In Downtown Los Angeles 1936, highwire walker Bunny Dryden did some really daring feats when he without any safety equipment at all performed numerous stunts that will make your palms sweat:
There´s a story in which Bunny tried to talk Amarillo mayor Ross Rogers into accompany him on the wire to ride on his shoulders. The conversation that follows is witty and fun:
On Aug. 10, Rogers was invited by daredevil Bernard "Bunny" Dryden to accompany him on a stroll. The invitation was to ride on Dryden's shoulders as he walked across a cable over Polk Street, according to a story in the Amarillo Daily News.
The article quoted Dryden as saying, "A fellow who has nerve enough to be the mayor of a city has nerve enough to ride on my shoulders as I walk a wire."
The mayor's reply was an emphatic "No."
The invitation was then extended to city manager H.R. Smith, who was no more thrilled with the prospect.
"What's the matter? If you don't like our work, you don't have to do that to us to make us quit," was Smith's reply, according to the story.
The brave wife of Bunny:
Dryden tried to put the best spin he could on any possible negative outcomes as he attempted to find someone else to ride on his shoulders.
"The fellow who rides on my shoulders has more than 10 seconds to catch himself if I start to fall,," he was quoted in the story. "I have 10, and he has two or three more."
No Daily News articles concerning the outcome of Dryden's tightrope antics over Polk Street and Seventh Avenue could be found.
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