Photo: F. Scott Schafer/HISTORY
The legendary stuntman Evel Knievel attempted more than 75 jumps on his motorcycle before his death from pulmonary heart disease in 2007 at age 69.
Knievel — born Robert Craig Knievel Jr. — was not only known for his death-defying stunts in the ’60s and ’70s, but for the showmanship he displayed while attempting them. His flair helped to inspire a generation of women and men who later took up extreme sports like freestyle BMX, motocross and rally racing (and at least onenewspaperhas labeled Knievel the “godfather” of extreme sports).
But Knievel’s legend didn’t grow into what it is today just because of all the stunts he pulled off — but for all of those he didn’t land, too.
Many of his failed jumps have become iconic, such as his crashes atSnake River Gorge,Wembley Stadium, and, famously, Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, which left Knievel with over forty broken bones and placed him in a coma for a month. Knievel still holds theGuinness World Recordfor the most broken bones experienced in a lifetime, clocking in at 433.
As a part of History’sEvel Live, airing live this Sunday on HISTORY at 8 PM E.T., Pastrana’s first stunt will have him attempting to fly over 52 cars in the parking lot behind Planet Hollywood, which would beat Knievel’s record of 50 crushed cars. The second jump will see Pastrana jumping over 16, 11-foot-tall buses, which would best Knievel’s 1975 record of 14 Greyhound buses during an event in King’s Island, Ohio. This stunt will require the most speed of all of Pastrana’s jumps during the three-hour program.
But the main event of the night will have Pastrana attempt to jump 140-feet over the Caesar’s Palace Fountain, a stunt that Knievel never tried again after the monstrous wipeout that cemented his national stardom. Yet, much has changed to the structure surrounding the fountain since Knievel’s 1965 attempt, and Pastrana is performing with almost 50 percent less space to jump and land than Knievel had. While Pastrana admits he is both nervous and excited, jumping the fountains and recreating Knievel’s other stunts would be the culmination of a childhood dream for him.
Chris Tedesco/HISTORY
“Evel always wore a cape and white leathers, and he captured that America theme that everyone knows,” Pastrana says. “So we even went as far as going to the same tailor who did Evel’s boots, and they’re probably the most expensive item I’ve ever had! Definitely the most expensive shoes I’ve ever had.”
By the end of the night, Pastrana hopes he will have inspired the next generation of action sports athletes.
“Our main goal is to help promote active lifestyles and basically, action sports. Getting kids off the couch and riding their BMX bikes or their skateboards and help older generations of people to understand these are real sports now,” he says. “At the same time, we get to honor a legend and I get to step up and see if I can actually fly a tank.”
Not only that, Pastrana hopes Knievel’s fans will gather together with their friends and families, just as they did decades ago, to watch a man and his motorcycle attempt the seemingly impossible.
“This will help to bring my dad’s generation, my kids’ generation, and my generation, together,” Pastrana says. “It will show my dad’s generation that the spirit of the sixties and seventies, it’s not dead. It still lives on.”
source: people.com
