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There has never been a wirewalker quite like Jay Cochrane. There is certainly no one like him now. The year 2008 marks his 50th year in the air, and his 38th working on sky-wires, the beautiful, expertly raised, gigantic outdoor installations he has ascended so often to the applause of millions. He was born a Canadian, is a naturalized American, a legend in many countries, and a citizen of the world. His career began as one might expect a storybook tale would, when he ran away from home at the age of 14 to join a circus, The Royal Hanneford, playing in Ontario. He began by cleaning up behind the animals, but his remarkable natural talent soon became evident and under the tutelage of the renowned aerialist Struppi Hanneford, known to audiences worldwide as Princess Tajana, he soon mastered nearly every circus act. Among his many strengths was the flying trapeze, but his greatest was the high wire, that 2,000 year-old art performed by some of the greatest athletes in history. His skill on the wire set him apart and he became a star, headlining shows on many continents. Then, in 1970 he began ascending even higher. He erected and then walked on a wire strung 50 stories high, between two skyscrapers above the busy downtown streets of Toronto. It was a jaw-dropping performance, the likes of which had never been seen before. But that was just the beginning. He began traveling the world, performing ever more impressive feats on complex sky-wires whose constructions (informed by his training as an engineer) were feats in themselves, works of art that drew crowds before he ever set foot upon them. Among his thousands of skywalks - over nearly four decades of performances - on wires stretching more than the distance from Los Angeles to New York and back, are six world records. In 1972 he walked a total distance of two and a half miles, back and forth 41 times on a 300-foot-long wire at the Canadian National Exhibition; in 1981 he lived on a wire for 21 days in San Juan, Puerto Rico; in 1995 he raised and ascended his legendary Qutang Gorge skywire in central China, often called the greatest wire in history, traversing 2,098 feet, 1,340 feet above the Yangtze River; in 1996, as part of the Shanghai Tourism Festival, he set the world record for the longest and highest nighttime walk, performing on a 600-foot-long, 500-foot-high apparatus above the Pearl of Orient Tower; in 1998, he walked a 800-foot-long, 300-foot-high wire strung from the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas, live on American national television … while blindfolded, a breathtaking feat; and in 2001 at the Love River in Taiwan, he performed the longest building-to-building walk ever, between two 40-story edifices on opposites sides of the river in Kaohsiung, a one-hour, nine-minute, non-stop show. After the Yangtze River performance, where more than 200,000 people watched live and 200 million on television, a Chinese stamp was struck with his image, a school was named in his honor, and he appeared on the cover of Time (Asia) Magazine. To this day, he cannot walk down a Chinese street without being mobbed. In Niagara Falls, in 2007, the city council approved a potential Jay Cochrane performance directly over the famous Horseshoe Falls. No wirewalker has been given such approval in more than a century. But even more important to him than any of these spectacular achievements has been his work in the cause of children – especially on behalf of those who are needy or stricken with illness. He has raised millions of dollars for them worldwide and will not ascend the wire unless his performance benefits them. He has dedicated his life to children and their well being. The pantheon of history’s greatest wire walkers is remarkable. The likes of Blondin the Magnificent, The Great Farini, and Karl Wallenda, have walked in the sky before millions on wires that defy description. Jay Cochrane, “the Prince of the Air,” whose achievements are still before us, is considered by many to be the greatest high-wire walker who ever lived. Jay's Record Book Longest building-to-building skywalk: 2,190 feet in 2001 Jay's History of Memorable Skywalks 1970: His first skywalk ever between the Hudson Bay Towers (50 stories) in Toronto, Canada. Jay skywalked between them twice more in `73 and `77. 1980: Walked to top of 1/3 replica of the Eifel Tower at Kings Dominion. 1983: Lived on the wire for 21 days, tying his world record set in Puerto Rico, at Kennywood Park in Pennsylvania. 1984: Over the Arch in St. Louis, MO between two cranes 1,800-feet apart. 1985: Skywalked 1,100 feet from the Oil Clock Tower to the Space Needle during the Oklahoma State Fair. 1988: In six months from September 1988 to February 1989, completed nearly 300 walks over Space Ship Earth in Disney's Epcot Center. 1989: Skywalked the entire length of the Minnesota State Fair in St. Paul, a distance of 1,800 feet at a height of 400 feet. He has returned for encore performances two additional years. 1990: Walked above the world-famous Silver Springs, Florida for three consecutive years. 1992: Skywalked across Kennywood Park in Pittsburgh, PA, one of America's oldest and historic amusement parks. 1994: Skywalked from the top of the Sports Coliseum to the Space Needle in Hershey, PA, a distance of 2,000 feet at a height of 400 feet. Stadium skywalks: Jay has walked above many of America's greatest stadiums including: Where would Jay like to Skywalk? OVER Niagara Falls
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| SUMMER 2007 PERFORMANCES "Up Close and Personal with Jay Cochrane" in Niagara Falls, Canada!  |
Qutang Gorge Relive Jay's walk over Qutang Gorge in the People's Republic of China! Skywalk 2005 and the Skylon Tower Skywalk The greatest skywalk in North America |
 The "Skylon Tower Skywalk" Poster $40 - Order Now! |
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