Philippe Petit

Philippe Petit is a French-born acrobat who made headlines in 1974 by performing an illegal high-wire walk 1,350 feet above the ground across a steel cable strung between the two towers of the World Trade Center.New York Post: Philippe Petit Interview (July 13, 2008)

Petit claims that he fell in love with the buildings after seeing a photograph of them while sitting in a dentist's office in 1968. For the next six years he planned his high-wire escapade by posing as a journalist seeking to examine the towers and with the help of friends. On the night of August 6, 1974, Petit and two friends sneaked into the towers. In order to string the heavy steel cable between the towers, they had to first shoot a bow and arrow with a wire attached from one tower to another and then string successive wires across until the bundle could support the cable.The Guardian: Touching the Void (January 19, 2003)

At a little past seven o'clock in the morning on August 7th, Petit walked out onto the wire and for forty-five minutes walked and danced seemingly in mid-air 1,350 feet above the ground.New York Post: Philippe Petit Interview (July 13, 2008) New York: A Documentary Film: The Center of the World: Philippe Petit Petit's illegal walk made him into an instant folk hero and all charges against him were dropped.New York: A Documentary Film: The Center of the World: Philippe Petit In 2008, a documentary film about his exploit premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.