Robbie Knievel's Dying Regret: Courageous Son Of Legendary Stuntman Couldn't Escape Shadow Cast By 'Hell-Raising' Dad
Jan. 25 2023, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Robbie Knievel, the daredevil son of Evel Knievel, had followed in his father's footsteps but insiders said he couldn't escape the shadow cast by his "hell-raising" dad prior to his death at 60.
RadarOnline.com has learned that Robbie hoped of garnering the level of fame that Evel did, but was still proud of what he accomplished before passing away from pancreatic cancer.
"Robbie did do better than Evel with most of his jumps, but he never got the widespread acclaim," a source explained.
Robbie proved he was a force to be reckoned with by successfully landing the death-defying jump over the Caesars Palace fountains, sending the audience into an excitable frenzy years after his father attempted the same leap in a stunt-gone-wrong that broke numerous bones in his body and put Evel in a coma for nearly a month.
"Show 'em who the best in the world is," Evel had said in support of his son.
Prior to Robbie's run, Evel attempted the jump in 1967 and Gary Wells made his own unsuccessful attempt in 1980. Robbie later said that after he landed smoothly, his father was overcome with emotion and came up to him with tears in his eyes.
Over the years, Robbie also made an incredible jump across the Grand Canyon in a feat his dad longed to do but never accomplished.
Throughout his 30-year career, Robbie landed more than 350 jumps and broke 20 world records, notably leaping between two 13-story towers in Las Vegas in 1999 and over five military airplanes on the deck of the USS Intrepid in 2004.
"Robbie was driven his entire life to surpass his dad," the source claimed.
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Although they would wow the crowds together, the source claimed the father-son duo would have a "stormy, combative" relationship at times but luckily, they reconciled in Evel's final years before he died of pulmonary disease in 2007.
One of Robbie's favorite moments with his fathers was when they met up at Evel Knievel Days in Butte in 2006, according to his obituary.
At the time, Robbie had performed a jump as the main event to raise awareness for pulmonary fibrosis in the months leading up to his father's death.
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