LAS VEGAS –
Robbie Knievel, an American stuntman who set records with daring motorcycle jumps following in his thrill-seeking father’s tire tracks – including at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in 1989 and off a cliff in the Grand Canyon a decade later – has died in Nevada. his brother said. He was 60.
Robbie Knievel died early Friday at a Reno hospice after a battle with pancreatic cancer, Kelly Knievel said.
“The daredevils don’t have it easy,” Kelly Knievel told The Associated Press. “He was a big daredevil. People really don’t understand how terrible what my brother did.’
As a boy, Robbie Knievel started riding his bike to emulate his famous father, Evel Knievel, who died in 2007 in Clearwater, Florida.
But when Evel Knievel nearly died from injuries when he crashed his Harley-Davidson during a jump over the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas in 1967, Robbie completed the jump in 1989 using a specially designed Honda.
Robbie Knievel also grabbed headlines on the Las Vegas Strip and jumped a line of limousines in 1998 at the Tropicana Hotel; between two Jockey Club buildings in 1999; and a New Year’s Eve fireworks display in front of a volcano attraction at The Mirage on December 31, 2008.
After crash-landing to complete a motorcycle jump over a 220-foot (61-meter) chasm on a Native American reservation outside Grand Canyon National Park in 1999, Robbie Knievel noted that his father had always wanted to jump over the spectacular natural landmark in Arizona, but never did. Robbie Knievel broke his leg in his crash.
Evel Knievel instead attempted to soar over the precipice of Idaho’s Snake River Canyon in September 1974. His rocket bike crashed into the canyon as his rescue chute opened.
Robbie Knievel’s brother recalled other stunts, including a 2004 jump over a line of military aircraft on the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Intrepid, a museum in New York.
Robbie Knievel, who bills himself as “Captain Robbie Knievel,” has set several stunt records, but has also failed in several attempts. In 1992, at the age of 29, he was injured when he crashed into the 22nd of 25 pickup trucks lined up 180 feet (55 meters) apart in Cerritos, California.
“The injuries have taken a toll on him,” Kelly Knievel said Friday.
Kelly Knievel lives in Las Vegas. He said his brother died with three daughters by his side: Kristen Knievel Hanson of Chicago, Carmen Knievel of Missoula, Montana, and Maria Collins of Waldport, Oregon.
Services were not immediately scheduled, but Kelly Knievel said his brother will be buried with other family members in Butte, Montana.
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