Philippe Petit Wiki: Salary, Married, Wedding, Spouse, Family
Philippe Petit (French pronunciation: [filip pəti]; born 13 August 1949) is a French high-wire artist who gained fame in 1974 for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, on the morning of 7 August. For his unauthorized feat (which he referred to as "le coup") 1350 feet above the ground, he rigged a 450-pound (200-kilogram) cable and used a custom-made 26-foot (8-metre) long, 55-pound (25-kilogram) balancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The next week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for his doing a performance in Central Park for children.Since then, Petit has lived in New York, where he has been artist-in-residence at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, also a location of other aerial performances. He has done wire walking as part of official celebrations in New York, across the United States, and in France and other countries, as well as teaching workshops on the art. In 2008, Man on Wire, a documentary directed by James Marsh about Petit's walk between the towers, won numerous awards. He was also the subject of a children's book and an animated adaptation of it, released in 2005. The song "Man On A Wire" by The Script on their fourth album, No Sound Without Silence, is influenced by Petit's high-wire legacy.Peti was born in Nemours, Seine-et-Marne, France; his father Edmond Petit was an author and a former Army pilot. At an early age, the boy discovered magic and juggling. He loved to climb, and at 16, he took his first steps on a tightrope wire. Petit learned everything by himself, during a period when he was also expelled from five different schools."Within one year," he told a reporter, "I taught myself to do all the things you could do on a wire. I learned the backward somersault, the front somersault, the unicycle, the bicycle, the chair on the wire, jumping through hoops. But I thought, 'What is the big deal here? It looks almost ugly.' So I started to discard those tricks and to reinvent my art."He also became adept at equestrianism, fencing, carpentry, rock-climbing, and the art of bullfighting. Spurning circuses and their formulaic performances, he created his street persona on the sidewalks of Paris. In the early 1970s, he visited New York City, where he frequently juggled and worked on a slack rope in Washington Square Park.
The Walk, Man on Wire, Mondo, Niagara: Miracles, Myths and Magic, One Armed Man
Star Sign
Leo
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Quote
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[on future plans] One of those dreams of mine is to walk in that beautiful place called Easter Island and to involve my wire to encompass in the theatrical presentation the beautiful statue called the Moai and to involve in my presentation the Rapa Nui who live on the island to be part of the celebration and the show. That is the very mysterious almost mystic performance I would like to put together. For that, I need the help of producers, but by talking about it someday I will meet somebody who will say, okay, let's construct that dream. Let's make it happen.[Oct.2015]
2
We live in a world where our senses are dulled by so many images, where we surrender ourselves to little robots. I hate my century, I hate what's going on around me, so I don't participate. I don't have a laptop, I don't have a cellphone, I can't send an email. I'm an imbecile! But I say that with pride.
3
It's an irony to be both poor and famous, but that's what I am. As far as money goes, I'm usually in a disaster situation, just barely afloat. I helped a benefit committee raise half a million dollars, but I couldn't afford the taxi home. I get lots of offers to walk the high wire, but I choose what I say yes to. I've been a street juggler for ten years...and, yes, I pass my hat....I have no shame. Last winter, I demolished a house for $5 an hour. And I wash windows very well. [1986]
4
I don't have respect for people who walk on the wire with any kind of safety net. I don't really like the fact that if you fall you die, but it's part of what the wire is.
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Fact
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Philippe's father wanted him to enter a military career, but when he was given a magic set for Christmas at the age of six, there was no looking back. He didn't care for school (and was expelled from five of them), and ran away from home at the age of 15. In Paris he became a street performer, juggler, mime, and unicyclist, and taught himself aerialism by walking across a rope between two trees in a park by the Seine.
2
Traversed a 1,350 foot high, one-inch wide cable stretched across the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974. He crossed the 131 foot long cable 8 times in 45 minutes.
