While in Las Vegas, Nevada, to
watch Dick Tiger fight a
middleweight title fight,
Knievel first saw the
fountains at Caesar's Palace
and decided to jump them. To
get an audience with the
casino's CEO Jay Sarno,
Knievel created a fictitious
corporation called Evel
Knievel Enterprises and three
fictitious lawyers to make
pho
more

While in Las Vegas, Nevada, to
watch Dick Tiger fight a
middleweight title fight,
Knievel first saw the
fountains at Caesar's Palace
and decided to jump them. To
get an audience with the
casino's CEO Jay Sarno,
Knievel created a fictitious
corporation called Evel
Knievel Enterprises and three
fictitious lawyers to make
phone calls to Sarno. Knievel
also placed phone calls to
Sarno claiming to be from
ABC-TV and Sports Illustrated
inquiring about the jump.
Sarno finally agreed to meet
Knievel and the deal was set
for Knievel to jump the
fountains on December 31,
1967. After the deal was set,
Knievel tried to get ABC to
air the event live on Wide
World of Sports. ABC declined,
but said that if Knievel had
the jump filmed and it was as
spectacular as he said it
would be, they would consider
using it later.

Knievel used his own money to
have actor/director John Derek
produce a film of the Caesar's
jump. To keep costs low, Derek
used his then-wife, Linda
Evans, as one of the camera
operators. It was Evans who
filmed Knievel's famous
landing. On the morning of the
jump, Knievel stopped in the
casino and placed a single
$100 dollar bet on the
blackjack table, which he
lost, stopped by the bar and
got a shot of Wild Turkey and
then headed outside where he
was joined by several members
of the Caesar's staff, as well
as two scantily clad
showgirls. After doing his
normal pre-jump show and a few
warm up approaches, Knievel
began his real approach. When
he hit the takeoff ramp, he
felt the motorcycle
unexpectedly decelerate. The
sudden loss of power on the
takeoff caused Knievel to come
up short and land on the
safety ramp which was
supported by a van. This
caused the handlebars to be
ripped out of his hands as he
tumbled over them onto the
pavement where he skidded into
the Dunes parking lot. As a
result of the crash, Knievel
received a crushed pelvis and
femur, fractures to his hip,
wrist and both ankles and a
concussion that kept him in a
coma for 29 days.

Category Sports

Tags evel, knievel, caesars, palace, 1969, crash, jump