Evel Knievel.... things I learned from a fast read of Wikipedia's article on him

He did his first wheelie with an earth mover:

Knievel left Butte High School after his sophomore year and got a job in the copper mines as a diamond drill operator with the Anaconda Mining Company, he was promoted to surface duty, where he drove a large earth mover.

Knievel was fired when he made the earth mover do a motorcycle-type wheelie and drove it into Butte's main power line. The incident left the city without electricity for several hours.

Linda Evans was the movie camera operator that filmed him crashing at Ceasar's Palace on New Years Eve, 1967

Lloyd's Of London, which was getting publicity for insuring anything? Refused to insure Evel after the Ceasar's crash

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evel_Knievel