By Houston Williams
Stunt and motorcycle legend Evel Knievel died Friday, days after peacefully resolving a legal dispute with rapper Kanye West. He was 69 years old.
The legend died from complications associated with diabetes and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to published reports. Knievel also had to receive a liver transplant in 1999 due to a Hepatitis C infection from a blood transfusion.
Knievel had sued Kanye West and Roc-A-Fella Records in Dec. 2006 after West released a video for “Touch The Sky.” In the video, West assumed the name "Evel Kanyevel" and donned several of Knievel’s staple looks, including a unique “WK” belt buckle, according to thesmokinggun.com.
On November 27, the pair released a statement via Def Jam Records stating that their legal issues were amicably resolved.
Knievel often wore red-white-and-blue and was the world’s forerunning daredevil. Typically using a motorcycle, he would jump over obstacles like passenger buses, sharks and even Idaho's Snake River Canyon.
“I routinely faced Death himself and was able to turn it into a benefit for my life, my family and everyone that surrounded me and believed in me,” Knievel said on his website. “Practically my entire existence in the public spotlight has been borne out of overcoming adversity – adversity that should have cost me my life.”
Evel Knievel at Caesar's Palace
Evel Knievel jumping Snake River Canyon