J. N. Roberts

Last updated
James Nelson Roberts
Born
James Nelson Roberts

1942 (age 81–82)
Indiana, United States
Other namesJ. N. Roberts
Occupation(s)Motorcycle racer, film industry stuntman
Years active1969–1997

James Nelson "J. N." Roberts (born 1942), is an American former professional off-road and enduro motorcycle racer and a film industry stuntman. [1] [2] In the 1960s and early 1970s, he was a dominant motorcycle competitor in American desert racing centered in the Mojave Desert of Southern California. [3] At one point in his desert racing career, Roberts won 27 consecutive desert races, earning him the unofficial nickname of King of the Desert. [4] [5] Roberts was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999 and, into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009. [1] [3] He is also a member of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame. [6]

Contents

Desert racing career

Roberts grew up near Evansville, Indiana and moved to Southern California in the 1960s after serving in Okinawa with the United States Marine Corps. [4] [7] He worked as a carpenter on film sets at Universal Studios and, began competing in off-road desert motorcycle races during his spare time. [4]

When Roberts began his desert racing career in the early 1960s, most desert racers preferred heavy, ungainly, British parallel twin cylinder motorcycles. [3] He was among the first desert racers to adopt lighter motorcycles with single cylinder, two-stroke engines. [3] [8] Despite the horsepower advantage of the larger motorcycles, Roberts' Husqvarna motorcycle weighed only 245 pounds making it more nimble and agile than the larger motorcycles. [7] Where riders of larger motorcycles tended to use speed and momentum to plough through desert obstacles, Roberts appeared to be dancing away from obstacles, standing upright on the foot pegs, rarely sitting down. [7] He began recording victories in the huge AMA District 37 desert races against as many as 1,000 competitors. [3] [4] [8]

Roberts teamed with Malcolm Smith to win the motorcycle division in the 1967 Mexican 1000, later to be known as the Baja 1000. [3] [8] He won the Barstow to Vegas desert race four times in a row. [1] [9] He also won the Mint 400, the Baja 500 and the Baja 1000 twice each. [10] [11] Roberts also represented the United States at the 1971 and 1972 International Six Days Trial. [12] [13] The International Six Days Trial is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics that is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the FIM, dating back to 1913. [14]

Roberts pioneered a number of safety innovations in the field of off-road racing. He did this by incorporating protective gear from other sports with his own: bolting a football helmet face guard to his motorcycle helmet, wearing football shoulder pads, as well as a baseball catcher's shin guards). These changes were considered to be the first steps in the evolution of modern safety equipment. [7]

Film industry career

Following in the footsteps of fellow Motorcycle Hall of Fame members Carey Loftin and Bud Ekins, Roberts began to work in the film industry where his riding talents made him useful as a stuntman. [8] During his desert racing career, Roberts became acquainted with fellow motorcyclist and future film director, Hal Needham. [7] After Needham had established himself as a successful director, he discovered that Roberts was a carpenter at Universal Studios, and decided to help Roberts become a stuntman. [7] Needham helped Roberts get a job on the film Little Big Man (1970), where he dressed and painted up to portray one of the Sioux and Cheyenne who attacked General Custer in the film. [7] [15] Roberts impressed observers with a motorcycle stunt in the film Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came (1970) and, doubled for Paul Newman for motorcycle scenes in the film, Sometimes a Great Notion (1970). [2] His best known stunt work occurred during motorcycle chase scenes in the Charles Bronson films The Mechanic (1972) and The Stone Killer (1973). [2]

As his career progressed, he moved from specializing in horses to specializing in violent car chases and crashes. [2] Roberts also had small acting roles in thirteen films. [15] Needham inducted Roberts into the Viewfinders motorcycle club, an extremely exclusive club of fellow stuntmen and Hollywood actors who also competed in motorcycle desert races. Other members included Needham, Pernell Roberts from Bonanza and Steve McQueen. [7]

Awards

Roberts was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 1999. [1] In 2009, Roberts was inducted into the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame. [3]

Roberts appeared in the motorcycle documentary films On Any Sunday (1971), Dust to Glory (2005), and in Full Circle, The Legend Lives (2008). [3] [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Rainey</span> American motorcycle racer (born 1960)

Wayne Wesley Rainey is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding style, and for his intense rivalry with compatriot Kevin Schwantz, between 1987 and 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baja 1000</span> Off-road race that takes place on Mexicos Baja California Peninsula

The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearlman in 1967 and is sanctioned by SCORE International. The race is the final round of a four-race annual series, which also includes the San Felipe 250, the Baja 400 and the Baja 500. The 2017 Baja 1000 marked the 50th anniversary of the race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ivan Stewart</span> USA racing driver

Ivan "Ironman" Stewart is an American professional off road racing driver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Smith (motorcyclist)</span> American motorcycle racer

Malcolm Smith is a Canadian-American off-road racer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walker Evans (racing driver)</span> American racing driver

Roger Walker Evans is an American former professional off road racing driver and member of the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was also a driver and owner in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Nicknamed "The Legend", he is the father of off-road racer Evan Evans. He resides in Riverside, California.

The Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame dedicated to notable competitors and contributors of off-road racing in North America. ORMHOF has an extensive digital collection of off-road related materials and maintains a collection of off-road vehicles that are on display at major automotive museums around the United States.

James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins was an American professional stuntman in the U.S. film industry. He is considered to be one of the film industry's most accomplished stuntmen with a body of work that includes classic films such as The Great Escape and Bullitt. Ekins, acting as stunt double for Steve McQueen while filming The Great Escape, was the rider who performed what is considered to be one of the most famous motorcycle stunts ever performed in a movie. He was recognized for his stunt work by being inducted into the Stuntmen's Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Johnson</span> American motorcycle racer

Richard Bernard "Ricky" Johnson Jr. is an American former professional motocross, off-road truck and stock car racer. He competed in AMA motocross and Supercross during the 1980s and, won seven AMA national championships. He later switched to off-road racing. He won the Pro 2WD Trophy Truck championship in the 1998 Championship Off-Road Racing and 2010 TORC Series. He also won the Pro 4WD class at the 2011 and 2012 TORC Series. In September 2012, Johnson won the 4x4 world championship race at Crandon International Off-Road Raceway and later that day won the AMSOIL Cup pitting the two and four wheel drive trucks. Johnson won the 2014 Frozen Rush, the first short-course off-road race on snow.

Yvon Duhamel was a French Canadian professional motorcycle and snowmobile racer. A six-time winner of the White Trophy, the highest award in Canadian motorcycle racing, he was one of the most accomplished motorcycle racers in Canadian motorsports history. His motorcycle racing career spanned the transition from the 60 horsepower four-stroke motorcycles of the 1960s, to the 100 horsepower two-stroke motorcycles of the 1970s. Duhamel was a versatile rider competing in numerous motorcycle racing disciplines including; trials, motocross, ice racing, drag racing, flat track racing and most prominently in road racing as a member of the Kawasaki factory racing team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rod Hall (racer)</span> American racing driver (died 2019)

Rod Hall was an American professional off-road racer. He was inducted in the Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2005. He has spent his entire adult life around four-wheel-drive vehicles. He competed in fifty straight Baja 1000 races and had class wins in 25 of them. At his death, he had the most desert off-road race wins.

Ron Bishop was an American off-road motorcycle racer. He was a long-term participant in the Baja 1000 and other desert off-road races.

David Lawrence Ekins is an American off-road motorcycle racer who pioneered the sport of desert racing in the 1950s. He was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.

Mike Baldwin is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.

Larry Roeseler is an American professional off-road racer. He is notable for having won the prestigious Baja 1000 desert race a record 13 times, the most of any competitor since the race's inception in 1967. His victories made him one of the most accomplished multi-discipline desert racers in off-road racing history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A Day in the Dirt Motocross Grand Prix</span>

A Day in the Dirt Motocross Grand Prix is an annual motocross event held on Thanksgiving weekend, in California, United States. The races are notable for their participants, ranging from Hollywood film and stunt industry professionals like Mike "Mouse" McCoy and Alisa Hensley-Lane, to racing legends such as Ricky Johnson, Jeff Ward, Ron Lechein, Jeremy McGrath, J.N. Roberts, Eric Kehoe, Eddie Mulder, Mike Kiedrrowski, Ryan Hughes, Jeff Emig, Broc Glover, Mike Bell, Micky Dymond, and John DeSoto. The races also attract extreme sports celebrities such as Ronnie Renner, Henry Wiles, Robie and Bret Peterson, Shaun Palmer, Dave Mirra, Mike Metzler, and Alexander Smith.

Bruce Ogilvie was an American off-road motorcycle racer. He was a top American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) District 37 desert racer, winner of multiple Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races, and a long-time manager of American Honda’s off-road race team. Ogilvie was posthumously inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2010.

Kurt William Caselli was an American professional off-road motorcycle racer. He was a three-time AMA Hare & Hound National Champion and the 2007 AMA Sportsman of the Year. He died in a racing accident during the 2013 Baja 1000 in Baja California, Mexico.

Mary McGee is an American motorsport racing pioneer. She was the first woman to compete in motorcycle road racing and motocross events in the United States. Starting out as a sports car racer, she competed in motorcycle road racing and motocross from 1960 to 1976, then began competition again in 2000 in vintage motocross events. Her last race was in 2012. In 2013, McGee was named an FIM Legend for her pioneering motorcycle racing career. She was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorcycle Roadracing Association</span>

The Motorcycle Roadracing Association (MRA) is a Colorado-based motorcycle racing club operating as a not-for-profit 501(c)(7) organization scheduling and holding competitive motorcycle roadracing events in the local area. Typical membership is composed of racers and associate members. Annual membership usually numbers about 350 with the majority being active racers.

Scot Harden is a professional off-road motorcycle racer. He has held managerial and executive positions at Husqvarna, KTM, BMW, and Zero Motorcycles.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "J.N. Roberts at the AMA Hall of Fame". motorcyclemuseum.org. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Freese, Gene Scott (2014). Hollywood Stunt Performers, 1910s-1970s. McFarland. ISBN   9780786476435 . Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "J.N. Roberts at the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame". ormhof.org. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "King of the Desert". cyclenews.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Living Legend: J.N. Roberts". thefasthouse.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  6. ↑ "Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame". stuntmen.org. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "J.N. Roberts" (PDF). joescalzowriter.com. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 "Malcolm Smith and JN Roberts Celebrate Their 70th Birthdays in Style". motorcyclistonline.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "Barstow to Vegas winners". thebannerisup.district37ama.org. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Baddest of the Bad - J.N. Roberts". thefasthouse.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Baja 1000 winners". motorsportsetc.com. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
  12. ↑ Assoc, American Motorcyclist (November 1971). The 1971 International Six Days Trial . Retrieved 1 February 2017.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  13. ↑ Assoc, American Motorcyclist (October 1972). Czech ISDT Organizers Order U.S. Team Revisions . Retrieved 1 February 2017.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  14. ↑ "History of the International Six Day Trials". ultimatemotorcycling.com. 25 October 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2019.
  15. 1 2 3 "J.N. Roberts at the IMDB database". imdb.com. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.