The Niagara Falls Review has a great article about with some great photos of Jay Cochrane and Henry Rechatin, both of whom passed away last year. The world of tightrope walkers lost two of its giants in 2013 – Jay Cochrane and Henry Rechatin. Cochrane, who was born in 1944 and dubbed himself as “The…
From Yahoo! News: The celebrated French tightrope walker and chair-balancer known as Henry’s, who balanced high above the Alps, Niagara Falls and for months over a supermarket in his hometown, has died… At Niagara Falls in 1975, he balanced on a platform attached to a motorcycle that his friend rode across the cable over the…
Speaking of Nik Wallenda, apparently he won’t be walking over the Falls again… From the St Catharines Standard: Don’t expect to see Nik Wallenda back in Niagara Falls for Round 2: Untethered. “I’d say no, not at all,” Niagara Parks Commission chairwoman Janice Thomson said when asked if there’s a chance the tightrope walker will return to…
From the Buffalo News: With workman-like precision, Jay Cochrane put one soft-soled shoe four inches in front of the other across 1,300 feet of wire some 581 feet above the ground to walk into the record books Friday. The acclaimed wire-walker made the 31-minute trek from the Skylon Tower to the Hilton Fallsview Hotel’s north…
This isn’t directly Niagara Falls related, but it is still interesting… From the Nelson Star: This month, stuntman Nik Wallenda became the first person in over 110 years to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. One person who would have known the feeling was William Leonard Hunt, aka the Great Farini, an American-born, Canadian-raised daredevil…
From IBTraveler: Officials banned stuntmen and daredevils from turning Niagara Falls into a circus over a century ago, but on Friday night, tightrope walker Nik Wallenda became the first of his generation to tackle the world’s most famous falls — and he did so on prime time TV with official support. The daredevil remained unnaturally…
From UPI: Canadian and American authorities have a backup plan to rescue tightrope walker Nik Wallenda should he be stranded during his walk across Niagara Falls. The plan is a backup to Wallenda’s own rescue plan, which would use a system of pulleys and baskets, The Buffalo (N.Y.) News reported Saturday. “One of the conditions…
From CTV News: Officials have unveiled the safety plan they have prepared for a risky tightrope walk across Niagara Falls next week. The high profile event, scheduled for June 15, will be performed by tightrope walker Nick Wallenda, and is expected to attract unprecedented crowds to the Falls. Niagara Parks Police Chief Douglas Kane said…
Nik Wallenda will be practicing for his big walk in an area by the Seneca Niagara Casino. He has already had one session, and many outlets have reported on it: CTV – Tightrope walker begins practicing for Niagara stunt – this is probably the best report. It has a video of a telephone interview that…
From the Globe and Mail: He has hung by his jaw from a helicopter without a safety net. He holds a Guinness World Record for the longest bicycle ride on a tightrope. And this summer, he plans to make history by walking on a tightrope across the Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, Ont. “It’s a…