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Who are Evel Knievel's children? Son Robbie dies at 60

Robbie Knievel followed in his father's footsteps and began performing at the age of eight at Madison Square Garden
UPDATED JAN 14, 2023
Robbie Knievel performed more than 350 jumps when he was just four years old (Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Josh Benson/ Twitter)
Robbie Knievel performed more than 350 jumps when he was just four years old (Kevin Winter/Getty Images, Josh Benson/ Twitter)

BUTTE, MONTANA: A "born risk-taker" and legendary Robert later known as Evel Knievel's son Robbie Knievel died at the age of 60. Robbie, also known as Kaptain Robbie was battling pancreatic cancer.

The stunt master followed in his father's footsteps and began performing at the age of eight at Madison Square Garden. In his career as a stuntman, he performed more than 350 jumps, when he was just four years old.

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Evel Knievel was born Craig Knievel on October 17, 1938, in Butte, Montana, and Robbie was among four children Evel had with his first wife, Linda. They are– Kelly, (Robbie), Tracey, and Alicia. Kelly Knievel once mentioned his father Evel, " 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."

While Robbie Knievel had two daughters named Krysten and Karmen. Krysten is a recruitment specialist and musician who works for Caravel Autism Health. She is also the lead singer of her own rock music group Knievel's Daredevil Band. Between December 2010 and December 2013, she was also the National Anthem singer for the Chicago Bulls, as per the Sun  

Robert Knievel as per the New York Post set 20 records for his jumps, including successfully jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace in 1989 — something his father had attempted to do in the past but did not conquer.

Kelly Knievel talked about his brother in an article he wrote in the Guardian in 2010 saying, "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."

Robbie's most memorable jump came in 1989 when he leaped over the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas. Robbie's father (Evel) attempted the same stunt but failed.

He goes ahead by saying that fear was absent in the Knievel household, whose mind never crossed that his father might die. "Whenever Dad crashed, he would come home and heal up and he'd go back out and be Evel Knievel again. He was hurt a lot, but we never sat down as a family and discussed the possibility that he would die in a crash. Dad was 100% confident in everything he did in life. He had no doubts or fears, so making preparations for his death simply wasn't necessary."

Among Robbie's 350 jumps, he set world records for 20 of them. His career highlights include leaps over 30 limousines, the Grand Canyon, and the USS Intrepid. In 2009, he jumped over the artificial volcano in front of the Mirage Hotel on the Vegas strip. The mad capper's final performance came in 2011 when he jumped 150 feet above track-trailer trucks at the Spotlight 29 Casino in Coachella, California.

Besides that, he appeared in movies and TV series too, including Ninja III: The Domination, Kick Buttowski: Suburban Daredevil, and Hawaii Five-O. 

His legendary father Kevel retired in 1981 and revealed that he broke more than 40 bones throughout his lifetime. His failed attempt at shooting over the Caesars Palace fountains in 1967 left him with a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist, and both ankles, and a concussion. He retired in 1981 and eventually died in 2007 at 69. Before that, he was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999, as per a report.

A report also mentions that Kelly, Robbies brother had taken Disney to the court in 2020 for accusing them of ripping off his father's brand in their hit movie Toy Story 4. 

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