Practically 50 years on from the stunt that propelled him to worldwide fame, the tightrope walker Philippe Petit has hinted he’s nowhere close to retirement.
The Frenchman, 73, turned a worldwide sensation in 1974 when he illegally crossed between the Twin Towers in New York Metropolis with none security measures in place.
Now, his buddy Keith McNally, the proprietor of Baltazar Restaurant – who made headlines earlier this yr by saying he had banned James Corden from the institution – has revealed Petit is planning one other stunt quickly.
Sharing an image of a current meet up with the aerialist on Instagram, McNally revealed Petit will tightrope a 5 story excessive constructing in Washington DC within the coming months.
Practically 50 years after he tightroped between the Twin Towers in 1974, the aerialist Philippe Petit, now 73, is planning to tightrope a 5 story excessive constructing in Washington DC within the coming months
‘Tea with good buddy of 44 years, the well-known high-wire walker, and bravest man I’ve ever recognized, Philippe Petit.
‘Philippe’s planning one other stroll, 5 storeys excessive, in DC in just a few months. I’m contemplating becoming a member of him on the wire,’ McNally wrote on his Instagram account.
Philippe made a reputation for himself defying gravity on a number of events, together with his first stunt in 1971, the place he tightroped between the 2 towers of Notre-Dame de Paris within the French capital.
And after the cathedral burned in 2019, he revealed he ‘dreamed’ of crossing between its towers as soon as once more.
Petit gained worldwide fame after the World Commerce Centre stunt in 1974, the place he crossed 4 occasions and danced on the wire, even laying flat on the metal pole
He additionally revealed he considered tightroping the Petronas twin towers of Kuala Lumpur, that are 452m-high, however stated he could not do it with out permission.
‘A man with a ton of fabric, within the evening, on prime of a large tower. Do not you suppose they’d shoot earlier than asking questions?
‘We stay in a world that is so paranoid about safety.’ he instructed La Croix in the identical interview.
All through the Seventies, Petit multiplied headline-making stunts, together with crossing Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.
In 2020, he confirmed he had not misplaced any of his talents, with one video displaying himself using a bicycle on a tightrope in his yard
However it’s his 1974 illegally crossing between the Twin Towers that noticed him acquire worldwide consideration.
The artist first received the thought of crossing the towers in 1968 aged 18, when he learn an article in regards to the World Commerce Centre being inbuilt New York.
It took Petit six years and several other journeys to New York to plan for what he known as the ‘good inventive crime.’
He and his staff of buddies and photographers took benefit of the truth that the development of the towers wasn’t completely completed to enter the constructing posing as contractors and idiot safety.
Man on Wire, which was launched in 2008, tells the story of Petit’s crossing of the World Commerce Centre
They used fishnets and a bow and arrow to throw the tightrope from one tower to the opposite, and Petit used a 61m-long pole to maintain his stability in the course of the excercise.
The stunt lasted for 45 minutes, throughout which Petit crossed backwards and forwards between the Towers 4 occasions.
The New York Police Division and the New York Port Authority tried to persuade him to come back down from the rope, nonetheless, even they applauded as soon as he completed the present.
Whereas he was arrested after the stunt, the New York District Lawyer dropped the fees in opposition to Petit in change of a sequence of tightrope performances for kids in Central Park.
Tightroping the Twin Towers made Petit a star in a single day, and the story of the crossing has been the topic of two films, the documentary Man on Wire, in 2008 and the Hollywood retelling The Stroll, with Joseph Gordon Lewitt, in 2015.
Keith McNally, who owns the Baltazar restaurant in New York, revealed the venture Petit is engaged on in an Instagram publish
The tightrope walker, whose profession spans a long time, is as energetic in his 70s as he was in his 20s.
He instructed the French journal La Croix in 2019: ‘I believe I can do at this time what I did at 18.’
And the artist has been conserving match at house, the place he has been coaching for brand spanking new stunts away from the highlight.
In 2020, he confirmed he had not misplaced any of his talents, and shared a video of himself using a bicycle on a tightrope in his yard.
And in 2021, he disregarded his age by throwing away his glasses, saying he felt ‘so a lot better’ with out them.
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