John Curry
John Curry OBE | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | John Anthony Curry | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Birmingham, Warwickshire, England[1] | 9 September 1949|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 15 April 1994 Binton, Warwickshire, England | (aged 44)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Figure skating career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Skating club | Queens Ice Dance Club, London[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 1976 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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John Anthony Curry,
Early life
Curry was born on 9 September 1949 in Birmingham, England. He had two older brothers.[2] He was educated at Solihull School, a private school in the West Midlands and prior to this, at St Andrews, an independent boarding school in Somerset.[3] As a child, Curry wanted to become a dancer, but his father disapproved of dance as an activity for boys.[2][4] As a compromise, in 1957, he began to take figure skating lessons[5] under the guidance of Ken Vickers at the Summerhill Road rink in Birmingham.[2]
Skating career
After his father died from suicide when John was 16,
Competitive career
Fassi coached Curry to European, World, and Olympic titles in 1976.[1] He also won the British championships that year, giving him the coveted Grand Slam in figure skating with his four major titles in 1976.[8] In the same year he was the flag bearer at the Winter Olympics for Great Britain[9] and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1976.[10] He was the first male figure skater from Great Britain to win Olympic gold.
As an amateur competitor, Curry was noted for his ballet-like posture and extension, and his superb body control. Along with Canadian skater
During his 1976 Olympic free skate, using music from the ballet
His skating was unusual in that his jumps were performed counter-clockwise but most of his spins (except flying spins) were performed clockwise. In his 1978 biography, Curry is clear that if he were to do it over, his choice would have been in favour of ballet due to its highly defined structure which was a basis for his ability to jump and spin in either direction thanks to his command of a true center line understanding.[citation needed]
Curry's skating was characterized by strict attention to detail and clean, classical lines. As figure skater and writer Ellyn Kestnbaum states, he used his training in ballet to portray integrity of movement rooted in both dance and skating techniques.[7]
Professional career
Following the 1976 World Championships, Curry turned professional and founded a touring skating company along the same lines as a traditional dance company.
Curry's Broadway theatre credits include Icedancing (1978)
Personal life
It is speculated that Curry was
In 1987, Curry was diagnosed with
Donald Spoto's authorised biography of actor Alan Bates stated that Curry and Bates had a two-year affair and that Curry died in Bates's arms.[29][unreliable source?]
In 2018, a documentary on Curry's life and career, The Ice King, was released by Dogwoof Pictures.[30][5]
Programmes
Season | Short programme | Free skating | Exhibition |
---|---|---|---|
1975–1976 |
Results
International | |||||||
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Event | 1969–70 | 1970–71 | 1971–72 | 1972–73 | 1973–74 | 1974–75 | 1975–76 |
Winter Olympics | 10th | 1st | |||||
World Champ. | 14th | 9th | 4th | 7th | 3rd | 1st | |
European Champ. | 12th | 7th | 5th | 4th | 3rd | 2nd | 1st |
St. Gervais | 1st | ||||||
National | |||||||
British Champ. | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "John Curry". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020.
- ^ a b c d Bird, Dennis L. (16 April 1994). "Obituary: John Curry". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-5356-6.
- ^ Young, Graham (15 August 2014). "The extraordinary rise and fall of Birmingham's Olympic champion ice skater". BusinessLive. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ a b Ide, Wendy (25 February 2018). "The Ice King review – finely balanced John Curry documentary". The Observer. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
- ^ Goodwin, Daisy (27 July 2014). "Alone: The Triumph and Tragedy of John Curry by Bill Jones". The Sunday Times.
- ^ ISBN 0-8195-6641-1.
- ^ a b "John Curry". Encyclopaedia Britannica. 11 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ Great Britain. sports-reference.com
- ^ "Unearthed ode to John Curry".
- ^ Stevenson, Sandra (12 February 2010). "From the archive: Curry hits the gold standard Originally published on 12 February 1976". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Video 1976 Winter Olympic Free Skate". YouTube. Archived from the original on 8 July 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ White, Jim (5 February 2018). "Britain let John Curry's golden legacy at the Winter Olympics go to waste". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Official IOC Website". Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "Innsbruck 1976 Olympics". Olympic.org. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- ^ Thomson, Candus (24 January 2008). "Curry's state of grace". The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on 21 November 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ John Curry – Scheherazade 1980 (Professional Version) Archived 8 July 2021 at the Wayback Machine. Youtube
- ^ Edwards, Phil (2003). "The Real John Curry". Channel 4. Archived from the original on 4 April 2003.
- ^ "On this day 1976: John Curry skates to Olympic gold". BBC Online. 11 February 1976. Archived from the original on 17 December 2018. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
- ^ Vinocur, John. "The Loner Who Struck Gold". No. 13/02/1976. Birmingham Daily Post.
- ISBN 978-1-4088-5356-6.
- ^ O'Callahan, Eoin (17 February 2018). "Adam Rippon, John Curry and figure skating's complex history with gay athletes". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "John Curry outed as gay figure skater". Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Adam Rippon introduction to John Curry". 30 May 2019. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
- ^ "Skating star Curry dying of AIDS". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ Russell, Susan (10 June 2007). "John Curry: Triumph and Tragedy". International Figure Skating. Archived from the original on 2 January 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ a b "Family bids farewell to John Curry". Dundee Courier. 21 April 1994.
- ^ "Curry remembered". Dundee Courier. 12 September 1994.
- ^ Belonsky, Andrew (21 May 2007). "New Bio Outs Late, Great, "Gay" Alan Bates / Queerty". Queerty. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
- ^ The Ice King-Dogwoof-Documentary Distribution Archived 2 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 1 April 2018.
External links