[Mastador1]

We have a possibility of a new reality show, The Two Dead Ed's Show!

[GreenHornet]

As I recall, Knievel’s stunt, billed as an attempt to jump the canyon on a motorcycle, was in reality, an attempt to shoot Knievel across the canyon on what was basically a rocket.

[Beowulf9]

I think they are right not to televise this.

[SamAdams76]

The Evil Kneivel attempt on September 8, 1974 galvanized the entire country. I remember that day very well even though I was only about 11 years old. The TV stations wouldn't show it because it had an exclusive on "closed-circuit TV" (I still don't know what that means).

At the time of the jump, the nation literally ground to a halt. In Times Square, people stopped and gazed at the news ticker to see what the results were. Many people did not show up at church that morning.

I was listening to a Top 40 radio station at the time because they promised to break-in and let their listeners know how Evil fared. Right after the Bo Donaldson song "Billy, Don't Be A Hero" played, the DJ breathlessly announced that the jump had failed. Then he tossed "Nothing From Nothing" by Billy Preston on the turntable. My friends and I thought he was killed in the attempt and it wasn't until later that night that we found out he was alive. This was way before the Internet and other ways of finding things out. Back then, you pretty much had to wait for the 6 o'clock news to know anything.

It was also the day, for history buffs, that our new president Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. Ford figured that nobody would notice because of all the attention being paid to Evil Kneivel.

For some reason, when I was younger, I often got Evil Kneivel confused with Elvis Presley.

[M Kehoe]

A JATO motorcycle with a parachute. Great theatre.

5.56mm

[MinuteGal]

I'd have more respect if Fox had released a statement saying that the network decided not to pander to the Lions vs. Gladiators mentality of some viewers in its audience.

Show the video of the "great theater" after it's over with.

Some other network, maybe HBO, will pick it up, anyhow, and there'll be thousands of on-the-spot observers clicking away for the later benefit of the Indy-hoping-for-a-crash crowd.

Leni

[ozzymandus]

I watched it at the time, Evil pretty much blew it. I won $10 from a friend who bet he’d be killed.

[McGruff]

With the Pay Per View capabilities of cable tv I’d bet alot of people would pay to watch.

[McGruff]

[Kickass Conservative]

I saw Evil do a Jump way back when. I think it was either Ascot Park in Torrance or it could have been Irwindale Raceway.

It was a loooong time ago. He milked it for all it was worth, taunting the Crowd by telling them that they were only there to see him get busted up. Everyone played along.

[Moonman62]

Before Al Capone’s vault there was the Snake River “jump.” I remember it as a huge disappointment.