Evel Knievel's last jump -- RIP

[Logan Darklighter]

Damn.
Some videos and retrospective.
The following quote from a poster at the above site pretty much says it all for me:

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Sigh. I miss him, and I probably havent thought of him in years. Superman cant just die. Not of natural causes.
I guess God needed a headliner for his Christmas show. After Steve Irwin wrestles Cerberus, Evel is going to attempt to jump right over Hell.
Should be a good show.
RIP, EK. You the man.

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-Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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[Murmur the Fallen]

This is the end of an American Icon. His name had entered into the common American lexicon long ago and it'll stay there.
I can't bring myself to look at the video.
-murmur

[Logan Darklighter]

Don't worry about the videos being all maudlin and all. They're mostly videos of his jumps, both successful and (ouch) not-so-successful. They're showing him at his prime.
A poster at a different site who is a bike enthusiast posted this pic and had the following to say about it:

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When I was a kid, Evel Knievel was beyond legendary. I can remember the whole neighborhood crowding around whatever TV set was available to watch every jump he made. Controversial? Yep, every time, even before the Snake River Canyon fiasco. Bold? You betcher. In fact, the phrase balls the size of church bells leaps immediately to mind.
Notice what it says on the tank there: Harley Davidson. For some reason, the paintshop crew left the Fuckin off. Thats an XR750, H-Ds factory racer for years and years. 90-odd HP at 8000 revs, twin Mikunis, alloy heads, mechanical drum brakes that hardly work dry and dont at all when wet. Always wanted one myself, but theyre scarce these days.
And if anybody wonders why Evels son Robbie never has been able to capture the same attention, its probably because he lacks the same daredevil panache. After all, Robbie performs his stunts on a Honda dirt bike, specially built for jumping, with modern suspension that yields a foot and a half of travel front and rear. Not to take anything away from your obvious gutsy derring-do or anything, Rob, but try doing one of those insane jumps on an old Sportster that weighs half again as much as one of your high-tech high-fliers, with about two and a half inches or so of travel on the front and about half that on the rear, and then get back to us.
Meanwhile, your dad will remain the undisputed King.
American steel, baby. In every sense of those words.

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-Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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[Bob Schroeck]

Fark.com had a wonderful headline for this sad event; let's see if I can remember it, or something close enough: "Evel Knievel dies of natural causes; 40 years ago who would have imagined it?"

-- Bob
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I intend to be a freak for the rest of my life, and I shall baffle you with cabbages and rhinoceroses in the kitchen and incessant quotations from Now We Are Six through the mouthpiece of Lord Snooty's giant poisoned electric head. So theeeeeere....

[Ebony]

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Fark.com had a wonderful headline for this sad event; let's see if I can remember it, or something close enough: "Evel Knievel dies of natural causes; 40 years ago who would have imagined it?"

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If you look back at Knievel's life and the amount of damage that he dealt to his own body, both as a daredevil and through substance abuse, I don't think he died of particularly natural causes. I think he just beat his body into submission, and it finally tapped out. Unfortunately, it took him with it. Sort of a Pyrrhic Victory, really.Ebony the Black Dragon
Senior Editor, Living Room Games
http://www.lrgames.com
Ebony the Black Dragon
http://ebony14.livejournal.com

"Good night, and may the Good Lord take a Viking to you."

[VladimirTherin]

Actually what I read between the lines he might have succumbed to an ailment he contracted via a contaminated blood transfusion.
During the time frames when he required a lot of his surgery, the american blood supply was something like russian-roulette.