Olympic figure skating great and six-time Canadian champion Toller Cranston has died at the age of 65. Fellow skaters Brian Orser and Debbi Wilkes look back at an incredible career and the fascinating character that changed his sport.
I remember when he first started out, he did not show any boundries in his expression of his talents. He was ahead of his time and was not always seen as the visionary that he was. He simply was a wonder with all his talents. What can a mear person really say, but that he will be missed.
In my late 20's I was a national promotion director for the Ice Capades, from 79 to 82, and worked closely with Toller on a number of week long show runs in various cities. It was my honor and privilege to know him. As a straight man it was quite obvious to me that Toller was gay but of course It didn't bother me in the slightest. He was a gentleman, he was hilarious, he was a tremendously gifted artist both with skates and paint brushes, he was unfailingly kind and generous to me. He even invited me to dinner in his Toronto home, something celebrities don't tend to do with PR types. My life was richer having met him.
On a certain artistic level all convention goes out the window. Your going to manifest what you are, or your going to follow the herd. The world wasn't always ready for Toller, now nostalgia flits across our minds like the shadow of a wondrous bird. RIP
It reminds me of the movie documentary man on a wire ..... a man who pushed himself to the limits and made the impossible, possible. Philippe Petit was name, a documentary well worth seeing.
