Daredevil stuntman Evel Knievel dead
By Robert Green in Florida

December 01, 2007 11:42am

DAREDEVIL Evel Knievel, who dodged death in spectacular motorcycle leaps and
crashes in a life full of showmanship, died today at the age of 69.

"I just spoke with him last night. He seemed to be in good spirits," said
Knievel's lawyer, Richard Fee, adding he died in the Tampa Bay area of
Florida where he recently made his home.

The front page of the tempestuous showman's official website -
http://www.evelknievel.com - read simply "Robert Craig 'Evel' Knievel
October 17, 1938 - November 30, 2007". The site quickly became inaccessible
as it presumably was deluged by hits.

"Anybody can jump a motorcycle," he once told Esquire magazine. "The trouble
begins when you try to land it."

Knievel - who retired in 1981 after breaking more than 40 bones in his body,
including his back seven times - had been ill for some time, suffering from
a lung disease.