"Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel Jr. (October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007), professionally known as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps; in 1974, he failed an attempted canyon jump across Snake River Canyon in the Skycycle X-2, a steam-powered rocket. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. He died of pulmonary disease in Clearwater, Florida, in 2007, aged 69. Knievel was born on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana, the first of two children of Robert E."
"jump over the Snake River approximately west of the falls on a rocket-powered motorcycle, the Skycycle X-2, after unsuccessfully petitioning the U.S. Government to let him attempt a jump over the Grand Canyon. Knievel and his team purchased land on both sides of the Snake River and built a large earthen ramp and launch structure. A crowd of 30,000 gathered to watch Knievel's jump, which failed because his parachute opened too early, causing him to float down towards the river. Knievel likely would have drowned were it not for canyon winds that blew him to the river bank; he ultimately"
"Snake River Canyon using rockets. The jump is broadcast on closed-circuit television on September 8, 1974, and Knievel gets into a fight with one of the reporters before the jump. He ultimately uses the Skycycle X-2 for the jump but the parachute deploys early and the drag prevents Knievel from reaching his intended landing spot. He instead crashes into the river bank at the bottom of the canyon but manages to survive. The public is dissatisfied and the media criticizes his effort.<br> In October 1975, Knievel performs his second stunt since the failed jump over Snake River Canyon. He jumps"
"X-rays from his injuries were also exhibited. In December 2010, a traveling version of the exhibit began a one-year tour of the United Kingdom and Europe. On September 17, 2016, professional stuntman Eddie Braun successfully jumped the Snake River Canyon in a replica of Knievel's Snake River rocket. Braun cited Knievel as an inspiration, and wanted to show that Knievel's jump would have been successful had the parachute not deployed too early. Braun stated that he was ""finishing out [the] dream"" of his hero, Knievel. In 2017, a museum about Knievel opened in Topeka, Kansas, featuring some of his motorcycles,"
"survived with a broken nose. In September 2016, professional stuntman Eddie Braun successfully jumped the Snake River Canyon in a replica of Knievel's rocket. As early as 1900, locals called for the creation of a national park at Shoshone Falls, although this proposal was never approved by Congress. In 1919 the Shoshone Falls Memorial Park Association proposed a memorial park at the falls for World War I veterans. The association hired California landscape architect Florence Yoch to design a plan for the park. However, these plans never materialized, in part due to the difficulties of obtaining the needed land from"
"the jump site. The monument was dedicated in September 1985, at a small ceremony attended by Knievel. Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons Robbie and Kelly. Robbie announced he would recreate the jump in 2010. Stuntman Eddie Braun worked with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. He successfully flew his rocket, named Evel Spirit, across the Snake River Canyon on September 16, 2016. On July 18, 2012, Audi of America recreated Knievel's Snake River jump in a promotional commercial"
"south rim of the Snake River Canyon, west of Shoshone Falls (), on September 8, 1974, at 3:36 p.m. MDT. The steam that powered the engine was superheated to a temperature of . The drogue parachute prematurely deployed as the Skycycle left the launching rail and induced significant drag. Even though the craft made it all the way across the canyon to the north rim, the prevailing northwest winds caused it to drift back into the canyon. By the time it hit the bottom of the canyon, it landed only a few feet from the water on the same side"
"to do publicity so that Knievel could concentrate on his jumps. Knievel hired subcontractor and aeronautical engineer Doug Malewicki to build him a rocket-powered cycle to jump across the Snake River, and called it the Skycycle X-1. Malwecki's creation was powered by a steam engine built by former Aerojet engineer Robert Truax. On April 15, 1972, the X-1 was launched to test the feasibility of the launching ramp. The decision was then made to have Truax build the Skycycle X-2 and have it take off and fly more like a rocket than a motorcycle. The launch took place at the"
"these machines passed on to his body are well illustrated in the super slow motion footage of his Caesars' landing. Between December 1969 and April 1970, Knievel used the Laverda American Eagle 750cc motorcycle. On December 12, 1970, Knievel would switch to the Harley-Davidson XR-750, the motorcycle with which he is best known for jumping. Knievel would use the XR-750 in association with Harley-Davidson until 1977. However, after his 1977 conviction for the assault of Shelly Saltman, Harley-Davidson withdrew their sponsorship of Knievel. On September 8, 1974, Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon on a rocket-propelled motorcycle designed"
"short movie about daredevil Evel Kanyevel (played by Kanye West) and his attempt to fly a small rocket across the Grand Canyon. It is done in homage to Evel Knievel's unsuccessful jump across the Snake River Canyon in 1974. The video features Pamela Anderson, Nia Long, Tracee Ellis Ross, and the Booker T. Washington High School Marching Band of Houston, Texas, which performs with Lupe Fiasco at a pep rally. The production cost for the music video was approximately $1 million, which is the 25th most expensive music video of all time. In December 2006, Evel Knievel filed a lawsuit"
"has views of the canyon, bridge, and access to the trail system along the canyon rim. Trails go under the bridge on either side which offers vantage points of the bridge and its structure. To the east, along the south rim of the canyon, lies the dirt ramp used by Evel Knievel when he unsuccessfully attempted his Snake River Canyon jump on the Skycycle X-2 in September 1974; the jump failed because of a parachute malfunction. The ramp where he made the leap sits on private property about east of the bridge and is visible from the bridge as well"
"some other injuries. He then retired from public life. Rick Rojatt Rick Rojatt ( – ) is a Canadian stuntman, and the inspiration for the Human Fly comic book character. Rojatt performed a 250 mph wingwalking stunt on top of a DC-8 airliner flown by Clay Lacy over the Mojave desert and Texas. In 1977, Rojatt contracted a Hydrogen peroxide rocket powered Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle to be built to jump 27 school buses at the Montreal Olympic Stadium during a Gloria Gaynor concert beating Evel Knievel's record jump of 13 buses. Although he was able to beat the record, he"
"Rick Rojatt Rick Rojatt ( – ) is a Canadian stuntman, and the inspiration for the Human Fly comic book character. Rojatt performed a 250 mph wingwalking stunt on top of a DC-8 airliner flown by Clay Lacy over the Mojave desert and Texas. In 1977, Rojatt contracted a Hydrogen peroxide rocket powered Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle to be built to jump 27 school buses at the Montreal Olympic Stadium during a Gloria Gaynor concert beating Evel Knievel's record jump of 13 buses. Although he was able to beat the record, he crashed the motorcycle and suffered a broken ankle and"
"stuntman Ken Carter attempted to jump a one-mile portion of the Saint Lawrence River by taking a one million dollar Lincoln Continental rocket car off an eight-storey ramp. This was billed as ""The Super Jump"". The ramp and its runway were located in a field just west of Hanes Road, South of County road 2. The ramp has since been demolished, but the concrete runway still exists as of 2012. Charles A. Barkley, who was elected mayor of the municipality in the 2006 municipal elections, died unexpectedly on June 17, 2009. He was a municipal politician since 1981 when he"
"of his death. He is best known today for his unsuccessful October 1979 attempt to jump the Saint Lawrence River in a rocket-powered Lincoln Continental, where he took the place of stuntman Ken Carter. He suffered significant injuries including a broken back, but survived. Carter's years of planning for the ""Superjump"", and Powers's failed attempt were the subject of a 1981 documentary called ""The Devil at Your Heels"", directed by Robert Fortier and produced by the National Film Board of Canada. According to some sources, Powers was substituted at the last minute for Carter, without Carter's knowledge, because the jump's"
"economy. By 1960, Twin Falls had become one of Idaho's largest cities even though its origins were still within living memory for many. Twin Falls became the center of national attention in September 1974, when daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon in a specially modified rocket cycle. Watched by millions on closed-circuit television on a Sunday afternoon, the attempt ultimately failed due to high winds and a premature deployment of Knievel's parachute. The launch ramp's foundation lies on private land on the canyon's south rim. Less than two miles west (3 km) of Shoshone Falls, it"
"jump. Stuntman Eddie Braun announced he was working with Kelly and Robert Truax's son to recreate the jump using a replica of the Skycycle X-2. Braun's jump took place on September 16, 2016, and was completed successfully. After the Snake River jump, Knievel returned to motorcycle jumping with ""ABC's Wide World of Sports"" televising several jumps. On May 26, 1975, in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London, Knievel crashed while trying to land a jump over 13 redundant single-deck AEC Merlin buses (the term ""London Buses"" used in earlier publicity had led to the belief that the"
"several other stunts that might match the publicity that would have been generated by jumping the canyon. Ideas included jumping across the Mississippi River, jumping from one skyscraper to another in New York City, and jumping over 13 cars inside the Houston Astrodome. While flying back to Butte from a performance tour, Knievel looked out the window and saw the Snake River Canyon. After finding a location just east of Twin Falls, Idaho, that was wide enough, deep enough, and on private property, Knievel leased for $35,000 to stage his jump. He set the date for Labor Day (September 4),"
"Despite performing over 12,000 jumps in his career, he did not have a UK motorcycle licence until 1995. In 1993, American motorcycle daredevil Robbie Knievel challenged Kidd to a world title motorcycle ""jump off"" competition in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, USA. Knievel, son of the late Evel Knievel, had deemed Kidd to be the only motorcycle jump rider worthy of challenging him. The event was televised as a pay-per-view event titled ""The Daredevil Duel: Knievel vs. Kidd"". The competition required each rider to make three motorbike jumps with the cumulative distance covered by each used to determine the winner: Kidd"
"of the canyon from which it had been launched. If he had landed in the water, by his own admission, Knievel likely would have drowned, due to a jumpsuit/harness malfunction which kept him strapped in the vehicle. As it was, he survived the failed jump with only minor physical injuries. Psychologically, however, Knievel is believed to have ceased to be as confident in himself as he had been up to that time. Since the 1974 launch, seven daredevils have expressed interest in recreating the jump, including Knievel's two sons, Robbie and Kelly. In 2010 Robbie announced he would recreate the"
"The Devil at Your Heels The Devil at Your Heels is a 1981 documentary that chronicles the attempt of the stuntman and daredevil Ken Carter to jump a rocket-powered car over the Saint Lawrence River, a distance of one mile, which would break all existing records for jumping cars. The documentary opens with some quick framing of the task, including footage of the ramp and the car to be used for the jump, and then chronicles how Carter became a daredevil, including footage of some early jumps. It then follows the ups and downs he experienced in his five-year journey"
"The stunt has been featured in the Heavyweight Podcast by Jonathan Goldstein titled ""Kenny"". In addition, the stunt has inspired a musical film titled Aim for the Roses, scored by Mark Haney. Powers worked for and with Carter for many years, and also claimed to have performed stunts for Hollywood, including in the 1970s films ""Smokey and the Bandit"", ""Vanishing Point"", and ""Hooper"".. However, he is not listed in any movie credits. Kenny did stunt work for the Ken Carter team during the time that Smokey and the Bandit was filmed as the team prepared for the 1979 Super Jump."
"Stan Barrett Stan Barrett (born June 26, 1943) is a Hollywood stuntman, stunt coordinator actor, and former Stock Car racing driver. His biggest act was however outside the movie world. On December 17, 1979, he attempted to break the land speed record, and the sound barrier in the Budweiser Rocket rocket-powered three-wheel vehicle. His calculated speed was 739.666 miles per hour, (Mach 1.01), which would have made Barrett the first man to break the sound barrier in a land vehicle. The attempt was surrounded by controversy and the speed was never officially recorded. Barrett also raced in 19 Winston Cup"
"record at 41 feet. On Sunday, March 10, 1996, outside the Oasis hotel and casino in Mesquite, Nevada, Laswell attempted to jump over a pedestrian bridge by driving up a steep ramp on a Honda CR500 motorcycle. As he made the jump and became airborne, he was blown off course in mid-air. Crosswinds and excessive speed pushed Laswell to the left of the landing ramp. Laswell then flatlanded from high and crashed to the concrete below. According to witnesses Laswell tried to steer his bike away from the crowd. Laswell had been trying to break his personal best of high"
"the Snake River Canyon presented Anthony with unusual wind and turbulence concerns. He had to free his hands in freefall in order to deploy his parachute. The handcuffs used in the attempt were purchased by the Jerome County Commissioners Office, verified by a locksmith and secured in a vault prior to the attempt. For the ABC Television Special ""Secrets of the Worlds Greatest Escape Artist"" he was buried alive at the Las Vegas Hilton and escaped from beneath 2000 pounds of desert sand. The restraints used in all these escapes were verified by certified bonded locksmiths. Besides having his own"
"of the car as it fell. He did the stunt in Hualapai Indian Reservation after being denied a permit by the National Park. In 1999, daredevil Robbie Knievel jumped a narrow portion of canyon in Hualapai territory on a motorcycle, breaking his own world record for longest jump in the process. The event aired live on Fox News. In 2006, Bob Burnquist skateboarded off a ramp into the canyon, descending to the bottom with a parachute. In 2011, Yves ""Jetman"" Rossy used a custom made jet suit to glide above the Hualapai reservation for eight minutes. He covered a distance"
"only operated in the 1976 season. Fires and other issues forced the park to close it. On August 16, 2006, a girl collapsed in the Camp Cartoon Network section after riding the roller coaster. She would later be pronounced dead due to heart failure, but an autopsy showed that she died of a congenital heart condition. Sprocket Rockets Sprocket Rockets is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. This is a junior coaster with a height restriction of only . It is a Vekoma ""roller-skater"" model roller coaster. It is located in the Camp"
"American Rocket Society president, Truax retired from the United States Navy in 1959 and headed the Aerojet-General Advanced Development Division and Aerojet's Sea Dragon project. In 1966 Robert Truax founded Truax Engineering, which studied sea launch concepts similar to the earlier Sea Dragon—the Excalibur, the SEALAR, and the Excalibur S. Truax also designed the Skycycle X-2, which he unsuccessfully tested on April 15, 1972 and June 24, 1973, and which Evel Knievel unsuccessfully used at the Snake River Canyon in 1974. The X-3 Volksrocket (other names: Arriba One, Skycycle X-3) was a reusable space tourism rocket planned by Robert Truax"
"Brian Walker (toy inventor) Brian Walker is a toy inventor from Bend, Oregon who is known for attempting to build his own rocket and as the inventor of several toys, namely the air bazooka. His rocket is known as Project R.U.S.H., which stands for Rapid Up Super High. It was intended to be fueled by hydrogen peroxide and equipped with parachutes for use when landing. The goal of the project is to launch Walker 50 miles into the sky. He currently is waiting for approval to launch 20 miles in a rocket-propelled aircraft from the world's largest crossbow. The crossbow"
"Karel Soucek Karel Soucek (April 19, 1947 – January 20, 1985) was a Canadian professional stuntman who went over Niagara Falls in a barrel in 1984. He lived in Hamilton, Ontario. Soucek prepared for his 1984 Niagara Falls stunt by researching previous attempts, by sending unmanned barrels over the falls to test the currents, and by dropping his barrel off the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton to test its shock absorbence. Soucek's custom-made barrel was nine feet long and five feet in diameter. It was bright red and bore the words, ""Last of the Niagara Daredevils - 1984"" and ""It's not"
"""Drop Zone"" was one of two skydiving action films released in December 1994; the other was ""Terminal Velocity"". The original idea came from two professional skydivers, Tony Griffin and Guy Manos. One of the film's screenwriters, Peter Barsocchini, would later write ""High School Musical"". Steven Seagal was originally intended to star (for a rumored $15 million). The insurance policies of Wesley Snipes and most of the cast precluded them from skydiving. However, Michael Jeter actually performed the tandem jump. The green Douglas C-47 Skytrain used in the skydiving scenes is currently on display at the Valiant Air Command air museum"
"1982 Pontiac Firebird fitted with a homemade rocket, overshot its target landing ramp and landed on its roof. Carter was killed instantly. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Montreal. Ken Carter (stuntman) Ken Carter (1938 – September 5, 1983), born Kenneth Gordon Polsjek, was a Canadian stunt driver. Carter was born in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in a working-class neighborhood. With little education, he dropped out of school to perform car stunts with a team of traveling daredevils. Subsequently, he began performing as a solo act, and he jumped at racetracks all over North America. He became"
"tight as they ride the Anicycle, a bicycle ride 100-feet above the ground over a single tightrope. (August 11, 18, 2012)<br> Richard Gutierrez and the rest of the team invaded Sarangani province. Here, they accompanied by Sarangani Congressman Manny Pacquiao. In Barangay New La Union, Gutierrez and Pacquiao tried the whitewater river tubing adventure where they negotiated the 1.6-kilometer whitewater river tubing at Pangi River's rapids. On the second part of the series, Gutierrez tried another extreme adventure, night diving (again with Pacquiao) and paragliding which Gutierrez highly recommends for the extreme adventure seekers. (August 25, September 1, 2012)<br> In"