John Curry first took up skating at the age of 12 under the guidance of Ken Vickers at the Summerhill Road rink in Birmingham. But in 1965 he left for London to learn from Arnold Gerschwiler and later Alison Smith at Richmond. After winning his first British junior championship in 1967, he won the senior title in 1970. Steadily improving performances in the world and European championships and 11th place in the 1972 Olympics led to invaluable sponsorship being provided by Ed Moseler, an American millionaire. Moseler’s support gave Curry freedom from financial worries, coaching by the renowned Carlo Fassi and superb training facilities at Denver, Colorado. These new-found advantages pain handsome dividends and in 1975 Curry was second in the European and third in the World Championships. In 1976 he opened his Olympic season by taking the European title at Innsbruck and then gave one of the greatest performances in skating history to take the Olympic gold medal. Graceful, athletic and with a perfectly coordinated program, he completely outclassed the rest of the world’s finest skaters. Curry quickly confirmed his position by winning the World Championship at Gothenburg and then turned professional – as the holder of the European, World and Olympic titles he was able to negotiate a highly lucrative contract. He brought a magnificent ice show to London but never forsook his ambition to be an actor. Although he appeared regularly in provincial productions, he never made it to Broadway or the West End. Curry, who was awarded the OBE in 1976, was undoubtedly one of the major influences in popularizing the sport in Britain and, remembering his early struggle to finance his own training, he was a generous supporter of the National Skating Association. Curry was one of the first openly gay male skaters and was also one of the first to succumb to AIDS.
Great Britain