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    ‘Man On Wire’s’ Philippe Petit to mark 50th anniversary of Twin Towers tightrope walk with Sting collab

    By Carlos Greer,

    1 day ago

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=33eLzB_0uV1i3fi00

    Philippe Petit, the man who stunned the world by tightrope-walking between the Twin Towers, is taking to the air once again.

    On Aug. 7, the French high-wire artist will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his stunt — immortalized in  the Oscar-winning doc “Man on Wire” in 2008 — by walking the width of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1FHgF6_0uV1i3fi00
    Sting will debut a song at Petit’s tightrope walk performance. REUTERS

    We’re told his pal and frequent chess opponent Sting will join him for the festivities. (Petit tells us Sting has a leg up on him in the chess department: “I often lose, as he’s taking lessons from [Russian chess grandmaster] Garry Kasparov.”)

    Petit’s two-days-only performance will include the “Every Breath You Take” songwriter debuting a tune  about his friend’s breathtaking achievement in 1974, played while Petit walks the cathedral (at a manageable 20-foot height).

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3AKPQp_0uV1i3fi00
    It took 8 months for Petit to plan his high-wire walk operation. AP

    Ex-Philippe Petit pal blasts ‘The Walk’

    He pulled off the illegal World Trade Center walk by disguising himself as a construction worker to map out the logistics, which took eight months of observation and planning.

    On the day, he and a few French and American accomplices snuck onto the roof of one of the towers and  strung a cable to the roof of the other.

    The performer then walked back and forth for nearly an hour before cops arrested him. They released him hours later and he did what anyone in the ’70s would do after going free and pulling off one of the biggest schemes in New York City: He had sex with a groupie.

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    Longtime pals Petit and Sting at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 2009. WireImage

    Director James Marsh told the story of his history-making walk in the 2008 doc, based on  Petit’s book “To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers.”

    Twin Towers wire walker: ‘I knew I’d be famous the rest of my life’

    He told The Post back then, “It’s part of my life to feel like a criminal.”

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2HWIQE_0uV1i3fi00
    Petit, then 24, was arrested for his history-making walk between the towers in 1974. AP
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    Petit walked along the railing of one of the WTC towers in 1976. AP
    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=36AIsx_0uV1i3fi00
    At 74, Petit practices his high-wire walk daily. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

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    “I have been arrested so many times. Little arrests – it’s not a big deal. But for a performer, it is a big deal when the police interrupt you,” he said in an interview to promote the doc.

    “So, I’ve grown eyes in the back of my head so I can see the police come, knowing that in 30 seconds, they’re going to stop my show, confiscate my props and steal my money – depending on the country and the times. I have this childlike paranoia. It’s pretty healthy,” he said.

    Petit, who turns 75 next month, has made upstate New York his home base. Deputy at the Cultural Services of the French Embassy Judith Roze told us, “Philippe now speaks French with an American accent!”

    We’re told he now wears a mask to protect against COVID, but still never uses a net when he’s on the rope. And we suspect he won’t get arrested this time either as he is longtime artist in residence at the church, and the walk will be indoors.

    Tickets to “Philippe Petit: Towering!!” are available on cathedral’s website .

    For more celebrity and entertainment news, visit pagesix.com.

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