Knievel, Robert

Knievel, (Robert Craig) “Evil”

(1938–  ) motorcycle stunt performer; born in Butte, Mont. Raised by his grandparents in Butte, a copper-mining town, he began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager. He embarked on an incredibly varied career (1956–1965) that included professional hockey, a stint in the U.S. Army, work in the copper mines, and eventually crime—safecracking and holdups. He "went straight" in 1965 and formed Evil Knievel's Motorcycle Devils (1965). He performed numerous dangerous and thrilling stunts and became a hero to schoolchildren of the 1970s. After he retired, he managed the stunt career of his son, Robbie Knievel.

The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography, by John S. Bowman. Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995. Reproduced with permission.