Giving flight to fantasy: Las Vegas is home to Flying by Foy

Eight years before the 1978 film "Superman" was making people "believe a man can fly," Flying by Foy was making people believe a man could fly in the Broadway musical "It's a Bird ... It's a Plane ... It's Superman."

For more than 70 years the company has been making people believe that men, women and lost boys can fly. These flight operations have been based in Las Vegas since the 1960s.

Although the company's founder, Peter Foy, died in 2005, his wife, Barbara, and his children Theresa and Garry are still here, and a staff of 23 still creates and manages theatrical flying equipment used around the world.

"We're a global company with productions on several continents and even on the sea with the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line," said Flying By Foy's director of operations, Joe McGeough. "Globally we have a staff of 34 with offices outside of Philadelphia that handle the East Coast, and we have offices in London."

Peter Foy was an actor and spent some time in the limelight on the other end of the wires and pulleys before he began running flying effects from backstage.

"He was working on a show with a new crew, and he asked them how many had experience flying someone, and none of them did," Barbara Foy said. "He told them, 'Well, we have our work cut out, and this is going to be fun,' and of course it was."

In the early 1950s, while working on a production of "Peter Pan" starring Jean Arthur (and later Veronica Lake) in the title role and Boris Karloff as Captain Hook, Peter Foy became frustrated with the limits of the flying effects. He created the Inter-Related Pendulum System for Mary Martin's 1954 and 1955 production of the play, which revolutionized stage flying by allowing greater movement and fluid flying motion.

He started Flying By Foy in 1957 and continued stretching the boundaries of stage flight for the rest of his life. Over the years Flying By Foy has flown everyone from Lucille Ball to rapper 50 Cent.

"Currently we're working on Katy Perry's tour along with several Broadway shows," McGeough said. "We fly a bus in 'Priscilla: Queen of the Desert' and there are several productions of 'Billy Elliot' touring right now."

Locally, Flying By Foy technology is used in 'The Lion King,' not for flying but for climbing and controlled falling when a major character falls to his death. Flying By Foy works on shows from Olympic ceremonies to high school productions of "Peter Pan," a play that still remains closely associated with the company.

The company came to Las Vegas after Barbara Foy was cast in a haunted house sequence in Donn Arden's Desert Inn show "Hello America." At the time, the Foys were living in Los Angeles and doing some film work. Flying By Foy effects were used to great effects in such films as "Funny Girl," the classic science fiction film "Fantastic Voyage" and the television series "The Flying Nun."

"I worked with so many great people back then," Barbara Foy said. "I performed with Sam Butera, Garry Marshall and many others."

Flying By Foy builds elaborate pulley and cable systems and more and continues to innovate in the field.

"Peter developed a lot of systems," McGeough said. "He always considered himself an idea man. He was passionate about the whole flying business, which he passed on to us. We're sort of like a think tank, trying to come up with ways to make things better and improve."

The company's standard wire is five-sixty-fourths of an inch in diameter, with a breaking strength of more than 900 pounds. Depending on the application, there are a variety of wire diameters to choose from. While Flying By Foy is the most established flying company, the staff is aware that it's part of a team creating magical moments.

"These days, they can just use computers to erase the wires in film," McGeough said. "On stage, it doesn't matter how thin a wire you use. If you aren't working with a good lighting designer, it's going to show up."

Peter Foy received several awards over the years touting his safety innovations. Among the reasons he stressed safety was his wife, Barbara, who described herself as "the chief guinea pig."

"I was always around when he was working on something new, and I've always been light," Barbara Foy said. "Peter was always concerned with safety, and I'm not saying that just because of Spider-Man."

The injury-plagued Broadway musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has given flying effects a bit of a black eye. Although Flying By Foy is working on several Broadway productions currently, 'Spider-Man' isn't one of them.

"Perhaps they should have asked us for advice," Barbara Foy said.

McGeough observed that because there are several flying companies now, some of which do not have as good a track record regarding safety, Flying By Foy staff members find themselves under more scrutiny from various government agencies. Although the extra inspections cost time and money, they're happy for the extra eyes on the work.

Barbara Foy had her own show at the Desert Inn called "Barbara and the Britons," a production show performed in an upstairs lounge. That show closed when a new owner -- Howard Hughes -- came to the hotel. He didn't want the noise that close to his suites, which were the entire top two floors of the hotel.

"It seemed like everything changed overnight from 'the Chicago people' to the corporations," Barbara Foy said. "The corporations changed so many things."

That marked the end of her onstage career, but she's still working at the company her husband founded more than a half century ago. When asked when the last time she personally flew, Foy stopped and thought a moment.

"About two months ago," she said.

For more information about the company, visit flybyfoy.com.

Contact Sunrise and Whitney View reporter F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@viewnews.com or 380-4532.