French high wire artist Philippe Petit walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, in New York, August 7, 1974.Alan Welner/AP "I had conserved my sense of rebellion and my sense of poetry," Petit said. He was impish, playful, and a bit cocky when ...
French daredevil Philippe Petit is best known for his 1974 high-wire walk between the twin towers in New York City.
French high wire artist Philippe Petit walks across a tightrope suspended between the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, in New York, August 7, 1974.Alan Welner/AP "I had conserved my sense of rebellion and my sense of poetry," Petit said. He was impish, playful, and a bit c...
Petit, whose father was a military pilot, took little interest in school studies but diligently practiced such performance skills as juggling andsleight of hand. After seeingcircushigh-wire acts, he strung a rope between two trees on his parents’ property and taught himself tightrope walking. As...