past to anyone who would listen and he certainly commanded the attention of many. At this point, Knievel’s stories were all fresh and new, and his audiences revelled in listening to his tales of derring-do as much as he enjoyed telling them. Few celebrities cherished the limelight as much as Evel did.
When he had been in a coma it was uncertain if Knievel would ever wake up again. He did. When he did awake, it was uncertain if he’d ever be able to walk again. He did. When he could hobble around, it was by no means certain that he’d ever be able to ride a motorcycle again; and when he did that it was still not known if he would ever be able to jump again. Having announced his intention to jump again from his hospital bed, Knievel knew he had to capitalise on his newfound fame quickly before it dissipated. At the same time he realised there was little to gain by attempting another massive showpiece stunt like the Caesar’s spectacle which carried such a high risk of injury, so Knievel decided on a return to his standard car-jumping routine, only this time the crowds would be bigger and the media coverage equally so.
After five months of recuperation, Evel returned to his roots and lined up a 13-car jump at the Beeline Dragway in Scottsdale, Arizona for 25 May 1968. He may have thought it was a relatively safe option compared to the fountains of Caesar’s Palace, but motorcycle jumping is never safe as Evel proved by wiping out again, this time breaking a leg and fracturing a foot. It may not have been as serious as the injuries he picked up in Vegas but for Knievel it must have been incredibly frustrating. His newfound fame gave him a licence to print money by simply doing what he’d been doing for the last three years, but his battered body would not let him do it.
He was forced into another boring and tiring period of recuperation, unable to work and unable to capitalise on his name. But he wasn’t just losing out on the chance to make money, he was actually losing heaps of the money he had earned in paying medical bills. As he said, ‘There’s no hospitalisation insurance for daredevils.’ That was to remain true throughout most of his career until he gained insurance through membership of the Screen Actors’ Guild after starring in the 1977 movie Viva Knievel! Between 1965 and 1977, however, Knievel spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his own hospital bills.
Just ten weeks after breaking his leg, Evel was back in the ring again at the Meridian Speedway in Idaho to attempt another 13-car leap, obviously undaunted by the number that had already proved unlucky for him. This time, however, he cleared the gap, and then repeated the feat in Spokane and Missoula before heading to the Tahoe-Carson Speedway in Nevada to jump a ‘mere’ ten cars. Despite seeming to have completely mastered the art of jumping 13 cars, Knievel crashed out yet again, having only cleared nine of his ten obstacles. This time he came down heavily and slammed into his own truck, which was parked just before the landing ramp. Not only did Knievel break his right shoulder, he also re-broke the left hip he’d smashed at Caesar’s Palace just 10 months before. This was a serious setback aggravated further by his contracting a staph infection while recovering in hospital from his injuries. Staph infection is caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria entering the body through a cut or wound. It can usually be treated relatively easily with antibiotics but it hampered Evel’s recovery and was another irritation he didn’t need. More hospital treatment meant more time off work, which meant more time making no money and more damned medical bills.
Knievel was becoming a very experienced hospital patient, and the more time he spent in them, the more he grew to hate them. Hospital food was a particular bone of contention. ‘I don’t like hospital food. If you are hungry enough I guess you can eat it but I’m a New York steak and
When he had been in a coma it was uncertain if Knievel would ever wake up again. He did. When he did awake, it was uncertain if he’d ever be able to walk again. He did. When he could hobble around, it was by no means certain that he’d ever be able to ride a motorcycle again; and when he did that it was still not known if he would ever be able to jump again. Having announced his intention to jump again from his hospital bed, Knievel knew he had to capitalise on his newfound fame quickly before it dissipated. At the same time he realised there was little to gain by attempting another massive showpiece stunt like the Caesar’s spectacle which carried such a high risk of injury, so Knievel decided on a return to his standard car-jumping routine, only this time the crowds would be bigger and the media coverage equally so.
After five months of recuperation, Evel returned to his roots and lined up a 13-car jump at the Beeline Dragway in Scottsdale, Arizona for 25 May 1968. He may have thought it was a relatively safe option compared to the fountains of Caesar’s Palace, but motorcycle jumping is never safe as Evel proved by wiping out again, this time breaking a leg and fracturing a foot. It may not have been as serious as the injuries he picked up in Vegas but for Knievel it must have been incredibly frustrating. His newfound fame gave him a licence to print money by simply doing what he’d been doing for the last three years, but his battered body would not let him do it.
He was forced into another boring and tiring period of recuperation, unable to work and unable to capitalise on his name. But he wasn’t just losing out on the chance to make money, he was actually losing heaps of the money he had earned in paying medical bills. As he said, ‘There’s no hospitalisation insurance for daredevils.’ That was to remain true throughout most of his career until he gained insurance through membership of the Screen Actors’ Guild after starring in the 1977 movie Viva Knievel! Between 1965 and 1977, however, Knievel spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on his own hospital bills.
Just ten weeks after breaking his leg, Evel was back in the ring again at the Meridian Speedway in Idaho to attempt another 13-car leap, obviously undaunted by the number that had already proved unlucky for him. This time, however, he cleared the gap, and then repeated the feat in Spokane and Missoula before heading to the Tahoe-Carson Speedway in Nevada to jump a ‘mere’ ten cars. Despite seeming to have completely mastered the art of jumping 13 cars, Knievel crashed out yet again, having only cleared nine of his ten obstacles. This time he came down heavily and slammed into his own truck, which was parked just before the landing ramp. Not only did Knievel break his right shoulder, he also re-broke the left hip he’d smashed at Caesar’s Palace just 10 months before. This was a serious setback aggravated further by his contracting a staph infection while recovering in hospital from his injuries. Staph infection is caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria entering the body through a cut or wound. It can usually be treated relatively easily with antibiotics but it hampered Evel’s recovery and was another irritation he didn’t need. More hospital treatment meant more time off work, which meant more time making no money and more damned medical bills.
Knievel was becoming a very experienced hospital patient, and the more time he spent in them, the more he grew to hate them. Hospital food was a particular bone of contention. ‘I don’t like hospital food. If you are hungry enough I guess you can eat it but I’m a New York steak and
Similar Books
