James Nelson "J. N." Roberts (born 1942), is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
former professional
off-road and
enduro
Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is ...
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
racer and a film industry
stuntman.
In the 1960s and early 1970s, he was a dominant motorcycle competitor in American
desert racing
Desert racing is the act of racing through the desert in a two- or four-wheeled off-road vehicle. Races, which generally consist of two or more loops around a course covering up to , can take the form of Hare and Hound or Hare scramble style eve ...
centered in the
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
.
At one point in his desert racing career, Roberts won 27 consecutive desert races, earning him the unofficial nickname of King of the Desert.
Roberts was inducted into the
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycle ...
in 1999 and, into the
Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2009.
He is also a member of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame.
Desert racing career
Roberts grew up near
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
and moved to
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
in the 1960s after serving in Okinawa with the
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
.
He worked as a carpenter on film sets at
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
and, began competing in off-road desert motorcycle races during his spare time.
When Roberts began his desert racing career in the early 1960s, most desert racers preferred heavy, ungainly, British
parallel twin
A straight-twin engine, also known as an inline-twin, vertical-twin, or parallel-twin, is a two-cylinder piston engine whose cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft.
Straight-twin engines are primarily used in motorcycles; ot ...
cylinder motorcycles.
He was among the first desert racers to adopt lighter motorcycles with single cylinder,
two-stroke engine
A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...
s.
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.
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.
He began recording victories in the huge
AMA District 37 desert races against as many as 1,000 competitors.
Roberts teamed with
Malcolm Smith to win the motorcycle division in the 1967
Mexican 1000, later to be known as the Baja 1000.
He won the Barstow to Vegas desert race four times in a row.
He also won the
Mint 400
The Mint 400 is an annual American desert off-road race which takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was resumed in 2008 after a 20-year hiatus.
The race was for both motorcycles, until 1977, and four-wheel vehicles ( buggies, cars and trucks) s ...
three times and the
Baja 500 The Baja 500 is a Mexican off-road motorsport race on the Baja California Peninsula that is sanctioned by SCORE International. The course has remained relatively the same over the years with the majority of events being a loop race starting and fi ...
and the
Baja 1000 twice each. Roberts also represented the United States at the 1971 and 1972
International Six Days Trial. The International Six Days Trial is a form of off-road motorcycle Olympics that is the oldest annual competition sanctioned by the
FIM
FIM may refer to:
Organizations and companies
* Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme, the International Motorcycling Federation
* Flint Institute of Music, in Michigan, United States
* Fox Interactive Media, now News Corp. Digital Media
* ...
, dating back to 1913.
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.
Film industry career
Following in the footsteps of fellow Motorcycle Hall of Fame members
Carey Loftin
William Carey Loftin (January 31, 1914 – March 4, 1997, a.k.a. Cary Loftin, Carry Loftin, Carey Lofton, Gary Loftin, William Carey Loftin) was an American professional stuntman, stunt coordinator and actor in the U.S. film industry. He is ...
and
Bud Ekins
James Sherwin "Bud" Ekins (May 11, 1930 – October 6, 2007) 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 classi ...
, Roberts began to work in the
film industry
The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...
where his riding talents made him useful as a stuntman.
During his desert racing career, Roberts became acquainted with fellow motorcyclist and future film director,
Hal Needham
Hal Brett Needham (March 6, 1931 – October 25, 2013) was an American stuntman, film director, actor, writer, and NASCAR team owner. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with actor Burt Reynolds, usually in films involving fast c ...
.
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.
Needham helped Roberts get a job on the film ''
Little Big Man
Little Big Man ( Lakota: Wičháša Tȟáŋkala), or Charging Bear, was an Oglala Lakota, or Oglala Sioux, who was a fearless and respected warrior who fought under, and was distant cousin to, Crazy Horse ("His-Horse-Is-Crazy"). He opposed the 186 ...
'' (1970), where he dressed and painted up to portray one of the Sioux and Cheyenne who attacked General Custer in the film.
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
''Sometimes a Great Notion'' is the second novel by American author Ken Kesey, published in 1964. While ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1962) is more famous, many critics consider ''Sometimes a Great Notion'' Kesey's magnum opus. The story i ...
'' (1970).
His best known stunt work occurred during motorcycle chase scenes in the
Charles Bronson films ''
The Mechanic'' (1972) and ''
The Stone Killer
''The Stone Killer'' is a 1973 American action neo noir thriller film produced and directed by Michael Winner and starring Charles Bronson. It came out in between '' The Mechanic'' (1972) and ''Death Wish'' (1974), all three of which teamed up ac ...
'' (1973).
As his career progressed, he moved from specializing in horses to specializing in violent car chases and crashes.
Roberts also had small acting roles in thirteen films.
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
Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartw ...
from Bonanza and
Steve McQueen.
Awards
Roberts was inducted into the
AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame
The AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame Museum is an offshoot of the American Motorcyclist Association, recognizing individuals who have contributed to motorcycle sport, motorcycle construction, or motorcycling in general. It also displays motorcycle ...
in 1999.
In 2009, Roberts was inducted into the
Off-road Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Roberts appeared in the motorcycle documentary films
On Any Sunday
''On Any Sunday'' is a 1971 American documentary film about motorcycle sport, directed by Bruce Brown. It was nominated for a 1972 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. (1971),
Dust to Glory
''Dust to Glory'' is a 2005 documentary film about the Baja 1000 off-road race. Filming occurred throughout the 2003 event. The film is directed by Dana Brown of '' Step Into Liquid'' fame. The film was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro. The film score ...
(2005), and in Full Circle, The Legend Lives (2008).
References
External links
J.N. Roberts at the Motorcycle Hall of FameJ.N. Roberts at the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, J.N.
1942 births
Living people
American motorcycle racers
Off-road motorcycle racers
Enduro riders
Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana
Motorcycle racers from Los Angeles
People from Sylmar, Los Angeles
American stunt performers
Male actors from Indiana
American male film actors
United States Marines
Place of birth missing (living people)