![]() He worked in the copper mines as a contract miner, skip tender and diamond drill operator. In 1959, Knievel eloped and, at the age of 20, began a string of short-lived jobs. “He was the kind of kid that even when he was being bad he did it with a certain kind of boldness and humor that you couldn’t stay mad at him,” said Knievel’s brother in a television interview. Despite his mischievous reputation, the townsfolk and even the police liked Knievel. “My poor grandparents didn’t know what to do with me.”Īt 13, Knievel got his first motorcycle, but crashed it into a neighbor’s garage while showing off, nearly catching the garage on fire when the bike’s gas tank ruptured.Īs a teenager, Knievel was always getting in trouble with the local police for petty crimes. “I was always coming home with cuts and bruises,” Knievel remembered. One of his favorite stunts was jumping his bicycle. As a kid, he loved showing off to the other neighborhood kids. At age 8, he saw Joey Chitwood's Auto Daredevil Show, which he later credited for his career choice. A number of television specials retold the story of his life and times.īorn in the wide-open copper mining town of Butte, Montana, on October 17, 1938, Robert Craig Knievel was raised by his grandparents from the age of 6. After years of relative obscurity, Knievel enjoyed a renewal of popularity in the 1990s and was featured in television commercials. Knievel reached the zenith of his popularity in 1974, prior to his ill-fated jump over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in a jet-powered “Skycycle.” At least two feature films and numerous books were made on Knievel’s life. ![]() His jumps attracted thousands of spectators and millions more watched on television. ![]() During the early 1970s, Knievel was one of the best known celebrities in the world. Knievel’s popularity transcended the world of motorcycling. The quintessential American daredevil motorcyclist, Evel Knievel defied gravity as he rode his bike to the heights of international fame in increasingly challenging, thrilling stunts.
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