Petr Horák was born on May 7, 1943 in Nusle (Prague) to Štěpánka and Oldřich Horák. As a young boy, Peter swam competitively and played water polo. He enjoyed skiing, riding a bike, playing table tennis, ice hockey, and soccer. At the age of ten, however, the doctor forbade Peter to partake in anymore sports because, the doctors said he had a weak heart. Despite this ban, Peter did not stop sports and he continued to play. Soon, all of his health problems began to disappear and his heart healed. Today’s post shares Peter’s dream of going to America to be a stuntman and becoming known as the Czech man who fell from the sky!
Petr with his parents.
Later in life, Peter recalled that his restless and adventurous soul manifested itself even when he was a young child. It was then that he became deeply interested in America, reading cowboys novels, travelogues and dreaming of living there one day.
A very special thanks to Martin Nekola and the Czechoslovak Talks website, from where most of the information about Peter came.
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This generation took great risks, in life and in their work. Today most stunts are computer generated and insurance companies prohibit people doing high risk stunts. It took a lot of bravery to do the stunts of the movies in the 70s and 80s. The Evel Knievel’s of my youth are all long gone. Thank you for sharing the story of this fearless stuntman and his tenacity regarding his emigration to the United States and making his American dream come true. I thoroughly enjoy all of your posts. Keep up the excellent work.
The stunts from the shows of the 1970s and 1980s must have been so dangerous with those heavy metal cars. This was a very brave man. I know all those shows. I must have seen all of his stunt work. Incredible.
I remember meeting Petr in Los Angeles. He was a fine man. This film honors his memory and his spirit. Thank you for posting about this today.
Czechs are incredible, strong, and adventurous people. I could never jump off a building. I admire this man and his passion for living such an exciting life.
Chuck Connors has always been a favorite. Interesting story about the stunt man.
Philippe Petit said “I am the poet of the high wire – I never do stunts; I do theatrical performances.” These brave people are artists of the dangerous. I always wonder what kind of person wants to fight, crash a car, fall of a building? It definitely takes a special kind of psyche. Thank you for introducing us to this brave Czech man whose first dangerous stunts were trying to escape communism.