14. The Flying Wallendas and working without a net
John Ringling saw the family aerial acrobat act which called themselves the Great Wallendas in Cuba, and duly impressed hired them to join Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus in 1928. When they debuted with the circus at Madison Square Garden they performed their hair-raising act, which included building human pyramids perched upon a high-wire, without using a safety net. Legend has it that the net had been lost during the trip from Cuba and in the tradition of show business – the show must go on – the Wallendas performed anyway. The authenticity of the assertion is questionable. Other aerial acts performed that day and nets were available for their safety, presumably they could have been used by the Wallendas.
It was an enraptured press which called the act the Flying Wallendas, and it was by that name they achieved fame. Over the years they established numerous records which most humans wouldn’t think of challenging, such as the longest high-wire bicycle ride, and being the first to traverse Niagara Falls via a high-wire. They have suffered numerous casualties as well, with several of the family falling from wires, including Karl Wallenda, the group’s founder, who fell to his death in 1978. His great-grandson Nikolas, along with his Nik’s wife Erendira, continued the tradition of the Flying Wallendas appearing with Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus until the organization’s demise in 2017. Seven generations of Wallendas (so far) have performed high-wire stunts as of 2019.