Martinex1: Growing up and in grade school in the 1970s, there was a brief period of time that I was highly influenced by the stunts and antics of Evel Knievel. And I am sure others were too. Whether jumping cars or buses on his motorcycle, or attempting to leap the Snake River Canyon in the steam powered Skycycle X-2, the stuntman had the world at attention. Well, at least he was the talk of the schoolyard.
Television shows, books, toys, collectibles, and comics were all suddenly enamored and emblazoned with the wild stunts of the well known daredevil. When I was in the fourth grade, I desperately wanted the Evel Knievel Stunt Cycle (I received roller skates instead and had trouble hiding my disappointment). For a handful of years Evel Knievel had a cottage industry based on toys made in his likeness and branded with his name. He was an international hit by any standard.
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| I am not sure when Evel Knievel branched out to exploring but he sure captured the imagination. |
Knievel was everywhere. For the comic-loving fans, it was hard to miss the advertisements. Can you remember which books in your collection featured the back covers depicted below?
On television, it would take a lot to convince me that he didn't influence Happy Days or the television Captain America! The Fonz jumped fourteen garbage cans (unsuccessfully) on the sitcom, and that costume and those wheels for Cap surely owed something to "The King of the Stuntmen."
There was even a 1974 Saturday morning cartoon, Devlin, that leaned on the Knievel mystique quite obviously. Check out the show opening in the link here.
I guess I can give Marvel and Steve Rogers a bit of a break, as the character was riding motorcycles many years prior to the showman's fame but I suspect the addition of the bike to the television show and its increased use in comics had Knievel influences. On the other hand, nothing can excuse Team America; not only was it late to the party but it was horrible.
More close to home, who didn't envy a kid with the Evel Knievel lunchbox? And who didn't try to build a ramp to try out with a Schwinn Stingray? I still have some sore ribs from a failed attempt (Disclaimer: That is not young Martinex in the photo)!
So let's Chew the Fat! What were your daredevil memories? Did you gather with the neighborhood kids and try out some wheelies and jumps? Were you mesmerized by the Wide World of Sports stunt spectacular? How much did you pester your parents for the coveted toys? Share all of that and anything else that comes to mind as today we discuss Evel Knievel and all of his influential impacts.
