'Man on Wire' Philippe Petit still risks it all at 73
Published on Mar 24, 2023 07:16 PM IST
Almost 50 years after his famed tight-rope walk between the Twin Towers in New York, Philippe Petit still has his head in the clouds. Clad in an orange shirt and red suspenders, the 73-year-old French native peers across the vast lobby of a Washington museum, the site of his next exploit. Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out a short red string. "Sometimes I stop and say, 'It would be nice to put a wire there,'" he told AFP, showing how he holds it out at arm's length to get a sense of the set up. Even at his age, Petit still plans to make the walk without a safety net or harness.
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Published on Mar 24, 2023 07:16 PM IST
Philippe Petit, the French high wire artist, performs during his show "Wonder on the Wire," A feature film, "The Walk" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and the Oscar-winning documentary "Man on Wire" tell the historic story of his 1974 crossing, under the wide eyes of New York pedestrians and police. Tired of being reduced to those few minutes, he prefers to bring up other moments from his “life of passion”, reported AFP. ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
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Petit (R) makes preparations ahead of his performance in the Great Hall of the National Building Museum in Washington, DC on March 21. At 50 feet (15 meters), his high-wire act in Washington will be at a much lower height than the 1,350-foot World Trade Center skyscrapers - but the risk of death certainly remains, reported AFP.(Richard Pierrin / AFP)
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Philippe Petit began prepping for the event years in advance. Next to where the cable is anchored to a wall, lies a thick notebook containing hundreds of detailed sketches and calculations, reported AFP.(Richard Pierrin / AFP)
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Philippe Petit, the French high wire artist, walks on a high wire during his show "Wonder on the Wire," at the National Building Museum on March 23, in Washington DC. Even at his advanced age, Petit still plans to make the walk without safety net or harness, reported AFP. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
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Petit, best known for his walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, performed on a high wire, 50 feet above the Great Hall at the National Building Museum, reported AFP. ( Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/AFP)
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Philippe Petit performs "Wonder on the Wire" above diners during a fundraiser at the National Building Museum on March 23. Petit says he keeps plans for possible tight-rope locations, "extraordinary places, canyons, icebergs, and incredible buildings" stored in a box at his home in New York state, where he has lived for decades. From childhood, "I started not following the lead of authority," he said, describing how he climbed everywhere -- on kitchen chairs, in the trees, reported AFP.(Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
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Published on Mar 24, 2023 07:16 PM IST