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September 7, 2008 7:22:36 AM CDT

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Evel Knievel Dead at 69

Posted Nov 30, 07 4:35 PM CST in US 

(Newser) – Evel Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil  who never saw a canyon—or a row of vehicles—he didn't want to jump, died today at 69. He was known for his spectacular failures as well as successes, including an attempt to jump the fountains at Caesar's Palace that put him in a coma, and an effort to jump the Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered "skycycle" that ended on the riverbank below.

The star-spangled showman had broken nearly 40 bones before he retired, the AP reports."No king or prince has lived a better life," he said in a May 2006 interview. "You're looking at a guy who's really done it all." Knievel retired from stunting in 1976 after sustaining a serious injury jumping a shark tank, and made a good living off of autographs and endorsements.

Source Associated Press

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Evel Knievel is shown in his rocket on Sept. 8, 1974, before his failed attempt at a highly promoted 3/4-mile leap across Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose...   (Associated Press)
Daredevil motorcyclist Evel Knievel sails over 13 Mack trucks in the open-air Canadian national exhibition stadium in Toronto, Canada, in this Aug. 20, 1974, file photo. Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle...   (Associated Press)
In this image originally released by Warner Brothers, Daredevil motorcyclist Evel Knievel is seen in 1977 in Warner Bros.' "Viva Knievel!". Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose exploits...   (Associated Press)
Evel Knievel appears with his son Robbie Knievel in this April 14, 1989 file photo. Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle daredevil whose exploits made him an international icon in the 1970s, died Friday,...   (Associated Press)
Evel Knievel parachutes down in a rocket after a ill-fated attempt to soar across the 1600 foot Snake River Canyon in Twin Falls, Idaho in this Sept. 9, 1974 file photo. Knievel, the hard-living motorcycle...   (Associated Press)
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