[chris]

Sarasota, Florida, March 22, 1978 - Karl Wallenda, the world-renowned high-wire artist and patriarch of the famous Wallenda circus family, met a tragic end during a daring performance that went horribly wrong.

Karl Wallenda was a pioneer in the world of high-wire walking, known for his breathtaking feats performed without a safety net. On that fateful day in Sarasota, Florida, he embarked on a dangerous walk between the towers of the Condado Plaza Hotel.

The stunt involved Karl walking on a steel cable stretched between the two towers of the hotel, which were situated 10 stories high. Despite facing gusty winds and challenging conditions, Karl began his tightrope walk with his usual confidence.

Tragically, just moments into the performance, disaster struck. Karl lost his balance and grip on the wire, plummeting to the ground below. The fall proved fatal, and the 73-year-old high-wire legend succumbed to his injuries.

[FunkPumpkin]

I remember seeing this on the TV news when I was just a wee lad. It was the first time I saw anything remotely "death-as-it-happens"-related on TV. They didn't show stuff like that on TV back then, so I remember this event vividly.

[vagabond]

Kinda old to be tempting fate like that, in my opinion, but I remember this.

[Lythal]

I was watching some guy on the news yesterday morning (morning here but I think it was night there) do this in chicago, he made it, but they had a good idea of making their 'live' broadcast have a 10second delay, so of course if something like this happened, they could cut it off so we would miss the good part haha

[jinhwangtikatang]

Originally Posted by LydKyd ↗

I was watching some guy on the news yesterday morning (morning here but I think it was night there) do this in chicago, he made it, but they had a good idea of making their 'live' broadcast have a 10second delay, so of course if something like this happened, they could cut it off so we would miss the good part haha

The some guy was Nik Wallenda, the old guys grandson, or maybe great grandson.

[commondenom]

old man was doing ok and might have even managed to hold on to the wire but his pole knocked his grip off the wire

apparently there was an issue with the wire too...none of his family were present and afterwards when they inspected the set-up they agreed that if they had been there they wouldn't have allowed him to attempt the crossing with the wire set up as it was...

[FunkPumpkin]

Originally Posted by jinhwangtikatang ↗

The some guy was Nik Wallenda, the old guys grandson, or maybe great grandson.

I believe Nik was Karl Wallenda's great grandson.

[kustom80]

Nice grip Karl.

[killedbycuriosity]

Nik Wallenda walked a couple walks locally: one over Niagara Falls, over the county fair, and daily walks over a theme park this past summer. While he did the walk over the mid-way over the county fair there was someone in the crowd yelling for him to fall.

[lskirkland]

I know that this is what they hope never happens, but the risk they live for. Live on, risk takers!