Fan Man

November 6, 1993 - It was on this night that a paraglider piloted by James Miller made a surprise landing at the heavyweight title fight between Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield. Miller would continue to make high-profile appearances at other sporting events and the press came to know him as "Fan Man."

His disruption of the Bowe/Holyfield fight would live on as his greatest stunt. It was a couple of minutes into the 7th round when Miller and his fan-powered paraglider flew over the Caesar's Palace venue. The lines from his paraglider got snagged on some overhead lights and Miller crashed into the ropes of the boxing ring where he was immediately dragged into the crowd and beaten by spectators and security guards.

After Las Vegas, Miller pulled similar stunts, like landing on the roof of Buckingham Palace, and flying onto the field of an NFL game between the Denver Broncos and the L.A. Raiders. Each appearance earned him brief fame or infamy, depending on your perspective.

But all of that wasn’t enough to overcome Miller’s internal battle with depression and health issues. Sadly, in September of 2022 he took his own life.

Friends of Miller said one of his hopes was that his Fan Man stunts would make people “look up for once — and smile.”