Knievel, ‘Evil’ (1938- )

US motorcycle stunt performer. He began doing motorcycle stunts as a teenager, then embarked on an incredibly varied career (1956-65) that included professional hockey, a stint in the US Army, work in the copper mines, and eventually crime (safecracking and armed holdups). Knievel went ‘straight’ in 1965, forming Evil Knievel's Motorcycle Devils. He performed numerous dangerous stunts and became a hero to schoolchildren of the 1970s. Raised by his grandparents, Knievel was born in Butte, a copper-mining town in Montana. After he retired, he managed the stunt career of his son, Robbie Knievel.