Jay Cochrane, "The Prince of the Air", completes The Great China Skywalk over the Yangtze River in Qutang Gorge, China, on October 28, 1995. The skywalk was and is the greatest ever made spanning half a mile between the canyon walls and 1,350 feet above the river. ©Mark D Phillips
JAY COCHRANE • The Prince of the Air
 

In The Community

May 21, 2002

The Beginning:
The Decade of Skywalks

In 2002, Jay Cochrane brought highwire walking back to Niagara Falls for the first time in a hundred years.

And he did it with his own panache and grandeur as he skywalked with the American Falls at his back over his Canadian homeland.

Jay Cochrane skywalks on Clifton Hill in Niagara, Canada, in 2002. The first skywalk in over a hundred years went from the pinnacle of the Sheraton on the Falls Hotel to the Casino Niagara Tower at a height of 40 stories, with Niagara Falls as the backdrop. "Skywalk at Niagara" was the highest skywalk ever completed in Niagara Falls. ©Mark D Phillips
May 21, 2002
The Beginning of a
Decade of Skywalks

On May 21, 2002, Jay Cochrane brought highwire walking back to Niagara Falls for the first time in a hundred years.

And he did it with his own panache and grandeur as he skywalked with the American Falls at his back over his Canadian homeland.

A LIFE OF GIVING
Jay Cochrane skywalked over the top of Planet Hollywood three times DAILY at a height of 200 feet (61m) in the summer of 2002. Following each walk, Jay met, greeted, and sign autographs for the public with donations going to the Tender Wishes Foundation of Niagara Falls. When Jay finished his skywalks in Niagara Falls that summer, he skywalked a distance equal to 200 trips across the Niagara gorge. Kevin O'Neil interviews Jay on the wire in front of Planet Hollywood. ©Mark D Phillips
JAY AND THE MEDIA

Jay challenged members of the media to understand his craft and his devotion to raising money for children's charities wherever he performed. In Niagara Falls in 2002, he brought the children of Tender Wishes to the forefront, raising thousands of dollars through his after show autograph sessions. Kevin O'Neil of Buffalo's WIVB-TV got up close and personal to understand skywalking.

JAY AND THE MAYOR

Wayne Thomson, who was mayor when Cochrane performed in Niagara Falls in 2002, called him “a true friend” whose feats were “spectacular.” “I doubt that anybody else could have accomplished what he did. He was so talented and confident at what he did, it was just amazing,”

 

The two would remain friends for the rest of Jay's life and bring a new respect to skywalking.

Jay Cochrane helps Niagara Falls, Ontario, Mayor Wayne Thomson walk on a highwire during the Skywalk Celebrity Challenge starting "Up Close and Personal with Jay Cochrane" at Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls on 25 June 2002. Cochrane will be skywalking above Planet Hollywood three times daily beginning 28 June until Labor Day at a height of 140 feet and 300 feet across to raise money for the Tender Wishes Foundation of Niagara Falls. ©Mark D Phillips
Jay Cochrane greets a child from Tender Wishes outside Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls, Canada, during one of his sessions to raise funds for the organization. ©Mark D Phillips
JAY AND THE CHILDREN

Jay held special events to bring together the kids he so wanted to help and the adults who were enamored with his skill. Jay had a special talent, not just on the wire, to make people happy.

In the summer of 2002, he raised nearly a hundred thousand dollars in donations. Over the next decade, Jay Cochrane would perform over 800 skywalks above the city of Niagara Falls and would continue his philanthropy with the Boys and Girls Club and Tender Wishes. "He just couldn't do enough for us. He would come to our summer parties for the kids and sign autographs and be with the kids," said Jill Taylor, wish chair for the organization.

Jay Cochrane helps Nicolle from Tender Wishes walk the wire for the media challenge live on news 4 Buffalo morning show with Kevin O’Neill from Jay's venue at Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls, Canada. ©Mark D Phillips

Jay Cochrane helps Nicolle from Tender Wishes walk the wire live on News 4 Buffalo Morning Show with Kevin O’Neill from Jay's venue at Planet Hollywood in Niagara Falls, Canada, on June 25, 2002. ©Mark D Phillips

A Life in the sky

Over the years, he logged numerous claims to aerial fame. His first World Record came in 1972 when he walked back and forth for a distance of two and a half miles on a 100-yard-long wire more than 100 feet above the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto. He set a second in 1981 when he lived on a high wire for 21 days in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1995, he walked for 53 minutes above the swirling waters of the Yangtze River more than 1,300 feet below, crossing 2,098 feet between cliffs on either side of the Qutang Gorge. He returned to China in 1996 during the Shanghai Tourism Festival to perform the longest building-to-building nighttime skywalk for another World Record. In 1998, he traversed the towers of the Flamingo Hilton, balancing 30 stories above Las Vegas and walking 800 feet blindfolded. His final skywalk in Niagara Falls, Skywalk 2012, was awarded a World Record for longest cumulative distance over 500-feet in the sky when he accumulated a total distance of 19.01 km [11.81 mi] in 48 skywalks from 6 July-17 September 2012.