Evel Knievel made the leap from rural county fairs to sold-out stadiums through a unique combination of bravado, determination, and promotional genius. While performing pre-jump wheelies at the LCO Casino near Hayward, Wisconsin on August 16, 2008, Knievel fell off the bike and slid into some hay bales, dislocating his shoulder. In 2003, Knievel jumped 15 Diet Pepsi trucks at the Chinook Winds Casino. Robert Edward Robbie Knievel III is the son of legendary daredevil Robert Evel Knievel. Born to German and Irish immigrant parents, Knievel was raised by his paternal grandparents following his parents' divorce, and after abortive attempts to carve out a career as a drill operator in a local mine and flirtations with ski-jumping and rodeo, plus short-lived spells as an unlicensed hunting guide and a semi-pro hockey player, he started to make an impact on the burgeoning motor-cross circuit. Kelly and his brother regularly accompanied their father at events, themselves performing on bikes for the huge crowds, but a knee injury kept him at home in the US for his father's infamous 1975 Wembley date, when he narrowly failed to clear 13 London buses in front of 90,000 spectators. On March 18, 2007, Knievel jumped an assortment of military vehicles at the North Carolina Auto Expo in Raleigh, North Carolina. elly Knievel's first motorcycle ride was as a day-old newborn in 1960, harnessed to his father Robert's back. "I was incredibly proud of my dad," says Kelly, protectively clutching his late father's iconic stars and stripes crash helmet. A born risk-taker, Knievel was also an inspirational father who led by example, sometimes at the expense of emotional intimacy, with his first wife, Linda, and their four children Kelly, Robbie, Tracey and Alicia. Evel Knievel's son suing Disney over 'Toy Story 4' character. Precipitating the financial collapse was Knievel's 1977 conviction for assaulting his former promoter Shelly Saltman after he published a book alleging that Knievel was a drug user who abused his wife and children claims that Kelly strongly denies. Heldman, B.L., "Intrepid Has Quite A Stunt On Deck", "Robbie Knievel Attempts Jump at Spotlight 29", Motorcyclist, July 15, 2011, "Robbie Knievel Hopes to Jump Snake River Canyon", "Robbie Knievel Jumps Grand Canyon. He talks about the family's leap from rags to riches and back again. He also has a granddaughter and grandson, Analise and Kane. However, there was a strong sustained headwind the evening of the jump. [25] The live Fox television special marked the 8th live special in Knievel's career. I'll never forget the day he came home in a Rolls-Royce in Butte, Montana. "But his extraordinary ego and the self-confidence meant that he was an incredibly difficult and demanding person to be around. Fear was also miraculously absent in the Knievel household. "Money wasn't his primary motivation," says Kelly, who now owns the intellectual property rights to the Knievel name and a huge collection of memorabilia, which is on tour in the UK, "but he sure loved to spend it. He was But Evel Knievel, got ahead in life by breaking his bones on the pavement in spectacular fashion. Throughout his career, Knievel has had three notable variances in the jumpsuits: Robbie has completed over 350 jumps, setting 20 world records.[7]. Knievel began jumping his bicycle at age four and rode motorcycles at age seven. The jump took place at the, On February 4, 1999, Knievel jumped the 130-foot (40m) gap between the two 13-story, On February 23, 2000, Knievel jumped over a moving locomotive at the, On July 30, 2004, Knievel jumped over five military airplanes on the Deck of the USS. "I never once thought he was going to die," says Kelly. "He was hurt a lot, but we never sat down as a family and discussed the possibility that he would die in a crash. "He overshadowed everybody. As a teenager, and even into my young adult life, that was very difficult," he admits. Daredevil Evel Knievel, who dodged death in spectacular motorcycle leaps and crashes in a life full of showmanship, died on Friday at age 69, according to his lawyer and a Kelly Knievel, Producer: Stuntman. Over the course of his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps.. Knievel was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. But by 1980, just four years after he jumped seven Greyhound buses at the Seattle Kingdome in an emotional swansong, the money had evaporated. Evel Knievel, the motorcycle daredevil who died yesterday after a lifetime spent jumping over cars, double-decker buses and live sharks, made his mark on Toronto. Linda Knievel, Self: Being Evel. Robert Edward "Robbie" Knievel (born May 7, 1962 in Butte, Montana) is an American daredevil and son of stunt performer Evel Knievel. The motorcycle legend had suffered from ill health for several years, and suffered two strokes in June, 2007. He was 69. Soon afterwards, he appeared in a nationally broadcast commercial for Holiday Inn Express. At age eight, he performed his first show with his father at Madison Square Garden. He suffered various crashes including a 1974 crash that left him with 40 broken bones after a failed attempt at jumping Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle. Evel made most of his record-breaking jumps using a Harley-Davidson XR-750 motorcycle. He was not a guy who talked about things he was a guy who did things, and we learned by observation.". [24] Knievel claimed the false promotion of a jump over the volcano was decided by the Mirage Hotel, which did not want to tear down some palm trees or have its valet parking affected. "My brother Robbie, who is two years younger than me, wanted to be famous [Robbie is a successful daredevil himself, completing many of the jumps his father failed] and my dad loved the whole showmanship thing, but I just wasn't predisposed to fame.". His ego was extraordinary but not in an arrogant way. "He was a one in a billion character who did everything in his life in the same bold, gigantic way that he jumped buses or cars or canyons. The third of four children (two boys and two girls), Knievel is named after his paternal grandfather. But it wasn't always easy growing up in the shadow of such a At age 46, Knievel landed a few feet short on his safety deck over the 23rd truck. In a new lawsuit, the late stuntman's son Kelly Knievel is accusing Disney of ripping off his father's brand in their hit movie Toy Story 4. Knievel successfully jumped over 24 Coca-Cola Zero truck cabs at The Kings Island Amusement Park outside Cincinnati, Ohio on May 24, 2008. "That's the first jump I really remember," says Kelly, mentally reliving the crash in which his father sustained a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and ankles and concussion that left him in a coma for 30 days. Additionally, Robbie stated that he would attempt to re-create his father's 1974 failed rocket jump over the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho.[6]. "We lost the big house to the bank in 1980, and the whole thing came down like a house of cards.". There was no 'dad' role, no 'grandfather' role. He died Nov. 30, in Clearwater, Fla. The family soon upgraded from their trailer to "one of the fanciest houses in Butte with eight acres of land and a lawn that took two days for us kids to cut," and Knievel's conspicuous consumption mushroomed. "But as I got older, things worked themselves out," says Kelly, not completelyconvincingly. He'd paint his name on the side of them.". Click.". He was so mortified by having endangered his firstborn that he sold the bike 24 hours later. He is a producer and actor, known for Stuntman (2018), The Evel Knievel Way (2020) and Storyville (1997). Kelly collapses in laughter at the memory, but his father's indomitable confidence was a double-edged sword. "Whenever Dad crashed, he would come home and heal up and he'd go back out and be Evel Knievel again. Knievel successfully jumped on June 7, 2008, at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas. The stunt was advertised as jumping over the top of the Mirage's volcano, however, Knievel limited the stunt to an approximately 200-foot (60m) ramp to ramp jump in front of the volcano. Down but not out, Knievel Sr retreated from public life as interest and his battered body waned but, says Kelly, "his life never became a downward spiral.". Robert E. Knievel, also known as 'Kaptain Robbie Knievel', is a legendary American daredevil with 350 jumps and 20 world records to his credit and is the son of the world renowned Evel Knievel. Robbie Knievel - Biography. By the time Knievel died in November 2007 from the progressive auto-immune condition pulmonary fibrosis, following a liver transplant, diabetes and decades of self-inflicted debilitating back trouble, he was a grandfather of 10, a great-grandfather of one, reunited with his estranged second wife, Krystal Kennedy. Knievel jumped 150 feet (46m) over tractor trailer trucks. Knievel has had several jumps televised live, including the Caesars Palace jump, the building-to-building jump in Las Vegas, a jump over a moving train, a jump in front of the volcano at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, and the Grand Canyon jump. Evel Knievels son is on a collision course with the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar over a But when we went out of town and everybody was taking your picture and we were thinking that we had to act a special way or be something or somebody other than who we really were, that was uncomfortable," he says. Robert Craig Knievel (/ k n i v l /; October 17, 1938 November 30, 2007), professionally known as Evel Knievel, was an American stunt performer and entertainer. But despite years of excruciating physical suffering, he remained defiant till the end. Evel Knievel was born as Robert Craig Knievel Jr. on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana, a copper-mining town that, at the time, resembled a 19th century boom town. A white jumpsuit with a red V lined with white stars: Used as a teenager touring with his father. "He knew he was paying the price for the way he had lived his life, but there was no pity.". Evel Knievels son is on a collision course with the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar over a movie daredevil character named Duke Caboom. Kelly Knievel was born in 1960. [22] The jump took place 33 years after his father, Evel Knievel, made daredevil history by jumping over 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island. "I don't need to see Caesars Palace to remind me of Dad," says Kelly, "but when I do think of him, and that's still every day, I appreciate him for being the character and the father he was and for helping me to understand human nature and the limits of what people are capable of. On New Year's Eve of 2008, Knievel was scheduled to jump the volcano at the Mirage Hotel. At one time we had seven planes. Today, Kelly who runs a construction company in between overseeing the family legacy lives with his wife and stepdaughter, a short jump away from Caesars Palace, scene of his father's breakthrough stunt and also his remarriage to Krystal. "Every single penny," says Kelly. Evel Knievel did not thrill millions around the world, break his bones and spill his blood just so Disney could make a bunch of money, Kelly Knievel said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. Knievel has two daughters, Krysten and Karmen. Saltman did not return a phone message recently to discuss the FBI file. He invented himself and his business, jumping, crashing, and miraculously recovering to promise even more outrageous stunts to come. "When I was growing up and developing my own personality, it was difficult to have a sense of my own identity because my identity was being the son of Evel Knievel, and that was kind of overpowering. He was just Evel Knievel, whether he was at the top of a ramp or sitting in his lounge chair. Evel Knievel, the extreme sportsman who defied death countless times during his career as a motorcycle stuntman, died Friday, his granddaughter announced. Far from normal was the sudden wealth that Knievel's infectious bravado attracted. There was three feet of snow, and he was driving around town.". Dad was 100% confident in everything he did in life. He originally was going to jump 25 Hummers. But it wasn't always easy growing up in the shadow of such a powerful personality. [26], In mid-2005, Knievel starred in A&E the TV series Knievel's Wild Ride. She was previously married to Evel Knievel. Knievel's jumping career is markedly different from his father's, in that Robbie, up until 2009, used high-performance Honda CR500 motocross bikes that have been designed for jumping. For us it was normal. Business ventures were conducted through the company, Knievel Motorcycle Manufacturing Inc., which sold different custom motorcycles and various Knievel clothing items. He cleared 21 Hummers on the front stretch of the speedway. Linda Knievel was born as Linda Joan Bork. This page was last edited on 26 January 2021, at 11:52. LAS VEGAS (AP) Evel Knievels son is on a collision course with the Walt Disney Co. and Pixar over a movie daredevil character named Duke Caboom. On June 9, 2007, he appeared in Wilmington, Delaware and successfully jumped $4.8 billion in bogus money representing the amount of interest paid to the customers of ING Direct. The son of motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel is suing Disney over a "knock off" character in Toy Story 4. On October 31, 2008, Knievel successfully performed two back-to-back jumps in Nashville, Tennessee to promote a glow-in-the-dark paint. At 18:31 his equipment trailer can be seen bearing the moniker Kaptain", http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/4/5311/Motorcycle-Article/Robbie-Knievel-to-Jump-16-Buses-on-XR-750.aspx, "Robbie Knievel proposes 2011 canyon jump", "Evel Knievel's son smashes stunt record", "The Knievels - Motorcycle Jumping Grand Canyon 1968 1999", http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/1999/May-21-Fri-1999/news/11225291.html, "Knievel revving up to jump moving train", http://www.kxan.com/dpp/wildcard_8/Robbie_Knievel_safely_makes_train_jump, "Robbie Knievel to jump remade Las Vegas volcano", http://www.cyclebiker.com/media/1750/2003-Robbie-Knievel-Pepsi-Jump-at-Chinook-Winds-Casino-/, "Cincinnati Enquirer | Cincinnati.com: Cincinnati news, breaking news and sports", http://deseretnews.com/article/0,5143,705274431,00.html, "Recipe For a Knievel New Year's: 1 Ramp, 1 Volcano", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robbie_Knievel&oldid=1002870484, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2017, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, To pay homage to his father, Knievel jumped the, In 1993, Knievel challenged British motorcycle stuntman, On February 24, 1998, Knievel attempted a record-breaking jump of 231 feet (70m) over 30 limousines. He knew he was special, but he was mindful of the power of his personality. [citation needed]. "He didn't fly the helicopter, but he learned to fly a plane. A second black jumpsuit with a white V lined with red stars was used in promotional photographs in 2010 and 2011 but not used in a jump. Knievel was sentenced to six months in jail and Saltman won a $12.75 million judgment, but never collected. In 1996, Knievel jumped over 10 limousines at the Lake Elsinore Storm Stadium celebrating the return of the Elsinore Grand Prix. "You can't ever fill them shoes; I don't care if you're Elvis Presley's daughter or Evel Knievel's son. But it was Knievel's audacious attempt to jump a record-breaking 141 feet over the water fountains at Las Vegas's Caesars Palace on 31 December 1967 that lit the publicity touch paper. He wanted to lengthen his jumps, but his father disapproved. Though he passed in 2007, his legacy continues to live on. Even after he almost crashed his way to heaven, he would continue to put his body through hell. "He bought us all Ferraris and clothes and jewellery, and always wanted the biggest and best of everything. Motorcycle daredevil Evel Knievel has died at the age of 69. Kelly Knievel's first motorcycle ride was as a day-old newborn in 1960, harnessed to his father Robert's back. Evel Knievel never denied his scrapes with the law the late motorcycle daredevil often reveled in them. By the time Kelly was seven, and following his father's spectacular failure to jump 12 cars and a cargo van in Montana the year before, which left him with several broken ribs and a shattered arm, the world was starting to take notice.