Robert Craig Knievel passed away earlier today. People under the age of about 35 will have no idea who he is. Those of us that are over 35 know him as Evel Knievel.
Evel Knievel rose to become the most famous daredevil of all time by jumping his motorcycle over buses, pools full of sharks and cages of tigers. His feats were regularly featured on ABC's "Wild World of Sports" (another thing unknown to people under 35). He was a one-man circus....and he played the act all the way to the bank.
Evel never made much money on his motorcycle feats. Agents and other handlers took most of the money. However, he made over $34 million on his Evel Knievel motorcycle toy (I went nuts when I got one for my birthday).
In a few years, divorces, bad investments and addictions left him bankrupt. He beat up a guy with a baseball bat and went to jail. He developed liver disease likely related to alcoholism.
In later years, he turned his life around. He told people that he was just a showman that happened to have the right gimmick at the right time. He reconciled with his son and urged him to stop jumping motorcycles. He developed several stable relationships.
In the end, he could not overcome his earlier life of addictions and injuries (he broke nearly every bone in his body during several failed motorcycle jumps). However, God is a very keen "clock manager". It would have been a shame if Evel had died during the height of his fame (which seemed likely given his stunts). However, he was given the opportunity to reconcile with family, friends and his own legend. Evel took advantage of this opportunity and died in peace.
There can be goodness in Evel.
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