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Toller Cranston
Toller Cranston
Toller Cranston
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The documentary traces Cranston's roots as one of
four children growing up in the Ontario town of Swastika.
At the tender age of six, he donned his first pair of skates
and, as fate would have it, he found his metier. He was a
natural. But from the beginning, he felt alienated and misunderstood
- feelings that would haunt him throughout his life.
After he performed poorly at the Canadian Championships, Ellen
Burka, then coach of some of Canada's greatest figure skaters,
encouraged him not to give up. This was to be the beginning
of an alliance that would change figure skating forever. Together,
they carved a new path for many male skaters. As Brian
Orser explains, the next generation had permission to
be more expressive and free in their movement.
Cranston and Burka also discovered a shared passion for painting.
For seven years, he lived in her basement, painted and sold
his art. As the biography points out, she was one of several
women to take on the role of mother and mentor. But as Burka
confesses, their relationship - like so many in Cranston's
life - was tempestuous.
Although Cranston transformed male figure skating, he never
won an international gold medal. After turning professional
at age 27, Cranston would continue in his career for more
than 20 years, headlining every major skating show around
the world. Today, home is San Miguel de Allende, high in the
mountains of Central Mexico, where he lives, paints and dreams
every night that he is once again on skates.
Original Air Date - October 2, 2001
Links
Toller
Cranston - Jenkins Showler Gallery
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