Konrad Thurano

Konrad Thurano (born April 4, 1909 in Düsseldorf, † November 20, 2007 in Langeskov, Denmark; actually Konrad Thur) was a German tightrope walker. Until his official departure from the ring in 2006, he was the oldest active artist in the world.

Thurano was the son of a doctor. He broke off his banking apprenticeship in 1924 and began his career at the Apollo Varieté in Düsseldorf after the fifteen-year-old was “discovered” by trapeze artists doing gymnastics on the Düsseldorf Rhine meadows. In 1929 he was hired by the Dominik Althoff circus.

Thurano was married to Henriette Althoff († 2004) from 1932 to 2004, whom he met at the Althoff circus. The marriage produced three children.