![]() ![]() Robbie Knievel, who promoted himself as “Kaptain Robbie Knievel,” set several stunt records, but also failed in several attempts. Robbie Knievel's brother recalled other stunts including a 2004 jump over a row of military aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a museum in New York. His rocket-powered cycle crashed into the canyon while his escape parachute deployed. Robbie Knievel broke his leg in his crash.Įvel Knievel instead attempted to soar over a mile-wide Snake River Canyon chasm in Idaho in September 1974. 31, 2008.Īfter a crash-landing to complete a motorcycle leap over a 220-foot (61-meter) chasm at an Indian reservation outside Grand Canyon National Park in 1999, Robbie Knievel noted that his father always wanted to jump the spectacular natural landmark in Arizona, but never did. Knievel said that while he knows his dad is proud of him, he also thinks Evel is envious of him because he is jumping higher and farther.Robbie Knievel also made headline-grabbing Las Vegas Strip jumps over a row of limousines in 1998 at the Tropicana Hotel between two buildings at the Jockey Club in 1999 and a New Year’s Eve jump amid fireworks in front of a volcano attraction at The Mirage on Dec. While he remains close to his mother, Linda, who lives in Butte, Knievel said he and his father no longer speak. He said he hopes to keep working in the field he knows so well, and retire a winner in his own right. He said he probably has three or four more years of jumping before getting out of the business. But I am working to be the best person I can be."ĭivorced with a 10-year-old daughter living in Chicago, Knievel is facing some decisions about his life. "I don't judge people that way, and I am not perfect. "I believe in Jesus Christ, but do I walk and talk like him? No," he answered. ![]() "We're recovering from alcohol, but we're all recovering from something in the past. I just try to do better next time," Knievel said. ![]() When he falls off the wagon, he said, he gets right back on. Knievel turned to religion a few years ago, and he tried to work a program that kept him on the straight and narrow.įor the most part, he said it works. The conflicting emotions about his dad caused him pain, which he said he numbed with liquor and later drugs. The elder Knievel was legendary for his drinking escapades and the younger Knievel followed, first as a rebellious teenager and later as an adult. "Back then, dads letting their sons drink didn't even raise much of an eyebrow," the younger Knievel said. Growing up in the hard-drinking-miner town of Butte, Mont., in the early 1960s, Knievel recalls his dad supplying him and his brother with booze at an early age. Robbie would hesitate - and then say "no." ![]() Three of them would obediently answer yes. Robbie says the elder Knievel was a great dad, even though Evel once kicked him in the face and broke his nose when the then-teenager screamed an obscenity at his father.įor his part, Evel once recalled in a magazine interview about asking his four young children if they loved him. Still, love and hate mingle when Robbie discusses his now-retired dad. Dads who watched Evel as a child are now bringing their sons to see me. "The crowds are coming back with their children. Who were these guys performing? They weren't role models, they didn't represent anything. "There was a point a few years ago where nobody wanted to bring their kids to see performers doing stunts," Knievel said. Knievel also is looking forward to the years ahead. It has all the beauty, it is quiet and people let me be. "I've lived just about everywhere, from big cities to little towns, so I knew what I was looking for," Knievel said. He's found some peace in religion and in this Olympic Peninsula town.īut Robbie Knievel is still working on his demons, including alcohol and the love-hate relationship he has with his dad, motorcycle-stunt icon Evel Knievel.ĭespite having a daredevil career of making spectacular jumps that don't always end successfully, the younger Knievel, 34, has made a quiet life for himself since moving here two years ago. SEQUIM, Clallam County - He's broken all his famous father's records and has a measure of fame himself. ![]()
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