Philippe Petit: biography of the great rope-walker

Philippe Petit, whose biography will be presented in this article, is a famous French rope walker. His popularity he gained thanks to two performances: on the towers of Notre Dame and the World Trade Center. In the latter case, he spent on the rope stretched between the buildings, as much as 45 minutes.

Childhood

In August 1949, a son appeared in the family of the writer and former pilot Edmond Petit. The boy was called Philip. From childhood he was attracted by all the mysterious and magical. Philip was not a particularly successful student, but with great pleasure demonstrated to the people around the foci. To study, the boy did not have a soul at all: for a year he was expelled from five different schools. For the first time Petya got on the rope at the age of 16. And the subsequent event only strengthened in him the desire to engage in this kind of circus balancing act.

Finding a dream

It happened when the tightrope walker Philippe Petit crossed the threshold of a Paris dental clinic. In the dim reception room, a 17-year-old boy flipped through the magazines waiting for the doctor. In one of the publications, he found a photo of two giant towers, the construction of which was soon to begin in Manhattan. Imagination of Philip immediately drew him walking on a tightrope, stretched between these buildings at an altitude of 415 meters. Having pretended to sneeze, Petit pulled out a page from the magazine and ran out into the street. After all, toothache is not compared to a dream.

The first performances

In the early 70-ies Philippe Petit, whose biography is known to any rope walker, organized his first performance. As a place he chose the New York Park "Washington Square". In front of hundreds of idlers, Philippe walked along a tightrope stretched between the two towers of Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1973, he repeated the same trick in Australia. This time the rope was stretched between the pylons of the Sydney Harbor Bridge Bridge.

Crime of the century

January 1974 - this is the date that Philippe Petit planned for coming to America. The twin towers were already built. Inside of them there were finishing works. The hero of this article flew to the United States to implement his idea. On forged documents, he made his way to the roof of one of the towers. The second building could hardly be seen in the morning haze. In the head of Philip crept in the thought that all this is insane and just suicidal. But there was no turning back, as the young man had already informed all his friends about his idea.

Preparing for a trick

To realize the grandiose and insane plan, Philippe Petit, whose biography is an example for imitation for any circus balancer, gathered a whole team. Everything was like an espionage operation or the organization of a robbery: forged documents and biographies, the highest conspiracy, trucks with equipment, etc. The whole props rose on the roof in parts. Members of Petit's team have made several "walkers" for this. And to throw the rope from one tower to another, I had to release an arrow with a fishing line. It already stretched all the rest.

Walking over the abyss

And then, early in the morning of August 7, 1974, the passers-by were riveted to a small black dot hanging between the two towers. Philip walked along the rope from one building to another. Periodically he got on his knee to greet the audience downstairs. On the roofs of both towers, policemen were already waiting for him. The arrest of the rope-walker passed under the loud applause of passers-by and the servants of the law. He spent 45 minutes on the rope.

Shield

Philip Petit, whose biography was presented in this article, became even more popular after two screen versions of his story. The first picture was published in 2009 and was called "Man on the Wire." She received the "Oscar" as the best documentary film. And in 2015 saw the light of the film "Walk", shot by the director Robert Zemeckis.