Georgia’s Tallulah Gorge consistently ranks as one of the most visited, beautiful and rugged state parks in Georgia. The Northeast Georgia natural wonder also makes several lists as one of America’s best state parks.
And on July 18, 1970, Tallulah Gorge was in the world spotlight as famed tightrope aerialist and acrobat Karl Wallenda walked the half-mile wide, 1,000-foot deep chasm. He tiptoed, stumbled and even performed handstands on a specially designed 5/8-inch-thick steel cable anchored to towers that were constructed on both sides of the gorge. An estimated 30,000 people watched in person as Wallenda walked the high cable, while millions more people watched the stunt as it was broadcast live on television around the world.
If you visit Tallulah Gorge State Park today, you’ll find the rusting hulks of the Wallenda walk towers laying near the edge of the gorge. Signage at the site provides limited information about the stunt.
The World Watched
Wallenda, the patriarch of the famous Flying Wallendas, was a household name at the time, having performed death-defying stunts around the world for decades. But the Tallulah Gorge Wallenda walk rated as his most daring yet.
Scheduled for 11:00 AM EST, weather delayed the start. The wind was blowing a bit stronger than expected, and the organizers wanted to make sure that the conditions were safe for Wallenda to walk.
At noon EST, the 65-year-old daredevil stepped onto the wire. The wind was blowing at 10-15 miles per hour, with gusts up to 20 miles per hour. That wind speed was a bit stronger than Wallenda had anticipated, and he had to adjust his balance accordingly.
Wallenda completed the Tallulah Gorge tightrope walk in 18 minutes. The most harrowing moment of the walk came when Wallenda lost his balance and began to sway. He managed to regain his footing, but the incident left the crowd on edge. After recovering his balance, Wallenda performed two headstands on the narrow, swinging steel cable while suspended 750 feet above the ground.
Darling, Are You There?
Wearing a microphone during the feat, Wallenda narrated and joked. Addressing his wife, Helen, who refused to attend in person, Wallenda asked, “Darling, are you there? I am coming.” He added, “It’s martini time. I’d better hurry.” Apparently, Wallenda had remarked the night before the event that he wanted a martini as soon as he finished the walk.
A cheering crowd greeted Wallenda as he reached the other side. The stunt was a major success, and it helped to cement Wallenda’s reputation as one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time.
Did Wallenda actually stumble, or was it part of his act? There’s no record of his comments on the matter, but to those watching, the stumble looked convincing.
Amazingly, this famous Wallenda walk did not earn any money for Karl Wallenda walk, according to published reports. As a world-famous personality, he could have earned a large sum for the stunt. However, he performed the daring walk as a publicity stunt for the town of Tallulah Falls, Georgia. The town hoped that the stunt would attract tourists and boost the local economy, which, of course, it did.
Planning, Practice and Engineering
While the 18-minute walk captivated attendees and millions who watched on live television, the event required extensive planning, practice and special engineering.
Organizers designed and built two concrete and steel towers to hold the tightrope, and anchored them into the rocky cliffsides high above the plunging gorge. The stunt required a customized cable. Made of high-strength steel, the cable had to withstand the weight of Wallenda and the wind.
Manufactured by the American Steel and Wire Company, the cable weighed over 1,000 pounds. Once across the gorge, the cable was was stretched to a tension of 20,000 pounds. And while stable footing was essential to Wallenda, the cable was lubricated with a mixture of beeswax and tallow to prevent rusting during it’s time exposed to Georgia’s weather.
For days prior, Wallenda rehearsed his walk in on a shorter cable in the Georgia summer weather conditions. On the day of the walk, he personally inspected the cable and monitored the weather conditions before starting the stunt.
International Media Coverage
The Tallulah Gorge walk was a major media event, with coverage in newspapers, magazines, and on television around the world. The New York Times ran a front-page story about the stunt, and ABC News broadcast it live.
There are several videos of Karl Wallenda’s tightrope walk over Tallulah Gorge available online. One of the most popular videos is a clip from ABC News that shows the entire stunt. The video has been viewed over 1 million times on YouTube. This one includes pre-walk footage and the full walk. Wallenda does his first headstand at approximately 44:45 in the video.
The coverage helped to make Wallenda a household name, and it inspired a new generation of daredevils. His great-grandson, Nik Wallenda, has continued the family tradition of tightrope walking, and he has performed some of the most daring stunts in history.
Karl Wallenda’s Career
Karl Wallenda was born in Germany in 1901. He began his career as a tightrope walker at the age of 14, and he quickly became one of the most acclaimed performers in the world. He performed all over the globe, recognized for his daring stunts and his showmanship.
Wallenda’s career was not without its setbacks and tragedy. Himself injured several times, he witnessed family members die and suffer severe injury while performing their family tightrope act. On January 30, 1962, at the Shrine Circus in Detroit, Michigan, the Flying Wallendas were performing their signature seven-person pyramid stunt. Something went wrong as the pyramid was nearing completion. Dieter Schepp, a Wallenda nephew, was on the top. He lost his balance and fell. The other six performers fell with him, and Schepp died instantly. Wallenda’s son Mario was paralyzed from the waist down.
The fall was a tragedy for the Wallenda family, and it had a profound impact on Karl Wallenda. Deeply shaken, he considered retiring from tightrope walking. However, he eventually decided to continue performing.
A Fatal Fall
Karl Wallenda’s career and life ended in a fatal fall on March 22, 1978, at the Condado Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He was attempting to walk a tightrope between two towers of the hotel when he lost his balance and fell to his death. Wallenda was 73 years old at the time of his death.
The fall was a shock to the world, and it was a major loss for the tightrope walking community. ABC News carried this report on the accident. Caution: it includes footage of the fall, and also includes video and sound from the Tallulah Gorge walk. Wallenda was considered one of the greatest tightrope walkers of all time, and his death was a reminder of the dangers of the sport.
Will A Wallenda Return to Tallulah?
As previously mentioned, Karl Wallenda’s great grandson, Nik Wallenda, still performs highwire stunts. Back in 2015, Nik planned to reenact Karl Wallenda’s feat at Tallulah Gorge. And, like the true show biz family member, he announced he would up the ante. Nik planned to use television graphics technology that would put his great grandfather on the tightrope simultaneously, and the two would complete the feat in sync. The technology had been used in the Winter Olympics, and similar editing allowed singers of different generations to “perform together” in videos.
But, the walk was cancelled a few months after the stunt was announced. Nik Wallenda stated that the TV technology wasn’t quite good enough, so he would postpone the stunt. In 2023, we’re still waiting for a reschedule.
