Evil Kneivel Jumps Heaven

By Mark Kaufman
Evil Kneivel, daredevil, movie star, marketing genius, showman, and an American original has died and jumped straight to Heaven as far as I am concerned. The first true extreme sport superstar, he mad many death defying jumps on his motorcycle over buses, cars, The Caesar’s Palace fountain, and a box of rattlesnakes, he left a trail of toys, movies, t-shirts, branded motorcycles, gear and television spectaculars in his wake, most of which were decorated with his ubiquitous stars and stripes and fantastic illustrations.. I know every kid in my neighborhood hopped on a Stingray bike or a moped and attempted to jump garbage cans, shopping carts and assorted bits of urban debris, mostly unsuccessfully. But that was the fun of it. Evil was 70’s cool personified. For better or worse he spawned the entire extreme sport culture. Rest in peace, you star-spangled bastard.