Lawnchair Larry

AKA:

Lawn Chair Pilot

Birth Name:

Lawrence Richard Walters

Birth Date:

April 19, 1949

Birth Place:

Los Angeles, California

Death Date:

October 6, 1993

Place of Death:

Angeles National Forest, San Fernando, California

Age:

Cause of Death:

Suicide - Gunshot to heart

Cemetery Name:

Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills

Claim to Fame:

The Odd and the Interesting

Lawnchair Larry was an American truck driver who made a 45-minute flight in a homemade airship made of an ordinary patio chair and 45 helium-filled weather balloons. The aircraft, named 'Inspiration I', and with a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of Coke, a radio transmitter and a BB gun, rose to an altitude of over approximately 15,000 feet (4,600 m). Lawnchair Larry floated from the point of takeoff in San Pedro, California, into and violating controlled airspace near Long Beach Airport. Armed with a couple of sandwiches, a bottle of Coke, a radio transmitter and a BB gun,During the landing, the aircraft became entangled in power lines, but Walters was able to safely climb down. The flight attracted worldwide media attention and inspired a later movie and imitators. Lawnchair Larry was awarded the title of "At-Risk Survivor" in the 1993 Darwin Awards.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills

6300 Forest Lawn Drive

Los Angeles, California, 90068

USA

North America

Map:

Grave Location:

Columbarium of Valor

Grave Location Description

Once entering at the entrance at Forest Lawn Drive and Memorial Drive, drive about 665 feet east until coming to a fork. Turn left and head north east for 320 feet, and turn left at the intersection. Continue along memorial drive to the structure on your right. Park your car outside and enter the structure. Lawnchair Larry’s grave can be found just above and to the right of Leon Ames’s grave in the Columbarium of Valor.