1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

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Central Park West
(photographed in 2008), site of the near-fatal lamppost collision

The 71st

Barney the Dinosaur and Pink Panther balloons, which were forcibly deflated by officers of the New York City Police Department
(NYPD).

The incidents led to scrutiny by Mayor Rudy Giuliani and changes in the parade, including a ban on larger balloons such as the Cat in the Hat. The most seriously injured attendee settled a lawsuit out of court. The image of the Barney balloon's destruction by police knives and boots—its so-called "murder"[1][2][3]—has found enduring popularity through social media, owing partly to popular hatred of Barney.

Background

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade has taken place annually since 1924, except 1942 through 1944.[4]: 9, 55–57  In 1927, the first balloons, designed by Tony Sarg, debuted to great excitement. Giant balloons of popular characters would become the hallmark of the parade.[4]: 9–11, 14 

Parade day

The 1997 running of the parade featured 17 giant balloons, 18 novelty balloons, and seven "falloons" (

Dr. Seuss's Grinch.[5][8] Two non-falloon floats, one related to the film Anastasia and the other about a calf named Annabelle who wants to fly, also debuted.[8]

The day of the parade saw winds with gusts over 40 miles per hour (64 km/h).

gale force shortly before the parade, one Macy's official objected and said that windspeeds were going down. Officials discussed with the NYPD whether to scrap the balloon portion of the parade, but decided to retain them as windspeeds were decreasing.[10] Macy's officials told the police that they could handle whatever might arise.[11] However, speeds returned to figures as high as 43 miles per hour (69 km/h) during the parade, and balloon handlers struggled to maintain control of them, "h[anging] on for dear life" in the words of The New York Times.[10] Significant incidents then occurred with the Pink Panther, Barney, and Cat in the Hat balloons, before a crowd of over one million.[12] According to the Times, "perhaps a dozen" balloons were damaged overall, several losing limbs to wind-related issues.[10]

The Pink Panther balloon began to veer and implode at Broadway and 42nd Street. An NYPD inspector called for a knife, which another officer handed to him.[10] He then sliced in to the balloon's tail with the five-inch blade, which caused it to stabilize[10] while also sending pieces of pink rubber into the crowd.[12] The collapsing balloon fell onto its handlers, which according to unconfirmed reports knocked a handler unconscious.[10]

After the grounding of the Pink Panther balloon, the NYPD removed the last two balloons from the parade for safety reasons.[12] Many balloon handlers whose balloons had been downed assisted with the reining-in of those that were still aloft.[10]

Home video of deflation
image icon "Thanksgiving '97. The day Barney was killed"

At

helium that held it aloft, to cheers from the crowd.[10][12] One child was quoted as saying "Barney's dead! He's dead! Yeah!".[12]

Most dramatically, at

Quik Bunny balloon.[10]

Aftermath

Rudy Giuliani in 2000

New York mayor Rudy Giuliani quickly announced a task force to investigate the incidents.[12] Macy's significantly increased its training of volunteers, who previously had received about two hours' worth, and held volunteers to both lessons on balloon physics and physical fitness standards (with free three-month gym membership). For the 1998 parade, lampposts had their arms removed, trees were pruned, and a meteorologist's counsel was retained. Balloons were limited to dimensions of 70 feet high, 78 feet long and 40 feet wide, ending the presence of the Cat in the Hat, Pink Panther, and Woody Woodpecker balloons. Balloons were tethered to two 800-pound vehicles, rather than being led only by pedestrians, and a police officer was assigned to each balloon's team, with the authority to remove it from the parade if needed.[13]

The woman who was left comatose for a month filed a $395 million lawsuit against Macy's, New York City, and the lamppost's manufacturer. According to the suit, she suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the injury.[13] She settled the suit in 2001 for an undisclosed sum, shortly before jury selection was to take place; the city was not responsible for any part of the settlement.[11] The woman received further media attention in 2006, when Cory Lidle's plane crashed into her apartment building, a few blocks away from the site of her 1997 injury; her unit, struck by the engine, was burnt, but was unoccupied at the time.[14]

The spectacle of the Barney balloon being stabbed and stomped by NYPD officers re-entered the public consciousness after a home video was posted to YouTube in 2013 (see above), and later to TikTok.[1] Owing in part to hatred of Barney, the video has enjoyed enduring popularity in the years since.[15] Many commentators, including the uploader of the home video, humorously characterize the incident as Barney the character having been murdered.[1][2][3] In 2022, People ranked the Barney deflation as the "biggest balloon blunder" in the parade's 98 years.[16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Burton, Jamie (November 24, 2022). "Barney's Thanksgiving Day Parade 'tragedy' resurfaces—'Childhood destroyed'". Newsweek. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Miller, Matt (November 25, 2015). "Barney Died a Violent Death at the 1997 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Esquire. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  3. ^
    Indy100. The Independent. Archived
    from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  4. ^
    OL 3313633M
    .
  5. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  6. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  7. Newspapers.com
    .
  8. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  9. ^ "Thanksgiving Day 1997 Was a Wild One for Macy's Parade Balloons". The Weather Channel. November 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Martin, Douglas (November 28, 1997). "Macy's Parade of Balloons Gets One Thing It Doesn't Need: Wind". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d Saulny, Susan (March 7, 2001). "Woman Hurt in '97 Macy's Parade Settles Suit". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  12. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  13. ^ a b c "Macy's presents safer parade". CNN. November 26, 1998. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  14. ^ "Bad luck strikes twice for New York woman". The Seattle Times. October 14, 2006. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  15. ^ Gallagher, Danny (November 22, 2022). "25 Years Ago, Barney Died During the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade". Dallas Observer. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
  16. ^ Hogan, Kate (November 22, 2022). "A Look Back at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade's Biggest Balloon Blunders". People. Archived from the original on November 19, 2023. Retrieved November 19, 2023.
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