The Flying Wallendas

Circus Performers

The Flying Wallendas were perhaps the most famous high-wire act of the 20th century. They worked without a safety net and were known for their high-wire headstands, bicycle rides, and such dangerous stunts as the seven-person human pyramid. The act was created in 1922 by family patriarch Karl Wallenda, and began touring with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus in 1928. (Their original name was The Great Wallendas; the "Flying" nickname came later.) The family has endured various tragedies over the years, including a famous 1962 pyramid crash in Detroit which left two performers dead and one paralyzed. Karl Wallenda died in a 1978 fall from the wire in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1998 the sixth generation of the Wallendas returned to Detroit and performed the seven-person pyramid again, this time successfully. Various members of the family have continued performing into the 21st century.

The Wallendas join Evel Knievel in our loop More By Audacity Than Cranial Capacity... Other circus-related figures include P.T. Barnum, Chang and Eng Bunker and flagpole-sitter Shipwreck Kelly.