Robbie Knievel, Son of Evel Knievel, Dies at 60

By Kofi Outlaw

The world has lost another second-generation icon, as "Kaptain" Robbie Knievel – the son of stuntman legend Evel Knievel – has died at the age of 60. Robbie Knievel's death was confirmed by a source close to the family who spoke to TMZ, letting it be known that Knievel passed away Friday morning, peacefully in hospice care surrounded by his daughters, Krysten and Karmen. Robbie Knievel had been battling pancreatic cancer, one of the most lethal forms of the disease. 

Robert Edward Knievel II was born on May 7, 1962, to Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel and his first wife, Linda. Robbie was the third of Evel's four children (two boys, two girls) and was named after the grandfather on his dad's side. Robbie first started making an impression on the world by performing his first bicycle jump at age four and riding his first motorcycle at age seven, following perfectly along in his father's footsteps. Evel Knievel first gave his son a role in his stunt show at age eight in no less than Madison Square Garden, NYC; by age twelve he was regularly on tour with his dad, warming up the crowd in the pre-jump show. Even though he was educated to the high school level, Robbie never graduated, going full time into the family business of performing vehicular stunts; Evel was initially resistant to Robbie's desire to perform even bigger, longer, jumps, but eventually gave his son the approval to proceed. 

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Robbie Knievel broke from his father by choosing a Honda Motorcross bike as his primary go-to vehicle until the late 2000s, whereas Evel made his fame by riding a much bulkier and heavier Harley-Davidson bike. Robbie re-created many of his father's most famous jumps, while also garnering fame and acclaim with his own stunts. Highlights included promotional jumps for both Pepsi (2003) and Coca-Cola (2008) that saw Knievel clearing the likes of 15 trucks and 24 truck cabs (respectively); jumping over 21 Hummer vehicles (2009) at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth, Texas; a televised New Year's Eve jump at Las Vegas' Mirage Hotel to end what was a busy 2008 for Knievel, and even his final jump in 2011 at Coachella, where he jumped 150 feet over a set of tractor trailer trucks. 

In addition to stuntwork, Robbie Knievel was also in entertainment media. His jumps often doubled as televised events, and he also starred in some reality series like A&E's Knievel's Wild Ride, while also opening a business venture, Knievel's Custom Cycles, which sold custom bikes and Knievel theme merchandise. 

RIP Robbie Knievel. We send condolences to his friends and family in their time of mourning. 

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