In the 1960s Bale began working on what would become his signature act, the single trapeze with a “heel catch” finish.
He ended his trapeze act by sitting on the trapeze, swinging it up to its highest point, then diving forward into space with a yell—with no net underneath—throwing his legs back just in time to catch the middle of the bar on the descent with his Achilles’ heels and swing back, hanging by his Achilles’ heels.
Bale performed in the Vatican for Pope John Paul II, under helicopters in the French Alps, and at African soccer stadiums.
Besides circus arenas, he also performed the motorcycle act on a high wire strung over a 300-foot canyon at Black’s Beach near San Diego, California.
On January 8, 1987, while performing with Chipperfield Circus in Hong Kong, a miscalculation sent him over the air bag at the other end of the arena.
[1] After recovering from his accident, Bale became a theatrical booking agent, and since the mid-1990s, he traveled and worked in management roles with Cole Bros.