.695 --> 01:29:02.896
<i>how to do</i>
<i>what I do in the biggest,</i>
<i>most grandest way</i>

1850
01:29:02.898 --> 01:29:04.430
and to continue this legacy.

1851
01:29:04.432 --> 01:29:07.633
Announcer:
<i>Matt's definitely... oh!</i>

1852
01:29:07.635 --> 01:29:09.668
Hoffman:<i> The extreme sports</i>
<i>or action sports,</i>

1853
01:29:09.670 --> 01:29:12.003
<i>whatever they're commercially</i>
<i>referred to,</i>

1854
01:29:12.005 --> 01:29:13.604
<i>is definitely a result</i>

1855
01:29:13.606 --> 01:29:16.673
<i>from the way evel dreamed</i>
<i>in the '70s</i>

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
<i>( "Jackass" theme song plays )</i>

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
<i>( Crowd groans )</i>

1862
01:29:42.295 --> 01:29:43.894
<i>( Crash, laugh )</i>

1863
01:29:43.896 --> 01:29:46.496
<i>Evel had to make his jumps.</i>

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
<i>Mat Hoffman and I</i>
<i>did a tribute to evel.</i>

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> I think we should</i>
<i>push the limits,</i>

1870
01:30:01.877 --> 01:30:03.643
<i>get some of our friends</i>
<i>together</i>

1871
01:30:03.645 --> 01:30:07.013
<i>and just set some records</i>
<i>and just celebrate evel's life.</i>

1872
01:30:07.015 --> 01:30:09.015
<i>And, uh, that's what we did.</i>

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
<i>No, really, I tore my urethra.</i>

1878
01:30:23.061 --> 01:30:25.528
<i>Thanks a lot, evel.</i>

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>I think that's because</i>
<i>of the fact</i>

1881
01:30:36.372 --> 01:30:38.505
<i>that I have had</i>
<i>some big crashes.</i>

1882
01:30:40.075 --> 01:30:43.543
<i>So I figured I'd see how far</i>
<i>I can fly the harley Davidson</i>

1883
01:30:43.545 --> 01:30:45.811
<i>in honor of evel knievel.</i>

1884
01:30:48.749 --> 01:30:51.616
Knoxville:<i> When Seth enslow</i>
<i>did that record-breaking</i>

1885
01:30:51.618 --> 01:30:56.554
<i>harley Davidson jump,</i>
<i>he dedicated it to evel.</i>

1886
01:30:56.556 --> 01:30:59.456
<i>And when Robbie maddison</i>
<i>set the new world record</i>

1887
01:30:59.458 --> 01:31:02.959
<i>for distance by jumping</i>
<i>over an entire football field,</i>

1888
01:31:04.429 --> 01:31:05.628
<i>he did it</i>
<i>on the 40th anniversary</i>

1889
01:31:05.630 --> 01:31:08.497
<i>of evel's Caesar's palace jump.</i>

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:
<i>The one and only o.G.!</i>

1896
01:31:30.817 --> 01:31:33.551
<i>Evel knievel!</i>

1897
01:31:33.553 --> 01:31:35.819
Hawk:<i> It was great to see</i>
<i>a new generation</i>

1898
01:31:35.821 --> 01:31:37.821
<i>understand how important</i>
<i>he was to us.</i>

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:<i> He greatly</i>
<i>appreciated that the kids</i>

1902
01:31:45.696 --> 01:31:47.696
<i>paid their respects to him,</i>
<i>and they did,</i>

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> I think my dad</i>
<i>liked his role</i>

1908
01:32:02.909 --> 01:32:05.175
<i>as a elder statesman</i>
<i>at the end of his life.</i>

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:<i> After a lifetime</i>
<i>of injuries and surgeries,</i>

1919
01:32:35.602 --> 01:32:39.136
<i>the thing that really kicked</i>
<i>his ass was lung disease.</i>

1920
01:32:41.273 --> 01:32:43.006
Williams:
<i>If you'd asked him,</i>

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:<i> The last couple</i>
<i>of years of his life were hell.</i>

1926
01:32:59.888 --> 01:33:01.621
<i>He was having trouble</i>
<i>breathing,</i>

1927
01:33:01.623 --> 01:33:03.656
<i>and being in that living hell,</i>

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:
<i>He was preparing for the end</i>

1933
01:33:22.041 --> 01:33:23.306
<i>on every level.</i>

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:<i> He told me that he had led</i>
<i>a life that he was ashamed of</i>

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:<i> He said to me,</i>
<i>"I was so sick."</i>

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:<i> He tried to make</i>
<i>amends with people at the end,</i>

1949
01:34:08.378 --> 01:34:10.211
<i>and that's great,</i>
<i>but it's kind of tough</i>

1950
01:34:10.213 --> 01:34:14.048
<i>to put the toothpaste back</i>
<i>in the tube at that point.</i>

1951
01:34:14.050 --> 01:34:15.649
<i>He caused a lot of hurt.</i>

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> I talked to him</i>
<i>the night before he died.</i>

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:<i> You know,</i>
<i>he was indestructible,</i>

1979
01:36:07.374 --> 01:36:09.006
<i>and then...</i>

1980
01:36:09.008 --> 01:36:14.811
It... it just reminded you
that he<i> was</i> 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>I lost this little kid</i>
<i>who at one time</i>

1983
01:36:25.155 --> 01:36:27.121
<i>I thought was my brother.</i>

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>I still think he's a superhero.</i>

1986
01:36:39.234 --> 01:36:43.836
<i>And, yeah, I know</i>
<i>a more complete story now,</i>

1987
01:36:43.838 --> 01:36:47.472
<i>and some of the stuff is really</i>
<i>heartbreaking, you know?</i>

1988
01:36:47.474 --> 01:36:49.273
<i>But to me,</i>

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
<i>so to speak, like he was.</i>

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
<i>You know, he never quit.</i>

1999
01:37:29.041 --> 01:37:31.941
Saltman:<i> I think,</i>
<i>in fairness to him,</i>

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
<i>In times of stress,</i>

2003
01:37:46.856 --> 01:37:48.121
<i>I believe somebody</i>
<i>on a white horse</i>

2004
01:37:48.123 --> 01:37:50.823
<i>wearing a white hat</i>
<i>will arrive.</i>

2005
01:37:50.825 --> 01:37:53.425
<i>That's the American way.</i>

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
<i>( Peter frampton's</i>
<i>"show me the way" plays )</i>

2011
01:38:08.838 --> 01:38:10.304
Rundle:
<i>He used to always say to me,</i>

2012
01:38:10.306 --> 01:38:13.573
<i>he says, "that canyon</i>
<i>has not moved one inch,</i>

2013
01:38:13.575 --> 01:38:15.841
<i>and I do not see</i>
<i>a big long line of daredevils</i>

2014
01:38:15.843 --> 01:38:17.309
<i>waiting to jump it."</i>

2015
01:38:34.894 --> 01:38:38.395
<i>¶ I wonder how you're feeling ¶</i>

2016
01:38:38.397 --> 01:38:42.031
<i>¶ there's ringing in my ears ¶</i>

2017
01:38:42.033 --> 01:38:47.836
<i>¶ and no one to relate to</i>
<i>'cept the sea ¶</i>

2018
01:38:49.472 --> 01:38:53.073
<i>¶ who can I believe in? ¶</i>

2019
01:38:53.075 --> 01:38:56.609
<i>¶ I'm kneeling on the floor ¶</i>

2020
01:38:56.611 --> 01:38:59.912
<i>¶ there has to be a force ¶</i>

2021
01:38:59.914 --> 01:39:04.116
<i>¶ who do I phone? ¶</i>

2022
01:39:04.118 --> 01:39:07.486
<i>¶ the stars</i>
<i>are out and shining ¶</i>

2023
01:39:07.488 --> 01:39:11.189
<i>¶ but all I really</i>
<i>want to know ¶</i>

2024
01:39:11.191 --> 01:39:14.559
<i>¶ oh, won't you ¶</i>

2025
01:39:14.561 --> 01:39:18.296
<i>¶ show me the way, yeah ¶</i>

2026
01:39:18.298 --> 01:39:21.866
<i>¶ I want you ¶</i>

2027
01:39:21.868 --> 01:39:25.102
<i>¶ to show me the way, yeah ¶</i>

2028
01:39:33.644 --> 01:39:37.479
<i>¶ well, I can see no reason ¶</i>

2029
01:39:37.481 --> 01:39:41.015
<i>¶ you're living</i>
<i>on your nerves ¶</i>

2030
01:39:41.017 --> 01:39:47.020
<i>¶ when someone drops a cup</i>
<i>and I submerge ¶</i>

2031
01:39:48.590 --> 01:39:52.358
<i>¶ I'm swimming in a circle ¶</i>

2032
01:39:52.360 --> 01:39:55.994
<i>¶ I feel I'm going down ¶</i>

2033
01:39:55.996 --> 01:40:01.966
<i>¶ there has to be a fool</i>
<i>to play my part ¶</i>

2034
01:40:03.469 --> 01:40:06.903
<i>¶ someone thought of healing ¶</i>

2035
01:40:06.905 --> 01:40:10.206
<i>¶ but all I really</i>
<i>want to know ¶</i>

2036
01:40:10.208 --> 01:40:13.676
<i>¶ I want you ¶</i>

2037
01:40:13.678 --> 01:40:17.446
<i>¶ to show me the way ¶</i>

2038
01:40:17.448 --> 01:40:21.016
<i>¶ I want you ¶</i>

2039
01:40:21.018 --> 01:40:24.953
<i>¶ to show me the way ¶</i>

2040
01:40:24.955 --> 01:40:28.489
<i>¶ I want you ¶</i>

2041
01:40:28.491 --> 01:40:32.559
<i>¶ day after day. ¶</i>

2042
01:40:32.561 --> 01:40:36.329
<i>( song fades )</i>