Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel
Evel Knievel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida during
the 1970s
Born
Robert Craig Knievel
October 17, 1938(1938-10-17)
Butte, Montana
Died
November 30, 2007 (aged 69)
Clearwater, Florida
Cause of
death
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis
Resting place Butte, MT.
Nationality
American
Occupation
Stunt performer
Known for
Motorcycle stunts
Spouse(s)
Linda Joan Bork (1959–1997)
Krystal Kennedy (1999–2001)
Children
Kelly, Tracey, Alicia, Robbie
Parents
Robert Edward Knievel, Ann
Kehoe
Website
www.evelknievel.com
Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938 –
November 30, 2007), better known as the
Evel Knievel
(pronounced
/ˈiːvəl
kɨˈn-
iːvəl/;[1]), was an American motorcycle dare-
devil and entertainer famous in the United
States and elsewhere between the late 1960s
and
early
1980s.
Knievel’s
nationally
televised motorcycle jumps,
including his
1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon at
Twin Falls, Idaho, represent four of the
twenty most-watched ABC’s Wide World of
Sports events to date. His achievements and
failures,
including his record 37 broken
bones, earned him several entries in the
Guinness Book of World Records.[2]
His son Robbie Knievel is also an accom-
plished motorcycle daredevil.
Early life
Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel was born in
Butte, Montana, in 1938, the first of two chil-
dren born to Robert E. and Ann Kehoe
"Zippy" Knievel. His surname is of German
origin; his great-great-grandparents on his
father’s side emigrated to the United States
from Germany[3]. Robert and Ann divorced in
1940, after the birth of their second child,
Nic. Both parents decided to leave Butte.
Evel was raised by paternal grandparents, Ig-
natius and Emma Knievel. At the age of eight,
Robert Knievel attended a Joey Chitwood
Auto Daredevil Show, to which he gave credit
for his later career choice to become a motor-
cycle daredevil. Almost every jump he did
was on a Harley Davidson motorcycle.
Knievel ended high school after sopho-
more year and got a job in the copper mines
with the Anaconda Mining Company as a dia-
mond d