Who is Nik Wallenda | High Wire Artist | Guinness World Record Holder
Ranked #5,041 in Entertainment, #62,720 overall
Canada OKs Plan to Walk across Niagra Falls
On Wednesday, February 15, 2012, Canada okayed the plan for Nik Wallenda to become the first person in history to ever walk directly over Niagra Falls. The tightrope walk will take place this summer.
On Friday, September 23, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving Nik Wallenda final approval to cross Niagra Falls on a tightrope. Apparently the desire to boost area tourism and confidence in Wallenda's abilities contributed to the decision.
Wallenda hopes to win Canadian approval as well so that his walk goes from the USA to Canada.
Jean Francois Gravelot, better known as "The Great Blondin," made 10 crossings beginning in 1859. The French acrobat added increasingly difficult obstacles during each stunt.
The daredevil stunt tentatively scheduled for May or June 2012 will air as part of Wallenda's reality show Life on a Wire, which premiered June 22, 2011, on the Discovery Channel.
Photo of Nik Wallenda: Louis Wery
On Friday, September 23, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill giving Nik Wallenda final approval to cross Niagra Falls on a tightrope. Apparently the desire to boost area tourism and confidence in Wallenda's abilities contributed to the decision.
Wallenda hopes to win Canadian approval as well so that his walk goes from the USA to Canada.
Jean Francois Gravelot, better known as "The Great Blondin," made 10 crossings beginning in 1859. The French acrobat added increasingly difficult obstacles during each stunt.
The daredevil stunt tentatively scheduled for May or June 2012 will air as part of Wallenda's reality show Life on a Wire, which premiered June 22, 2011, on the Discovery Channel.
Photo of Nik Wallenda: Louis Wery
Nik Wallenda
Born January 24, 1979
Sarasota, Florida USA
Nik Wallenda
Breaking News!
Senator Maziarz's News Conference regarding Nik Wallenda's quest to walk across Niagara Falls
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Nik Wallenda's Life on a Wire
Premiered June 22, 2011 on the Discovery Channel
Filmed June 4, 2011 for a future episode of LIFE ON A WIRE, footage from a balance pole cam captures seventh generation tightrope walker Nik Wallenda and his mother Delilah walking a high wire in Puerto Rico - the infamous walk that killed Nik's great grandfather Karl Wallenda in 1978. For more of LIFE ON A WIRE tune in to Discovery Channel June 22 at 10pm ET/PT.
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Wallendas Perform on Sway Poles
St Armands Circle Park, Sarasota, Florida USA
Nik Wallenda Skywalks in Sarasota
Celebrates Opening of Circus Sarasota
About 700 people held their breath as they watched Nik Wallenda glide along an inch-thick wire stretched about 200 feet above the ground between two tall buildings in downtown Sarasota, Florida on February 4, 2010. Weather conditions were a gusty 15 miles per hour.
About halfway through the skywalk, Wallenda began an uphill climb on the wire at a 15-foot incline to reach the top of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
Wallenda, age 31, gripped the wire wearing special shoes and completed his 600-foot-long skywalk carrying a 45-pound balancing pole. Fellow Sarasota-native and circus performer Bello Nock, the big-hair clown, helped Wallenda off the wire and onto the roof of the hotel.
The dramatic stunt drew attention to Wallenda's upcoming performances with Circus Sarasota, which took place during February 2010 in Sarasota, Florida and during March 2010 in Fort Myers, Florida. The highwire artist hopes to skywalk the Grand Canyon.
About halfway through the skywalk, Wallenda began an uphill climb on the wire at a 15-foot incline to reach the top of the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota.
Wallenda, age 31, gripped the wire wearing special shoes and completed his 600-foot-long skywalk carrying a 45-pound balancing pole. Fellow Sarasota-native and circus performer Bello Nock, the big-hair clown, helped Wallenda off the wire and onto the roof of the hotel.
The dramatic stunt drew attention to Wallenda's upcoming performances with Circus Sarasota, which took place during February 2010 in Sarasota, Florida and during March 2010 in Fort Myers, Florida. The highwire artist hopes to skywalk the Grand Canyon.
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More about Nik Wallenda
- Wallenda slides but rides in record stunt - TODAY People
- Just a few feet short of completing his world-record bike ride on a wire strung high over the streets of Newark, N.J., Nik Wallenda started to slide backward. But he completed the ride, then announced an even bolder stunt: "I'm going to walk across the Grand Canyon next spring."
- The daring young men on the flying... Wheel of Steel | Seattle Times Newspaper
- Daredevil artist Nikolas Wallenda, 28, is so comfortable on the high wire, he even proposed to his girlfriend up there.
- Fabulous Wallendas | FUNWORLD Magazine
- Picture yourself sitting neck deep in the wave pool at a park enjoying a really cool show. As you watch in amazement, a daring couple performs acrobatics 50 feet in the air. "When you come to a waterpark you don't expect to see a high-wire act, and then you don't expect to see one the caliber of the Wallendas," says Tony Brancazio, general manager of Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe in Greensboro, North Carolina, where the Fabulous Wallendas have performed for the past two years. "People tell their friends and word spreads and keeps building every year."
- With the Greatest of Ease | The New York Times
- THE Wheel of Death. To performers and audiences alike, this is the classic - and only - name for the enormous apparatus that spins menacingly under the spotlights in the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus.
- Nik Wallenda High Wire Walk
- Legendary high-wire acrobat Nik Wallenda takes thrills and chills to new heights on his 2009 Walk Across America Tour. Follow Nik as he performs awe-inspiring walks across some of the most popular amusement parks on the planet.
- High-wire daredevil Nik Wallenda makes Guinness Book of World Records in Newark, N.J. | lehighvalleylive.com
- It was a breathtaking act this Wednesday morning around 8:30, as high-wire daredevil Nik Wallenda -- seventh generation of the famous Wallenda family of tightrope walkers -- set a world record in riding a bicycle across a 235-foot wire suspended from two cranes some 135 feet in the air.
- Wallenda high-wire walk to soar above Sarasota | HeraldTribune.com
- The public will get a rare glimpse of the Wallenda daredevil legend on Thursday morning when Nik Wallenda walks a high wire without a net in downtown Sarasota. Weather permitting, at 9 a.m., the great grandson of Karl Wallenda is scheduled to begin...
- Nik Wallenda, of "Flying Wallendas" fame, will walk a high wire to honor his grandfather, Karl Wallenda | HeraldTribune.com
- Nik Wallenda, grandson of high-wire legend Karl Wallenda, readies for a 600-foot walk some 200 feet above downtown Sarasota
- Wallenda prepares for Thursday skywalk | HeraldTribune.com
- "This has always been a dream of mine," Nik Wallenda says of his skywalk planned for Thursday morning.
- A stroll high in the air | HeraldTribune.com
- The Wallenda family tradition of walking on high wires will continue Thursday at 9 a.m. when Nik Wallenda attempts to walk 600 feet on a wire strung 200 feet in the air between two Sarasota downtown landmarks. There will be no net below him. Weather...
- Nik Wallenda's daring high-wire act headlines Circus Sarasota | HeraldTribune.com
- It's quite apparent Nik Wallenda has been at the top of his game for some time. From first entering the record books in 2001 as part of an eight-person pyramid, to biking and walking across a high wire 135 feet above downtown Newark, N.J., on live...
- BREAKING: Wallenda finishes sky walk over Sarasota | HeraldTribune.com
- Seven hundred people craned their necks to watch high-wire artist Nik Wallenda break a world record on Thursday morning. The breeze kicked up a few times as Wallenda walked across a high wire strung between a condo tower and the Sarasota...
- UPDATE: Wallenda finishes sky walk over Sarasota | HeraldTribune.com
- Helicopters circle and the crowds roar Circus Sarasota performer Nik Wallenda as he nears completing his walk above downtown Sarasota.
- Tight Rope SRQ | G Gallery on Flickr
- Photos of Nik Wallenda walking between Watergate Tower & the Ritz Carlton in downtown Sarasota on February 4, 2010 to promote the circus and practice for his walk across the Grand Canyon. Excellent photos taken by Chris of Sarasota.
- Wallenda skywalk stirs a circus city | HeraldTribune.com
- SARASOTA - For 12 stunning minutes, framed against a ghostly half-moon in a sky brushstroked in cirrus clouds, Nik Wallenda took his place amid wheeling birds and fulfilled a lifelong dream Thursday morning before a hometown audience of thousands.
- Wallenda walks the walk for high-wire stunt | The Observer Group
- Masses of people swarmed downtown Sarasota this morning to see hire-wire daredevil Nik Wallenda walk between the Ritz-Carlton and One Watergate tower.
- Nik Wallenda Skywalk for Circus Sarasota | Sarasota Herald-Tribune
- Photo gallery about Nik Wallenda Skywalk for Circus Sarasota on February 4, 2010 More than 50 Photos by Cliff Roles
- Tight Rope SRQ | G Gallery on Flickr
- Wallenda walking between Watergate Tower & the Ritz Carlton in downtown Sarasota to promote the circus and practice for his walk across the Grand Canyon. 25 photos by Chris of G Gallery
- Canada Approves Walk acroos Niagra Falls | Reuters
- (Reuters) - Canada agreed on Wednesday to allow a member of the Flying Wallenda family of daredevils to attempt a tightrope walk over Niagara Falls, clearing the way for the stunt some time during the summer. More
Commentary from a Viewing Party
Fans Gather in a Condo at Ritz Residences
Dredevil gives reason to party. Nik Wallenda Tightrope Walk Sarasota Feb 4, 2010
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More Angles on Nik Wallenda's Stunt
Skywalking in Sarasota on February 4, 2010
In the CNN video, watch Nik Wallenda boogie to the finish where fellow circus performer Bello Nock welcomes him to safety. See residents of The Ritz cheering from their condo balconies as Walenda walks in the sky. Also, video of the entire skywalk from a fan in One Watergate. Fans on the hotel grounds applaud every step as helicopters circle the scene. Wallenda holds a Guiness Book of Records world record for the longest and highest high-wire ride on a bicycle.
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Nik Wallenda in the News
- Falls businesses catch Wallenda fever
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY (WIVB) - All over the city of Niagara Falls, local businesses are gearing up for Nik Wallenda's big walk over the Falls. With under two weeks to go, some stores are trying to capitalize on all the buzz. Players Sports Bar has dubbed ...
- Wallenda soliciting donations for event
- By Dan Dakin, Niagara Falls, Ont., Review The Tonawanda News Tonawanda News ? NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. ? Nik Wallenda needs your help to pay for his tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation wirewalker is seeking the public's help to ...
- Nik Wallenda Prepares for His Niagara Falls Stunt
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY ? Nik Wallenda climbed up a scaffold, stepped onto the steel cable and slipped the harness of his balancing pole over his head. Then he began to walk ? each step a few inches in front of the last, his leather moccasins kissing the ...
- Daredevil Wallenda says TV network insisting he be tethered for Niagara Falls ...
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY ? Daredevil Nik Wallenda says he's not happy about it but he'll probably be tethered to the tightrope that he plans to walk over Niagara Falls next month. Wallenda said Monday that ABC is adamant about making him wear the safety ...
Nik Wallenda on NBC Today Show
Nik Wallenda of the Flying Wallenda high wire family prepares to set a world record on live television. NBC Correspondent Kerry Sanders tells of his famous family, their death defying feats and the tragedies along the way.
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Blog Posts about Nik Wallenda
- Falls businesses catch Wallenda fever
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY (WIVB) - All over the city of Niagara Falls, local businesses are gearing up for Nik Wallenda's big walk over the Falls. With under two weeks to go, some stores are trying to capitalize on all the buzz. Players Sports Bar has dubbed ...
- Wallenda soliciting donations for event
- By Dan Dakin, Niagara Falls, Ont., Review The Tonawanda News Tonawanda News ? NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. ? Nik Wallenda needs your help to pay for his tightrope walk across Niagara Falls. The seventh-generation wirewalker is seeking the public's help to ...
- Nik Wallenda Prepares for His Niagara Falls Stunt
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY ? Nik Wallenda climbed up a scaffold, stepped onto the steel cable and slipped the harness of his balancing pole over his head. Then he began to walk ? each step a few inches in front of the last, his leather moccasins kissing the ...
- Daredevil Wallenda says TV network insisting he be tethered for Niagara Falls ...
- NIAGARA FALLS, NY ? Daredevil Nik Wallenda says he's not happy about it but he'll probably be tethered to the tightrope that he plans to walk over Niagara Falls next month. Wallenda said Monday that ABC is adamant about making him wear the safety ...
The Flying Wallendas
1967 Photographic Poster Print, 24x32
The Flying Wallendas, digitally printed on archival photographic paper, illustrates circus heritage.
The Flying Wallendas, 1967 Photographic Poster Print, 24x32
Amazon Price: (as of 06/04/2012)
List Price: $49.99
* Photographic Print Title: The Flying Wallendas, 1967
* Size: 24 x 32 inches
The Legend Lives On
Featuring Nik Wallenda
February 2010
Sarasota, Florida USA
March 2010
Fort Myers, Florida USA
Circus Sarasota
Taking Traditional Circus to Modern Times
Circus Sarasota
This project was filmed in Sarasota Florida. Edited using Avid Xpress Pro. B-roll circus footage was provided by Circus Sarasota.
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The Circus: 1870-1950
Edited by Noel Daniel
During its heyday 100 ago, the American circus ranked as the largest entertainment industry in the the world. From the mid-1800s to mid-1900s, traveling American circuses performed for audiences of up to 14,000 per show, employed as many as 1,600 men and women, and crisscrossed the country on 20,000 miles of railroad in one season alone. The spectacle of death-defying daredevils, strapping super-heroes and scantily-clad starlets, fearless animal trainers, and startling freaks gripped the American imagination, outshining theater, vaudeville, comedy, and minstrel shows of its day, and ultimately paved the way for film and television to take root in the modern era. Organized into nine thematic chapters, the book sheds new light on circus history, from a behind-the-scenes look at life on the move, to the freedoms enjoyed by early female performers, to the innovative production skills that demanded as much know-how as a modern-day film production.
The Circus: 1870-1950
Amazon Price: $269.93 (as of 06/04/2012)
List Price: $200.00
With 670 pages and nearly 900 color and black-and-white illustrations, this book brings to life the grit and glamor behind the circus phenomenon. Images include photographic gems by key early circus photographers such as Frederick Whitman Glasier and Edward Kelty, about 180 of the earliest color photographs ever taken of the circus from the 1940s and 1950s, 200 posters by the famous Strobridge lithographers, iconic circus photographs by Mathew Brady, Cornell Capa, Walker Evans, Weegee, Lisette Model, and little-known circus images by Stanley Kubrick and Charles and Ray Eames; also included are rare color and black-and-white lithographs and engravings from the 16th-19th centuries illustrating the worldwide roots of the circus, as well as original sideshow banners by legendary sideshow banner artists Nieman Eisman, Fred G. Johnson, and David "Snap" Wyatt.
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Directions to Circus Sarasota
Applause for Nik Wallenda!
Tight Wire Artist Completes Another Daredevil Performance
Share your stories, sightings, thoughts, rants, raves...
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d-artist Sep 20, 2010 @ 7:47 am | delete
- Very nice lens and interesting that this wire walking is still done by a Wallenda. My mom was godmother to one of the Wallenda children in the late 30's but I don't know the name. I had a Codona stop by and comment on one of my lenses, but the comment never showed up (I still have the email)
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Beautiful-Bridal
Sep 17, 2010 @ 5:27 pm | delete
- I loved the Flying Wallendas when I was a kid. Great lens, thanks for sharing.
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High Wire (Tom Clancy's Net Force; Young Adult, No. 14)
By Tom Clancy
High Wire (Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers, Book 14)
Amazon Price: $4.36 (as of 06/04/2012)
"...In the year 2025,Net Force Explorer Andy Moore is asked to help the Cservanka Brothers Circus to program virtual animals and a few other things. As he gets closer to Papa Cservanka's granddaughter, Syeira, a vivacious and strong willed teenager, Andy finds strange things happening under the big top. As he begins exploring the strange events, he finds that the cyber-circus could be under the threat of a black market ring. Can Andy figure everything out before someone gets hurt... including him? -Priscilla Stafford
The Circus at the Edge of the Earth: Travels with the Great Wallenda Circus
By Charles Wilkins
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Amazon Price: $13.66 (as of 06/04/2012)
"A candid look behind the scenes as well as on stage as Wilkins tours with the Great Wallenda Circus and reports on the daily lives, the courageous acts, and the complex personalities of these professionals who defy death daily." (Nov.) -Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Man on Wire (2008)
Starring Philippe Petit
Man on Wire
Amazon Price: $7.99 (as of 06/04/2012)
On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire and illegally rigged between the New York's twin towers. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. This documentary complies Petit s footage to show the numerous extraordinary challenges he faced in completing the artistic crime of the century.
