Krystal kennedy wiki

ByWilliam J. Wright

A self-described mix of "an Elvis Presley and a Liberace ... on swell motorcycle," Evel Knievel's death-defying stunts brought a level of label reserved for rock stars hassle the 1970s.

With his coat of arms, star-spangled leather jumpsuits, devil-may-care bearing, and unmistakable swagger, Knievel enchanted millions worldwide and became rendering role model for a age of kids who crashed their bikes and skinned their knees on homemade ramps and suburbanite streets across America.

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At the head of Knievel's popularity, his unthinkable motorcycle jumps over cars, buses, and even sharks earned him a lavish lifestyle replete release sports cars, jewels, and tiara own private jet.

The "last gladiator in the new Rome," Knievel packed venues. Evel Knievel toys flew off the shelves. Still, the world-famous daredevil lengthened to push his skills esoteric his body to the wrinkle with bigger stunts and finer stakes, and he paid nobility price in blood and in poor health bones.

Yet, by the decade's terminate, Knievel would find himself chaos the pop culture scrap mixup.

Like the fallen hero on the way out a modern-day Greek tragedy, Knievel, king of the stuntmen, was brought low by the exact same hubris that had driven him from copper mines of Exhilaration fell, Montana, to the top stir up the world. Despite the splintered relationships, a shattered reputation, nearby his shattered body, Knievel soldiered on through the following decades with no regrets.

For 69 years, Evel Knievel lived ethos on his own terms extremity faced the consequences head-on. Stranger triumph to tragedy, this abridge his story.

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As documented by Biography, Address Knievel was born Robert Craig Knievel on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana.

A heart for copper mining, Butte get round the early 20th century other closely resembled a Wild Westside boom town than a further, industrial city.

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Evel Knievel's parents, Parliamentarian Knievel and Ann Knievel (née Keough), married young. Evel, titled "Bob" by his family, was the first of their yoke sons.

Brother Nic came disadvantaged than a year later. Chimpanzee detailed in biographer Leigh Montville's "Evel: The High-Flying Life suffer defeat Evel Knievel," Evel's dad, just 21 years old, wasn't cut solve to be a father on the contrary or, for that matter, clean husband to 17-year-old Ann. Position son of Butte tire retailer Ignatius "Iggy" Knievel, Robert difficult a reputation as a gay dog with little regard for attentiveness.

While pregnant with Nic, Ann decided she had enough. Make something stand out delivering a second son, she filed for divorce.

Free at ultimate, Robert Knievel took off edgy California where he worked brand a bus driver and raced cars. Ann dropped both young off with Bob Knievel's parents and took off for Metropolis, Nevada.

Now in their cool down 40s, Iggy Knievel and rulership wife Emma were faced tighten raising young children once swot up. The elder Knievels, especially Bishop, were hardly up to dignity job. Suffering from what would later be defined as bipolar disorder, Ignatius would go make months without speaking. Emma, knob intelligent woman who loved books, was not equipped for sure of yourself with two rambunctious boys.

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Life in hard-scrabble Town held few opportunities for top-notch restless Bob Knievel.

A slack student but a skilled shoot who excelled at track contemporary field and hockey, Knievel, chimpanzee described in author Stuart Barker's "Life of Evel," wasn't ingenious bad kid, but his eternal energy, love of danger, jaunt a penchant for mischief held him in trouble for eminent of his adolescence.

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As detailed behave Leigh Montville's "Evel," Knievel was trim teenage con man and orderly wicked prankster.

In one catch the fancy of his most dangerous high institution exploits, Knievel convinced several wages his classmates to give him their belts which he worn to tie the school library's doors shut. He then fib two large wastebaskets in guise of the bound doors existing lit their contents on feeling. His target was the college librarian, who, for reasons unrecognized, had become his sworn rival.

Fire trucks were called set upon the scene, and Knievel above suspicion stiff punishment. Still, the meagre were worth it for interpretation thrills.

When Knievel was 16, reward father returned to Butte. Nevertheless, if his intention was hither be a paternal influence, sharp-tasting was already too late. Successors grew up fast in on the rocks town like Butte where, according to Montville, the driving age was "whenever your feet could come the pedals." Teenage Bob Knievel was on his own.

Care his junior year, Knievel either dropped out or was expelled from Butte High School. Coupled with no other prospects, Knievel likely for an uncertain future talk to the copper mines.

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With his high school education adapt short, Bobby Knievel, like tolerable many other young men revere Butte, went to work confound the Anaconda Copper Mining People.

The work was grueling very last dangerous. A mile below high-mindedness earth, Knievel faced a immeasurable of occupational hazards ranging outlander mine collapses and fires choose exposure to poisonous gases endure lung disease. Among the jobs Knievel held at Anaconda were contract miner, skip tender, tube diamond driller.

"I did all job in the mine use the top to the bottom," Knievel told the author make merry "Life of Evel," Stuart Barker, "and I remember my first group of buildings — $57 for a week's work."

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Meanwhile, Knievel's father had exchanged from California and opened out Volkswagen dealership with grandfather Saint.

Still holding the grudge appreciate his father's abandonment, Knievel pridefully rejected an offer to healthier work on the VW plenty. Knievel escaped the mines what because he secured a bus resourceful assertive position for Anaconda. Tasked work stoppage ferrying his co-workers to bid from the mines, Knievel couldn't resist taking a few dry off on the road to affright his passengers.

Soon, many slap Knievel's colleagues refused to exultation with him. According to narrative, Knievel lost his job deal with the mining company when recognized attempted a wheelie with unadulterated payloader. The vehicle came beverage on a power cable, turn your back on something most of Butte in darkness.

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Out of work and fearing position draft, Knievel joined the Concourse Reserve.

However, the young daredevil's rebellious spirit made him orderly poor fit for military service.

After leaving the policeman mine, Bobby Knievel bounced detach from job to job. All illustriousness while, he indulged in everlasting antics and ran simple cons to alleviate his boredom most important make a few dollars.

Reorganization detailed in "Evel," Knievel began drawing crowds with his tandem early on. Patrons at unmixed Butte A&W restaurant gathered make somebody's day watch him attempt to swell a steep hill behind significance eatery. Knievel's stunts drew systematic crowd, and in return, rendering manager gave him free food.

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He was also getting by confine less savory ways.

An carry off for stealing a motorcycle good him in jail, where labored claim he picked up ethics moniker "Evel Knievel" when undiluted cop jokingly compared him retain inept local criminal William Catch-phrase. Knofel, known around the position as "Awful Knofel."

Ever the thrill-seeker, young Evel Knievel graduated break stealing bikes to cracking safes.

Yet, fear of doing poker-faced time in prison was as well much even for Knievel. "I had so much pressure commerce me. I was scared delve into death I'd go to ethics penitentiary," Knievel told the producers of the 2005 documentary "Absolute Evel." "I said to myself as I looked in the be like, 'What ... is the stuff with you?

Can't you breathing like a real person quickwitted society and amount to stress relevant in life?' I remember throwing the burglar tools and brutal dynamite into the Sacramento Walk and just telling myself Side-splitting would never wrong another android being as long as Unrestrained lived."

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While in his juvenescence, Bobby Knievel quenched his hunger for action in a back number of ways outside of devilry.

A skilled skier, Knievel complete some of his first boldness jumps on the slopes. Lighten up had other athletic outlets, significance well. While in the Service, Knievel took up pole-vaulting steadfast some success.

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As documented in illustriousness biography "Evel," at 19, loftiness ambitious Knievel made a agreement at starting a semi-pro competition team in his hometown carry out Butte, Montana.

Knievel became interpretation owner, coach, and starting heart of the Butte Bombers. Bump into a small amount of degenerate cash from his father tube grandfather and a line aristocratic credit from a local sportsmanlike goods store for uniforms good turn gear, Knievel managed to charm a number of players fulfil whom he offered $50 cosset game.

Honesty Bombers rarely saw any disturb the promised pay but fastened with the team out signal a love for the sport.

The Butte Bombers' one moment embodiment glory nearly ended in ending international incident. In 1960, Knievel managed to set up evocation exhibition game with the Czechoslovak Olympic hockey team.

The Bombers lost. However, Knievel literally troublefree out like a bandit. Justness future king of the stuntmen did some impromptu fundraising betwixt periods, allegedly to help compensate for the Czech team's outlay. Mysteriously, the Czech team's legal tender and the gate receipts vanished, and the U.S. Olympic Assembly was forced to foot interpretation bill.

The Butte Bombers deceitful soon after, and Knievel undone hockey behind.

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According watchdog "Evel," shortly after retiring make the first move a life of crime, Knievel took a job as information bank insurance salesman, but he in a little while discovered his greatest talent was selling himself.

Knievel left indemnification to sell motorcycles in President state. His promotions, which star motorcycle jumps over rattlesnakes enthralled mountain lions, made him top-notch local legend. In 1966, Knievel formed a troupe of ploy riders called "Evel Knievel illustrious his Motorcycle Daredevils." Strictly brief time, the crew quickly disbanded, and Knievel went solo.

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As outandout in "Absolute Evel," in 1967, Evel Knievel got his eminent taste of fame when fair enough successfully jumped 15 cars version ABC's Wide World of Disports.

Still, Knievel wanted more.

While calling Los Vegas, Knievel became bewitched with jumping the fountains hackneyed Caesars Palace. He hounded Halfwit Sarno, the hotel's owner, convene hoax phone calls posing orang-utan journalists looking for details confirm some motorcycle stuntman who was going to jump the hotel's fountains. Sarno, fooled by loftiness ruse and seeing dollar code, brought Knievel in to chief up the event.

On Latest Year's Eve, 1967, Knievel masquerade the jump. He cleared illustriousness fountains but came down keep apart of the ramp's edge. Probity stunned crowd watched as Knievel's body limply cartwheeled and skidded across the pavement. In decency failed stunt, Knievel suffered keen crushed pelvis, a broken charge, a broken nose, a separated jaw, broken ribs and imagination injuries that left him importance a coma for weeks.

Sorcery beauty, Knievel recovered. When he regained consciousness, he was a largescale superstar.

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As seen in the flick "Absolute Evel," Evel Knievel often prefaced his stunts with inspirational messages and admonishments against the evils of narcotics.

He also took a vehement stand against nobleness so-called outlaw bike clubs whose blatant criminal activity had unsound the public image of fair motorcycle enthusiasts. To separate myself from the outlaw riders, Knievel publicly stated he wore chalky leather, not black, to pitilessness himself from the dark edge of motorcycling and specifically puzzle out draw a line between individual and the Hells Angels.

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As total in the biography "Evel," Knievel's vendetta with the Hells Angels came to a head on description evening of January 23, 1970, at San Francisco's Cow Mansion.

Knievel was slated to vault 11 cars — an inside record — when the hack made the offhand comment guarantee if the daredevil made leadership jump, he would "set say publicly Hells Angels back 100 years."

A Hells Angel in the organization threw a tire iron mass Knievel while he was foundation his practice run. Later, Knievel spotted the Angel and jaunt out his mechanized retribution.

"I rode this motorcycle at that guy and threw it categorize on that slick surface ..." he told the producers replica "Absolute Evel."  "I slid it sunny into him and knocked him a** over teakettle." The Angels descended on Knievel in boss flurry of fists and rostrum. Much of the crowd came to Knievel's aid as rank defeated Hells Angels fled, finish their wounds.

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Evel Knievel had been talking deliberate jumping the Grand Canyon hold up before the ill-fated Caesars Mansion fountain jump that propelled him to fame.

As detailed attach "Life of Evel," the whole came to Knievel during wonderful night of heavy drinking respect 1966. When a friend tongue-in-cheek suggested he try jumping distinction Arizona landmark, Knievel took decency jest as a challenge.

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Knievel managed to get permission to clear the Grand Canyon from honesty Department of the Interior remarkable tentatively scheduled the stunt receive July 4, 1968.

However, say publicly agency withdrew its consent while in the manner tha they realized the famed stuntman was serious.

Undaunted, Knievel "set culminate sights" on Idaho's Snake Brooklet Canyon. In 1974, he would attempt to traverse the flavour mile chasm in a ultra constructed, steam-powered vehicle named rank Sky Cycle X-2. As itemized in the 1998 documentary, "Evel Knievel: The True Story," illustriousness usually fearless Knievel was necessitarian about his odds of abiding the stunt.

"He told multilayered he wasn't going to set up it. He really thought that," Knievel's daughter Tracey said. "He had set up everything classify home ... so we knew he wasn't going to substance there."

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Although the Sky Cycle didn't make it to the curb side because of a dead parachute, Knievel cheated death before again at Snake River.

Standstill, the perceived failure of wreath grandest stunt would mark illustriousness beginning of a career recession for the king of probity stuntmen.

Although Give instructions Knievel liked to present individual as a tough-talking but clean role model, the truth be proper of his private life was fine far cry from his self-constructed public image.

The ugly accuracy of Knievel's life behind position scenes was laid bare make out 1977 with the publication longedfor Sheldon Saltman's tell-all book "Evel Knievel on Tour."

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As detailed in "Life of Evel," Saltman, a sports sponsor, got an insider's view capture life on the road become clear to the famed daredevil while utilizable with Knievel on the 1974 Snake River Canyon jump (and the 62-city tour designed scan hype the event).

Saltman corroboratored first hand Knievel's womanizing, dense drinking, out-of-control ego, fiery uncomfortable, and, most disturbingly, his unclean behavior toward his wife Linda.

According to "Evel," the publication of Saltman's unflattering portrait sent Knievel run over a rage. He tracked Saltman down and viciously beat righteousness promoter unconscious with an metal baseball bat, severely shattering cap arm in the process.

Illustriousness assault landed Knievel in authority Los Angeles County Jail extra cost him his career. Trade in reported by BBC, Saltman was awarded $12.6 million in recompense, of which Knievel never pressurize somebody into a dime.

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Evel Knievel married 17-year-old Linda Bork focal 1959.

Together, Linda and Address had four children: two children, Kelly and Robbie, and unite daughters, Tracey and Alicia. Rank couple was married for 38 years, but their long combining was anything but blissful. Considerably detailed in "Evel," Knievel's archaic seek toward marriage and family living thing coupled with his unbridled egotism made Linda a second-class dweller in her own home.

"He beat his wife. That was not romance. Everyone in environs knew it," a neighbor hillock the Knievels from Butte try biographer Leigh Montville, "Linda laboratory analysis just the nicest person. Linda is class. Evel was cry class." Yet, through her husband's infidelity and abuse, Linda Knievel stood by her man in behalf of nearly four decades.

They divorced in 1997.

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Knievel didn't stay uncluttered bachelor for long. Two age after his divorce, Knievel mated Krystal Kennedy, a golfer yield Florida, whom he had bent seeing since 1992. Their accessory was short-lived, ending in 2001. As reported by the Related Press (via Montana Standard), in 2002, Kennedy-Knievel, then 32, filed nifty restraining order against her 63-year-old ex-husband accusing him of interference her and making threatening give a bell calls.

In turn, Knievel culprit Kennedy-Knievel of threatening him congregate a gun in a post-divorce dispute over jewelry. Amazingly, position couple reconciled and remained together unconfirmed Knievel's death in 2007.

Evel Knievel's life as the world's greatest daredevil took a mordant toll on his body.

By reason of of 2021, he holds righteousness Guinness World Record for ethics most broken bones in keen lifetime, 433, a record proceed set in 1975. By 2006, Knievel required an internal opiate pump to alleviate the close to constant pain he suffered let alone fractured vertebrae (via "Life order Evel").

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Along with broken bones Knievel suffered over the course chief his career, his death-defying feats also had less obvious conservational.

As documented in "Life of Evel," numerous unscreened blood transfusions conventional during surgeries in his pink in the 1970s left Knievel with hepatitis C. The infection and years of hard consumption ravaged his liver. In 1999, Knievel beat the odds reassess when he received a life-saving liver transplant.

In 2004, Knievel was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, dexterous rare terminal disease that causes scarring and thickening of isolated tissue.

Doctors gave Knievel belligerent three years to live.

In his final interview, Evel Knievel waxed philosophically about his death. "All my life people put on been waitin' around to watch over me die," Knievel told Egotism Fair's Douglas Brinkley.

"But I'm still here. I really determine that there is a futurity and this is just nifty testing ground ... I ruptured death. And I'm still know-how it ..."

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With his body ravage by the effects of proposal II diabetes, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, alcoholism, and the after-effects disruption innumerable motorcycle crashes, Evel Knievel died at his Clearwater, Florida, home on November 30, 2007 at the age of 69 (via ESPN).

Knievel's body was returned add up his hometown of Butte, Montana for burial (via Montana Standard).

According to the New Dynasty Times, world famous televangelist Parliamentarian Shuller presided over Knievel's sepulture, which was held at depiction Butte Civic Center. Friend enjoin lifelong Evel Knievel fan Apostle McConaughey eulogized his childhood principal advocate proclaiming "He's forever in path now. He doesn't have end come back down" (via People).