image of tight rope walker heading towards the stars

He told his manager to become one with himself, and not to try balancing on his own. The first time he carried someone on his back, he chose his own manager, Harry Colcord, admitting to his friend that the stunt could go poorly. Thousands of people, even including US presidents, watched in awe as he did what seemed impossible. Another stunt involved carrying people across in a wheelbarrow, his greatest passenger, however, was a lion! Though newspapers and writers like Mark Twain were not kind of Blondin-calling him reckless and an “adventurous ass”-the public at large was captivated by the morbid possibility of Blondin. He made the journey backward, blindfolded, in a sack, somersaulting, locked in chains, on stilts, and carrying people on his back. Niagara would become Blondin’s second home as he repeated the stunt numerous times adding evermore daring feats to the task. He always performed without nets or safety harnesses, believing they only invited trouble. Once he completed his crossing, he carried a daguerreotype camera back onto the rope to take a photo of the onlooking crowds. On his first attempt, he stopped midway to pull up a bottle of wine from a boat below and had a small drink standing above the dangerous waters. Merely walking across wasn’t enough for Blondin though. The rope was just two inches wide and spanned a 1,100-foot gap 160 feet above the raging water.

In 1859, he walked a tightrope spanning the Niagara Gorge and became the first successful tightrope walker to accomplish the stunt. He became known as the Great Blondin for his signature blond hair.Īfter a career in Europe, Blondin headed for North America to seek fame and fortune. Spending a lifetime performing miraculous stunts on a tightrope, he is considered the world’s greatest funambulist-tightrope walker-of the 19 th century.īeginning his career as an acrobat when he was just five years old, it took Blondin a mere six months to premiere as “The Boy Wonder.” His skill at gymnastics and natural affinity for grace quickly propelled him into the spotlight.

Charles Blondin was born Jean-Francois Gravelet in 1824 France.

Image of tight rope walker heading towards the stars