AP Photo/LM Otero
Robbie Knievel, son of legendary stuntman Evel Knievel, has died at the age of 60, his brother, Kelly Knievel told CBS News on Friday. Robbie Knievel died of pancreatic cancer after being in hospice for three days.
“It was expected,” his brother told CBS News. “He was in Reno with his three daughters by his side.”
Known as “Kaptain Robbie Knievel,” Robbie Knievel had his own daredevil career with 350 jumps and 20 world records, according to his biography on his official website. Knievel was married once and divorced, his brother said.
From a young age, Knievel wanted to be a daredevil, even though it was difficult personally and professionally to follow in his father’s footsteps, his brother said.
Their father, Evel, was proud of his son’s accomplishments and tried to attend all of his jumps, including Knievel’s 1989 successful one over the Caesars Palace fountains in Las Vegas. In 1967, his father had attempted the same jump and almost died from the injuries he sustained when he crashed his Harley-Davidson.
“Daredevils don’t live easy lives,” his brother said. “But, it’s what they do.”
Kelly Knievel said his brother should be remembered for what he did best.
“He was a great daredevil,” he said. “If you look at his jumps, that’s what he should be known for. It’s what he loved doing.”
Evel Knievel died in 2007 at the age of 69 after years of battling diabetes and pulmonary fibrosis.
Robbie Knievel is survived by his three daughters, five grandchildren, his older brother Kelly and two sisters, and his mother, Linda.
