Being Evel Page #9

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and there from the muddy banks

on the side of the river...

was evel waving.

and i said this--

thank god that

son of a b*tch is alive.

reporter:
evel knievel

is standing

in the boat and waving.

he is alive and well.

( reporters overlapping )

i don't know what happened.

i don't know what happened.

just-- i think--

i don't know. i just can't say.

i'll have to let bob

and the fellas examine it.

bob, what happened?

well, this right here

is the cover

to the parachute canister.

it obviously came loose

much too soon, right on the pad.

campoy:
what had happened

is it went up.

i knew immediately that

the chute had been deployed.

malewicki:
it came off

because of a mechanical problem

with the design.

you didn't do

a damn thing wrong.

the can is wrong

on the thing.

it blew up right there

on the launch.

- blew up by accident?

- yeah, it was our fault.

it's not your fault.

these things happen.

yes, we should have run

one more test.

campoy:

it was clear to me,

or to us,

that it was a mechanical

failure,

but there was another story

being banded about

back at the press tent

that perhaps

evel had released

the chute early.

i told people

that that's what happened.

when i went to the press tent

after the jump,

the press was asking for me

to come and make a statement.

i told the press that he--

his hand came off of the bar.

i really liked

the rocket crew.

they're just a bunch

of nice guys.

i just knew that the m.o.

of how he treated people

nothing was ever his fault.

i told people

that that's what happened.

and if by chance that took

a little bit of the pressure

off of the rocket team,

then so be it.

campoy:
so it got out

that it was evel's fault.

reporter:
but the nagging

question remains--

was this the legitimate attempt

of a brave man,

or was it the great rip-off

of 1974?

wilson:

then the press tore him up.

'cause they think that he,

along with me,

had perpetrated a fraud.

hero or hustler?

or for americans,

are those the same thing?

reporter:
it was evel knievel

against the snake river canyon,

and the canyon

was the sentimental favorite.

evel would have liked his jump

to have been huge

front-page news,

but it was overwhelmingly

squashed

by the big news of the day,

which was the pardon

of nixon by president ford.

that was a major transition

in the country.

maybe he had outlived

his novelty

because i think people

just might of got tired

of listening to it.

and that's when he came back

to butte and--

an he was-- i don't know

if he was depressed or what.

he just, uh...

i thought sure he'd

just give up after that,

say, "well, you know, i'm done."

england swings

like a pendulum do...

gunn:
he had never

been to england before.

he thought a new crowd,

new group.

i can snow them a little

more than i can the americans.

rose:
well, they hadn't heard

the teddy roosevelt speech,

be good to your parents,

wear a helmet.

two by two

westminster abbey,

the tower, big ben...

reporter:
evel knievel

is alive, well,

and back in action in famed old

wembley stadium,

london, england,

for a jump that will be made

over 13 london buses.

wilson:

when he arrived in london,

he had only sold 3,000 seats

for a 100,000-seat stadium,

and he was in trouble.

there was some press there

to meet him.

he looks at the press,

and what did he do?

"i'm so glad to be here

in england

where we came

and won the war for you."

holy... oh?

and they start writing.

he knew his job,

which was to get people

in wembley stadium.

we drove around london,

just making friends.

how you doing?

what's your name?

stephen.

reporter:

so the yankee pied piper

collected the young and the old

and led them all

to wembley stadium.

80,000 people showed up

to watch the man do it.

gifford:
so we walked

into the arena of wembley

where the buses were lined up,

and he said,

"i can't do that."

i said, "what do you mean

you can't do that?"

i said, "pull a few buses

out of there.

come on, it won't hurt

a thing to do that."

now i go over

and grab our producer,

i said, "doug," i said,

"evel says he can't do that."

he really didn't think

he was gonna make it.

gifford:
so i went over

to talk to evel,

and talk him out of it,

and he was in a trailer.

we knocked on the door,

and he said, "oh, no.

i'll give it a go.

i'll give it a go."

it was always,

"i'll give it a go."

and he was right.

he couldn't make it.

announcer:

here is evel knievel!

gifford:
you know, evel,

one has to wonder after

the snake river,

one has to wonder

why you continue?

well, i sometimes think

that maybe i should quit,

but you always

want to keep going,

and i'm kind of proud of that

red, white, and blue number one

i wear on my shoulder,

and i want to keep it on there.

i'm glad you're here today.

you know,

i've never had an accident

when you're around.

- good luck.

- thanks.

gifford:
he told me earlier

that outside of the jump

at caesar's palace

where he was severely injured,

that this will probably be

the most difficult jump

he has ever made.

he hurt himself in indio

1967 caesars palace.

here he goes.

and he will go.

wilson:
it was almost eerie,

though.

the motorcycle was ghostly.

it was tumbling after him,

sort of.

then eventually,

it landed on him.

gifford:
he's down

and he is hurt.

oh, my god.

( motorcycle revs )

the man you see now

leaning over evel is john hood.

that's his chief mechanic.

hood:
i knew, well,

he's gotta be hurt on this one.

and i kneeled down

and said, "are you okay?"

i got his helmet off

and he said, "help me up."

and he wanted the microphone.

i wanna stand up and walk.

now, help me up.

he wants to talk.

he's gonna talk.

ladies and gentlemen...

of this wonderful country...

i've got to tell you

that you...

are the last people

in the world

who will ever see me jump.

because i will never ever,

ever jump again.

i am through.

knoxville:
that crash

was one of the worst

as far as injuries would go.

he broke his hand, back,

re-broke his pelvis.

after wembley,

i went home to edit.

phone rang.

"hello, doug? evel."

he's calling me from

his hospital room in london.

"doug,

you can't use that quote."

"what do you mean, evel?"

"you can't use that quote,

that quote where i said

i wouldn't jump again."

and i said, "well, why?"

"'cause i may jump again."

when the jump was over

in london,

i said that i'd

never jump again.

that was the pain in my body

overpowering the brains

that i'm supposed

to have in my head.

i will jump again,

but 13 is an unlucky number.

this time

i'm gonna jump

14 buses.

somehow he gets the idea--

i am not gonna go out

with a crash.

i'm gonna go back

to the united states,

and i'm gonna jump 14 buses.

that's just who he was.

you can't do it and say

you're the best in the world

and then fall off

and get up and say, i quit.

not if you're

an evel knievel you can't.

reporter:
the king's island

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