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| djgordy
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| markvent
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| 181209. Fri Jun 08, 2007 9:50 am |
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Msr Blondin was a funambulist, but that may not mean a thing
to anyone not interested in balancing on string ...
:D
Mark. |
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| markvent
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| 258275. Mon Jan 14, 2008 9:12 am |
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Not sure if this is F for Funambulism or F for Fireworks...
The following is taken from The Times newspaper dated 1st September 1860.
| Quote: | | Blondin, the tight-rope dancer, has narrowly escaped death. He was crossing a tight-rope in Ohio after dusk, wheeling a barrow, and encircled with a blaze of fireworks - doubtless in jealous imitation of the late splendid meteor. Before he had reached the middle of his aerial route, one of the pieces exploded and set fire to his clothing. There was no time to halt and extinguish the flames, and the modern Phaeton could only keep on his course and suffer the torture of being slowly blistered. With heroic self-control he gained the end of his journey and succeeded in smothering the fire, but not until he was sadly burnt. |
The mention of the meteor would seem to referencing a meteor seen in New York and other cities on 20th July 1860.
Mark. |
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| Flash
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| 258330. Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:09 am |
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We did touch on Blondin in the D Series (Danger). Here's some of the research:
| Quote: | | Blondin, aka Jean Francois Gravelet, made a speciality of crossing the Niagara Falls on a tightrope 1100 ft long. He did it straight, blindfolded, in a sack, wheeling a wheelbarrow, carrying a man on his back, sitting down mid-way to make and eat an omelette, and on stilts watched by the Prince of Wales, who he offered to carry back to the other side. |
The gent in the top hat is Blondin's manager, Harry Colcord, who he carried across the Falls.
| Quote: | | According to Colcord, the trip was a nightmare. In the unguyed centre section, the pair swayed violently. Blondin was fighting for his life. He broke into a desperate run to reach the first guy rope. When he reached it and steadied himself, the guy broke. Once more the pair swayed alarmingly as Blondin again ran for the next guy. When they reached it Blondin gasped for Colcord to get down. Six times in all Colcord had to dismount while Blondin struggled to gather his strength. In the end Blondin had to charge the crowd on the brink to prevent the press of people forcing them back in the precipice. |
An early Michael Jackson-style stunt caused some consternation: he pushed his five-year-old daughter in a wheelbarrow across a tightrope 180 ft above the concrete floor of the Crystal Palace. The Home Secretary intervened and got him to cook omelettes and turn somersaults instead. This wasn't sensational enough for Liverpool, though, so he reverted to the wheelbarrow-pushing act, this time with a lion strapped into the barrow. |
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| markvent
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| 258337. Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:17 am |
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... and for my next stunt ... I require a lion and a wheelbarrow ....
clearly the wheelbarrow was already present .. how on earth did they procure a lion so quickly and easily ?
:D
Mark. |
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