Today We Salute Lawn Chair Larry: The Man Who Flew to 16,000 Feet in a Lawn Chair

Lawn Chair Larry” was the nickname of Larry Walters, who became famous for an extraordinary stunt in 1982.

Walters, a truck driver from Los Angeles, attached dozens of large helium weather balloons to an ordinary aluminum lawn chair, hoping to float a few hundred feet above his neighborhood. Instead, he shot up to an estimated 15,000–16,000 feet (4,600–4,900 meters)—high enough to drift into controlled airspace near Los Angeles International Airport.

He had packed:

* A CB radio
* A camera
* Sandwiches and drinks
* A pellet gun, intending to shoot balloons one by one to descend

At that altitude, he became afraid to shoot the balloons for a while, so he drifted for about 45 minutes before finally beginning his descent. He eventually became tangled in power lines, causing a local power outage, but landed safely with only minor injuries.

When asked afterward why he did it, Walters reportedly said:

“A man can’t just sit around.”

The stunt made him an international media sensation and inspired books, documentaries, TV episodes, and countless references in popular culture. Unfortunately, the sudden fame didn’t translate into long-term success, and Walters died in 1993.

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Sadly, Larry “Lawn Chair Larry” Walters died in 1993 at age 44. He died by suicide in the Angeles National Forest in California.

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