Windsor’s Tony Bahno keeps stars like Lady Gaga and Beyoncé safe during major events
Tony Bahno is not just your ordinary 'insurance guy.' The 58-year-old Windsor man's work as senior vice president of 'risk control' for Marsh Risk and Insurance Services, one of the world's largest insurance brokers, puts him smack in the middle of some of the most thrilling entertainment events of the year, including The Superbowl and The Academy Awards.
It is Bahno's steady and experienced presence that makes sure no one, from the audience and crew to megastars like Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, get hurt.
In fact, it was Bahno who came up with the plan to get Gaga and her entourage safely up to the roof of NRG Stadium in Houston for her throat-catching half-time spectacle literally under the stars at Superbowl 51.
On the field, he's responsible for the safety of up to 1,400 people between the stage crew, special effects team, performers and various volunteers.
A tuxedo-clad Bahno was backstage at this year's Oscars, watching a debacle unfold as the cast, director and producers of 'La La Land' scampered up to the stage to accept a Best Picture award they hadn't actually won.
Bahno has clocked more than 30 years as a safety specialist for various large insurance carriers. He's been a safety specialist for everything from racetracks to The Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus.
He and his wife, Diane, have lived in Windsor for 20 years and have three grown kids, Julianne Ryan, Laura Hickman and Andrew Bahno, all in their twenties.
Q: Describe what you do?
A: 'I work with a wide range of industries that include construction, wineries, sports and entertainment, hospitals, hotels and casinos. All during the whole process I'm trying to reduce the risk associated with their operations. I'm looking at safety concerns from an employee's standpoint and a public standpoint...I'm making a safety assessment of an event, from how it is being built to how it is going to function during the time people are going to be there to how it is going to be deconstructed. There are different risks, different safety things that crop up during each of those distinct part of the process.
During preproduction for instance, observing building the stage, putting in lights, hanging things from 200 feet up in the stadium. I have to go and take a look at that and make sure individuals are doing that in a safe and productive manner.'
Q: For the most recent Superbowl you created the safety plan for Lady Gaga's rooftop performance and flying dive into the stadium. What did that entail?
A:'It's up to me to help my client work through the risks involved in that particular thing that entertainer wants to do. In the case of Lady Gaga, when she wanted to go onto the roof of the stadium. I was involved in how we were going to get her and her entourage, including her mother and her father, her sister and security people, and another 25 production people and camera crew, from a certain part of the stadium up safely to the roof level and down safely, and in a fairly dark environment....We had lights put in the area and some flashlights...I knew I had people who weren't used to going up ladders. The risk for them was going up a ladder of about 10 feet and then another ladder that was 15 feet, and then through a hatch onto the roof. You don't want anyone to carry anything. And they had to do it in the dark because the whole shot of her in the opening was done at night. It was really cool just to be a part of that.'
Q: Although it appeared that Lady Gaga was diving into the stadium from the roof, the opening songs were filmed ahead of time. How was that pulled off?
A:'While all the other components to the stage were being put together, and once the house lights went down, she made her way into the stadium, and one stage hand rigged her up on a harness and while everyone's attention was diverted to what appeared to be her on the roof, she was being hoisted up in the dark 90 feet up.'
Q: Were you nervous when these stunts are actually happening?
A: 'There's a company involved in actually flying people, hooking them up into a harness and doing it whether its a rock concert or a halftime show. They've been doing it for 60 or 70 years. I got to meet them the first time working a halftime show with Katy Perry (who flew on a shooting star above the crowd while fireworks exploded around her), and at two Oscar shows where there were aerial acts.'
Q: How was Lady Gaga to work with?
A:'She was very comfortable with what she had to do. It speaks to her professionalism as an artist and on top of that she was very gracious and sincerely appreciative of all the effort that goes into making the show. It's rare that somebody in my position gets to actually meet the talent. It was probably the biggest high so far of my career when she gave me a hug and thanked me for what I was doing. That never happened before and maybe it will never happen again.'
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