Charles Blondin

"Blondin" redirects here. For other uses, see Blondin (disambiguation).

Not to be confused with Blondel de Nesle.

Blondin carrying his manager, Harry Colcord, on a tightrope

Jean François Gravelet-Blondin (24 February 1824 – 22 February 1897) was a French tightrope walker and acrobat.

Life

Blondin was born on 24 February 1824 at St Omer, Pas-de-Calais, France.^[1][2] His real name was Jean-François Gravelet, and he was known also by the names Charles Blondin or Jean-François Blondin, or more simply "The Great Blondin". When five years old, he was sent to the École de Gymnase at Lyon and, after six months training as an acrobat, made his first public appearance as "The Little Wonder". His superior skill and grace, as well as the originality of the settings of his acts, made him a popular favourite.

Blondin went to the United States in 1855.^[2] He was engaged by William Niblo to perform with the Ravel troupe in New York City and was subsequently part proprietor of a circus.^[3] He especially owed his celebrity and fortune to his idea of crossing the gorge below Niagara Falls on a tightrope, 1100 feet (335 m) long, 3¼ inches in diameter, 160 feet (50 m) above the water. This he accomplished, first on 30 June 1859, a number of times, always with different theatric variations: blindfolded, in a sack, trundling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man (his manager, Harry Colcord) on his back, sitting down midway while he cooked and ate an omelet and standing on a chair with only one chair leg on the rope. ^[4]

In 1861, Blondin first appeared in London, at the Crystal Palace, turning somersaults on stilts on a rope stretched across the central transept, 70 feet (20 m) from the ground. In 1862, he again gave a series of performances at the Crystal Palace, and elsewhere in England, and on the continent.

In 1861, he performed at the Royal Portobello Gardens, on South Circular Road, Portobello, Dublin, on a rope 50 feet above the ground. While he was performing, the rope broke, which led to the scaffolding collapsing. He was not injured, but two workers who were on the scaffolding fell to their deaths. An investigation was held, and the broken rope (2 inches in diameter and 5 inches in circumference) examined. No blame was attributed at the time to either Blondin or his manager. However, the judge said that the rope manufacturer had a lot to answer for. The organiser of the event, a Mr. Kirby, said he would never have another one like it. A bench warrant for the arrest of Blondin and his manager was issued when they did not appear at a further trial (they were in America). However, the following year, Blondin was back at the same venue in Dublin, this time performing 100 feet above the ground.^[5]

On 6 September 1873, Blondin crossed Edgbaston Reservoir in Birmingham.^[6] A statue built in 1992 on the nearby Ladywood Middleway marks his feat.

After a period of retirement, Blondin reappeared in 1880, including starring in the 1893/4 season of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" pantomime at the Crystal Palace, organised by Oscar Barrett.^[7] His final performance was in Belfast in 1896. He died of diabetes at his "Niagara House" in Ealing, London, on "22nd February 1897 in his 73rd Year" and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery.^[8]

Legacy

During his lifetime, Blondin's name was so synonymous with tightrope walking that many employed the name "Blondin" to describe others in the profession. For example, in reporting on the fall of a woman from a tightrope at an 1869 performance of Pablo Fanque's Circus in Bolton, the Illustrated London News described the tightrope walker, Madame Caroline, as a "female Blondin."^[9]

Two roads in Ealing, London, are named in his honour: Blondin Avenue and Niagara Avenue.

A well-known play has been written inspired by Blondin's feat of going across the Niagara River with a man on his back. Crossing Niagara by Peruvian playwright Alonso Alegría ends with a plausible replication of the feat itself but invents the character of the man—in this case a boy—who took the ride. The play had its premiére in Lima in 1969 and, since then, has been performed in about fifty countries, most recently in Spain (2006) and Venezuela (2008). In an English translation, the play premiéred in London at the National Theatre (circa 1975) and in New York at the Manhattan Theatre Club (circa 1982).

Australian singer/songwriter Gareth Liddiard (The Drones) has written a song named Blondin Makes An Omelette, inspired by the events of Charles Blondin crossing the Niagara Falls. It's been reported that on a subsequent crossing, Blondin pushed a wheelbarrow containing a small stove made of sheet iron across the gorge. He then proceeded to light a fire and cook an omelette while suspended on the rope, he lowered the omelette down to passengers on the Maid of the Mist who ate it before Blondin continued his crossing. The song is the opening track on his debut solo album, Strange Tourist (2010).

See also

• Blondin (quarry equipment), a form of aerial ropeway named after Charles Blondin
• A tightrope walker claiming to be Bon Bon Blondin, Blondin's son, toured England in the 1880s, performing among other places at Croft, North Yorkshire. See The Northern Echo, April 19th 1881.

References

1. ^ Blondin - His Life and Performances. Edited by George Linnaeus Banks. Published by Authority. London 1802. p. 20 books.google.de
2. ^ ^{a b} Irish Times, Dublin, 25 May 1861
3. ^  "Blondin, Emile Gravelet". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. 1900. 
4. ^ http://www.nflibrary.ca/nfplindex/show.asp?id=89311&b=1
5. ^ Irish Times, 1861, 1862
6. ^ Birmingham Daily Post, Monday, 8 September 1873 "Blondin at the Reservoir"
7. ^ [1] Backstage.ac.uk - Blondin
8. ^ Grave of Jean Francois Gravelet - Blondin nflibrary.ca - Obituary THE NEW YORK TIMES, 23 February 1897
9. ^ By brizzle born and bred Paul Townsend+ Add Contact (2009-11-08). "Thrilling Accident at Bolton 1869 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!". Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/brizzlebornandbred/4085580229/. Retrieved 2011-04-09. 

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Blondin". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

External links

• American Heritage magazine article on Blondin
• Biography
• Birmingham statue
• Images from the Historic Niagara Digital Collections at Niagara Falls Public Library
• Findagrave.com for Charles Blondin
• "Blondin". Theatre and Performance. Victoria and Albert Museum. http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/theatre_performance/features/history_of_circus/circus_performers/blondin/index.html. Retrieved 2011-15-02. 

Persondata
Name	Blondin, Charles
Alternative names
Short description	tightrope walker and acrobat
Date of birth	28 February 1824
Place of birth	Pas-de-Calais, France
Date of death	19 February 1897
Place of death	Ealing, London