Philippe Petit facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Philippe Petit
Petit in 2009 at the 81st Academy Awards
Born	(1949-08-13) 13 August 1949 (age 75) Nemours, Seine-et-Marne, France
Occupation	Highwire artist
Spouse(s)	Kathy O'Donnell

Philippe Petit (born August 13, 1949) is a French highwire artist. He became famous for his amazing and unauthorized walks on a wire high above the ground. Some of his most well-known walks include those between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in 1971 and the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1973.

His most famous feat was in August 1974, when he walked between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. Since then, Petit has lived in New York. He continues to perform and teach about wire walking. His incredible walk between the Twin Towers was even made into a famous documentary film called Man on Wire and a movie called The Walk.

Petit is also skilled in many other areas, like riding horses, juggling, and rock-climbing. He didn't like traditional circuses, so he created his own unique performances on the streets of Paris. In the early 1970s, he visited New York City, where he often juggled and practiced on a slackline in Washington Square Park.

Early Life and Amazing Feats

Petit was born in Nemours, France. His father was an author and an Army pilot. From a young age, Petit loved magic and juggling. He also enjoyed climbing anything he could.

When he was 16, he took his first steps on a tightrope wire. He quickly learned many tricks, like somersaults and riding a unicycle on the wire. But he wanted to create something more artistic and special. He decided to invent his own unique style of wire walking.

In June 1971, Petit secretly set up a cable between the two towers of Notre-Dame de Paris. On the morning of June 26, 1971, he walked across the wire. He even juggled balls and pranced back and forth. Crowds gathered below, cheering him on.

The World Trade Center Walk

In 1974, Petit tightroped across a street in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Petit became well-known in New York City in the early 1970s. He often performed tightrope walks and magic shows in city parks. His most famous performance happened in August 1974. He walked on a wire between the roofs of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. These towers were in New York City and stood about 400 meters (1,312 feet) above the ground.

At the time, the towers were still being built and were not fully open. Petit performed for 45 minutes, crossing the wire eight times. He walked, danced, lay down, and even knelt to wave to the people below. Office workers, construction crews, and police officers watched and cheered him on.

Planning the "Artistic Crime"

Petit first thought of this amazing idea when he was 18 years old. He read about the plans for the Twin Towers in a magazine in 1968. He was sitting at a dentist's office when he saw the drawings.

This "artistic crime of the century" took Petit six years to plan. During this time, he learned everything he could about the buildings. He also started performing highwire walks in other famous places. He would secretly set up his wire for these public shows. In 1971, he walked between the towers of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. In 1973, he walked a wire between the two north pylons of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

For the Twin Towers walk, Petit had to figure out many things. He needed to know how the tall towers swayed in the wind. He also had to understand how wind and weather would affect the wire at such a great height. He planned how to string a 200-foot (61-meter) steel cable across the 138-foot (42-meter) gap between the towers. The wire would be 1,368 feet (417 meters) high. He also had to figure out how to get himself and his team into the buildings.

Petit visited New York many times to study the towers up close. He and a friend even rented a helicopter to take pictures of the buildings from above. Two other friends helped him practice in France. They also came with him to help set up the wire for the final walk. Another friend helped pay for the project.

Petit and his team secretly entered the towers several times. They hid on upper floors and roofs to learn about security. They also studied the building's structure to find places to anchor the wire. Petit even built a small model of the towers to design the special equipment needed for the walk.

To get into the buildings, Petit made fake ID cards for himself and his friends. They pretended to be contractors installing a fence on the roof. Before this, Petit had carefully watched what construction workers wore and what tools they carried. He also noticed what office workers wore. This helped his friends pretend to be white-collar workers. He also watched when workers arrived and left, so he knew when the roof would be clear.

A 1974 ad for Hess's, showing Petit's walk across the Twin Towers.

As the day of his walk got closer, he pretended to be a journalist. He said he worked for a French architecture magazine. This allowed him to interview workers on the roof. He used these interviews to make more observations.

On the night of August 6, 1974, Petit and his team got lucky. They got a ride in a freight elevator to the 104th floor with their equipment. They stored it just below the roof. To get the cable across the gap, Petit and his team used a bow and arrow. They shot a thin fishing line across first. This line was attached to larger ropes, and finally to the heavy 450-pound (204 kg) steel cable. The team faced a delay when the heavy cable dropped too fast. They had to pull it up by hand for hours. Petit had already chosen spots to attach smaller ropes to stabilize the main wire. This would keep it from swaying too much.

The Event

Shortly after 8 AM, Petit stepped out onto the wire. He was about 1,350 feet (411 meters) above the ground. He performed for 45 minutes. He crossed the wire eight times. During his walk, he danced, lay down, and knelt to wave to the crowds. People gathered on the streets below, looking up in awe. He later said he could hear their murmuring and cheers.

Police officers from New York City and the Port Authority soon learned about his stunt. They went to the roofs of both buildings to try to get him off the wire. They even threatened to use a helicopter to pick him up. Petit felt he had "trespassed long enough." Also, the wire was starting to get slippery because of rain. So, Petit left the wire and gave himself up to the police.

After the Walk

News about Petit's highwire walk spread everywhere. People were amazed and loved his performance. The district attorney decided not to charge him with trespassing. Instead, Petit agreed to give a free show for children in Central Park. On August 29, he performed a highwire walk in the park over Turtle Pond.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey gave Petit a special pass. It allowed him to visit the Twin Towers' observation deck for the rest of his life. He even signed a steel beam near where he started his walk. Sadly, this beam was destroyed when the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001.

Petit's highwire walk helped the Twin Towers become more popular. At first, many people didn't like the towers. Some critics thought they were ugly and too big for the area. The Port Authority was having trouble renting out all the office space. Petit's amazing stunt brought a lot of positive attention and even affection to the buildings.

Stories and Films About Petit

Petit's World Trade Center stunt was featured in a 1984 documentary called High Wire. It had music by the famous composer Philip Glass.

Mordicai Gerstein wrote and drew a children's book about the walk. It was called The Man Who Walked Between the Towers (2003). This book won an award for its art. It was also made into a short animated film in 2005, which won several awards.

The documentary film Man on Wire (2008) tells the whole story of Petit's 1974 walk. It won many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Documentary in 2008. When Petit accepted the Oscar, he made a coin disappear in his hand! He then balanced the Oscar on his chin, making the audience cheer.

The same stunt was also made into a movie called The Walk (2015). It was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Philippe Petit.

Author Colum McCann also included Petit's walk in his 2009 novel Let the Great World Spin.

Later Life and Other Performances

Petit has done many public highwire performances throughout his career. For example, in 1986, he recreated a famous crossing of the Niagara River for an IMAX film. In 1989, he was invited to walk an inclined wire from the ground to the second level of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. This was part of the celebration for the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution.

Petit briefly worked with the Ringling Brothers Circus. However, he preferred to create his own shows. During his time with the circus, he had his only fall. It happened during a practice walk, not a performance. He fell 45 feet (14 meters) and broke several ribs. He says he has never fallen during a real performance. "If I had," he said, "I wouldn't be here talking about it."

Petit often gives talks and workshops around the world. He has even built a barn in the Catskill Mountains using old building methods. He has also written several books about his art and ideas. Petit lives in New York City, where he is an artist at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. He also spends time in his hideaway in the Catskill Mountains.

Petit wrote a book called To Reach the Clouds (2002) about his Twin Towers walk. In the book, he also shared his feelings after the September 11 attacks. He wrote that on that morning, "My towers became our towers. I saw them collapse – hurling, crushing thousands of lives." He felt great sadness for the buildings and anger for the loss of life. Petit honored those who died and supported rebuilding the towers. He hoped to walk again if new towers were built. However, a different set of buildings has been built on the site, so that opportunity is not there.

Awards and Recognition

• James Parks Morton Interfaith Award
• Streb Action Maverick Award
• The Byrdcliffe Award

Major Performances

Films About Philippe Petit

Images for kids

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  1974 Hess's ad, with an image of Petit's walk across the Twin Towers