Evel Knievel

The final tribute to Evel Knievel will include a fireworks show, the family of the motorcycle stuntman said. The fireworks show Sunday night in his hometown of Butte will be followed by a funeral the next morning at the Butte Civic Center.

Evel The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend Leigh Montville Doubleday: 400 pp., $27.50 For men of a certain age, Evel Knievel is a touchstone of innocence lost, vaguely held in the memory bank as an emblem of how easily and simply wonderment once came to a fan-boy of American sports. In the 1970s, Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil clad in a white jumpsuit, flew over cars and buses and canyons (well, he had issues with the canyons)

Of all the bones Evel Knievel broke over the years, the costliest may have been the left arm of a PR man by the name of Shelly Saltman. Saltman won $12.75 million in damages against Knievel after the motorcycle daredevil attacked him with a baseball bat in 1977 in a rage over a book Saltman had written about the showman, "Evel Knievel on Tour." With interest, the still-uncollected sum has grown to more than $100 million by Saltman's estimate, and he intends to try to collect it.

Robert C. Truax, a retired Navy captain and pioneering rocket engineer whose adventurous projects included working with daredevil Evel Knievel and building a rocket in his backyard, has died. He was 93. Truax died of prostate cancer Sept. 17 at his home in Valley Center, Calif., said his wife, Marisol. He interacted with such scientific luminaries as Robert Goddard and Wernher von Braun and developed concepts that led to high-profile projects such as the Polaris submarine missile and the military's pre- NASA space programs, but he might be best known for building a steam-powered rocket for Knievel's 1974 attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho, then trying to prove space travel could be affordable by building his own rocket in the early 1980s.

Evel The High-Flying Life of Evel Knievel: American Showman, Daredevil, and Legend Leigh Montville Doubleday: 400 pp., $27.50 For men of a certain age, Evel Knievel is a touchstone of innocence lost, vaguely held in the memory bank as an emblem of how easily and simply wonderment once came to a fan-boy of American sports. In the 1970s, Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil clad in a white jumpsuit, flew over cars and buses and canyons (well, he had issues with the canyons)

Evel Knievel was a superhero, from the tip of his jumpsuit collar to the bottom of his white boots. He mounted motorcycles, and even a few rocket ships. He leaped cars, buses, rattlesnakes and sharks in a single bound. He wore a cape. Even so, Knievel was no Superman. Underneath the star-spangled get-up, the first son of Butte, Mont., was a tale-telling, philandering ex-con who once smashed another man's arms with a baseball bat. And about those leaps . . .

Evel KNIEVEL hasn't made a major motorcycle jump since 1980, when he broke his forearm and suffered a concussion attempting to clear a tank of live sharks, but his absence seems to be making Hollywood's heart grow fonder. This weekend, TNT will air "Evel Knievel," the fourth movie to chronicle the legendary daredevil's life. (And Universal Pictures has a fifth in active development: "Pure Evel," directed by McG of "Charlie's Angels" fame.

Decades ago, millions would pause in awe as Evel Knievel, astride a gaudy roaring motorcycle, sailed over fountains, canyons and rows of buses, the stars on his superhero costumes glittering. A century ago, his hometown of Butte was "the city that electrified a nation" with wire from its copper mines. Butte was famous for its raucous, bustling streets, sometimes dangerous but always exciting, hard against a mountain of copper ore that was steadily chipped away by miners.

Robbie "Kaptain" Knievel, son of the late daredevil Evel Knievel, successfully jumped over 24 delivery trucks at the site of one of his father's most famous stunts. Knievel, 46, had said he would need to be going 95 mph at takeoff for the 200-foot jump, which began from a three-story-tall ramp and was completed amid wild cheers, explosions and shooting flames at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. After touching down at the tip of the landing ramp, Knievel gave the crowd a thumbs-up and popped a wheelie.

Fireworks exploded over the mining town of Butte as the body of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel arrived for a funeral expected to draw thousands. Knievel will be remembered in a service today as his hometown celebrates the life of the legendary stuntman who sped motorcycles over the local mine dumps as a boy. Knievel died Nov. 30 in Clearwater, Fla. He was 69.

SUNDAY Were you followed? We can't be seen together, and if you tell anyone what we're about to tell you, we'll deny it: James Badge Dale stars as an intelligence analyst in the new conspiracy-theory drama "Rubicon." (AMC, 8 and 9 p.m.) MONDAY Wanted: Aspiring actress to play the role of victim in the upcoming terror tale "Saw 3D." Must have a healthy set of lungs. Apply in person on the Season 2 premiere of the reality competition "Scream Queens."

Evel Knievel was a superhero, from the tip of his jumpsuit collar to the bottom of his white boots. He mounted motorcycles, and even a few rocket ships. He leaped cars, buses, rattlesnakes and sharks in a single bound. He wore a cape. Even so, Knievel was no Superman. Underneath the star-spangled get-up, the first son of Butte, Mont., was a tale-telling, philandering ex-con who once smashed another man's arms with a baseball bat. And about those leaps . . .

Robbie "Kaptain" Knievel, son of the late daredevil Evel Knievel, successfully jumped over 24 delivery trucks at the site of one of his father's most famous stunts. Knievel, 46, had said he would need to be going 95 mph at takeoff for the 200-foot jump, which began from a three-story-tall ramp and was completed amid wild cheers, explosions and shooting flames at Kings Island amusement park near Cincinnati. After touching down at the tip of the landing ramp, Knievel gave the crowd a thumbs-up and popped a wheelie.

Mourners in Butte remembered daredevil Evel Knievel as a red, white and blue American icon who made a spiritual leap of faith long after his death-defying motorcycle jumps. "He's forever in flight now," said actor Matthew McConaughey, who hosted a History Channel program on the stuntman. Knievel died Nov. 30 in Clearwater, Fla. He was 69.

Fireworks exploded over the mining town of Butte as the body of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel arrived for a funeral expected to draw thousands. Knievel will be remembered in a service today as his hometown celebrates the life of the legendary stuntman who sped motorcycles over the local mine dumps as a boy. Knievel died Nov. 30 in Clearwater, Fla. He was 69.

Mourners in Butte remembered daredevil Evel Knievel as a red, white and blue American icon who made a spiritual leap of faith long after his death-defying motorcycle jumps. "He's forever in flight now," said actor Matthew McConaughey, who hosted a History Channel program on the stuntman. Knievel died Nov. 30 in Clearwater, Fla. He was 69.

Growing up in the '70s, I had an Evel Knievel lunchbox, an Evel Knievel action figure with a working stunt cycle, Evel Knievel comic books featuring "Evel Knievel and the Perilous Traps of Mr. Danger" and "Evel Knievel versus Ghost Rider." I was even Evel Knievel myself for Halloween one year. Larger than life doesn't begin to cover it. The guy was a walking, talking, honest-to-God superhero.

The final tribute to Evel Knievel will include a fireworks show, the family of the motorcycle stuntman said. The fireworks show Sunday night in his hometown of Butte will be followed by a funeral the next morning at the Butte Civic Center.

Of all the bones Evel Knievel broke over the years, the costliest may have been the left arm of a PR man by the name of Shelly Saltman. Saltman won $12.75 million in damages against Knievel after the motorcycle daredevil attacked him with a baseball bat in 1977 in a rage over a book Saltman had written about the showman, "Evel Knievel on Tour." With interest, the still-uncollected sum has grown to more than $100 million by Saltman's estimate, and he intends to try to collect it.