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{{Other people|John Curry}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox figure skater
| name = John Curry <br /> <small>[[Order of the British Empire|OBE]]</small>
| image = John Curry 1976.jpg
| image_size = 240px
| caption = Curry at the 1976 Olympics
| fullname = John Anthony Curry
| country = United Kingdom
| birth_date = {{birth date|1949|9|9|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Birmingham]], [[Warwickshire]], England<ref name=sr>[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/cu/john-curry-1.html John Curry]. sports-reference.com</ref>
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|4|15|1949|9|9|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Binton]], [[Warwickshire]], England
| formercoach = [[Carlo Fassi]], [[Gustav Lussi]],<br> [[Arnold Gerschwiler]]
| skating club = Queens Ice Dance Club, London<ref name=sr/>
| height = 180 cm<ref name=sr/>
| retired = 1976
| show-medals = yes
| medaltemplates = <!-- see [[Template:MedalRelatedTemplates]] -->
{{MedalSport | Men's [[figure skating]]}}
{{MedalCountry| {{GBR2}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[Figure skating at the Winter Olympics|Olympic Games]]}}
{{MedalGold| [[Figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics|1976 Innsbruck]] | [[Figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics#Men|Singles]]}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[World Figure Skating Championships|World Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1976 World Figure Skating Championships|1976 Gothenburg]]|Singles}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1975 World Figure Skating Championships|1975 Colorado Springs]]|Singles}}
{{MedalCompetition|[[European Figure Skating Championships|European Championships]]}}
{{MedalGold|[[1976 European Figure Skating Championships|1976 Geneva]]|Singles}}
{{MedalSilver|[[1975 European Figure Skating Championships|1975 Copenhagen]]|Singles}}
{{MedalBronze|[[1974 European Figure Skating Championships|1974 Zagreb]]|Singles}}
}}

'''John Anthony Curry''', {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}} (9 September 1949 – 15 April 1994)<ref name="bird">{{cite news|author=Bird, Dennis L.|title=Obituary: John Curry|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-john-curry-1370333.html|work=[[The Independent]]|date=16 April 1994|accessdate=22 August 2011|location=London}}</ref> was a British [[Figure skating|figure skater]]. He was the 1976 [[Figure skating at the 1976 Winter Olympics|Olympic]] and [[World Figure Skating Championships|World Champion]]. He was noted for combining [[ballet]] and [[modern dance]] influences into his skating.

==Early life==
Curry was born on 9 September 1949 in [[Birmingham]], England. He had two older brothers.<ref name="bird"/> He was educated at [[Solihull School]], an [[Independent school (UK)|independent school]] in the [[West Midlands (county)|West Midlands]], and then at St Andrews, an independent boarding school in [[Somerset]].{{cn|date=July 2018}} As a child, Curry wanted to become a dancer, but his parents disapproved of dance as an activity for boys;<ref name="bird"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.business-live.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/extraordinary-rise-fall-birminghams-olympic-7607119|title=The extraordinary rise and fall of Birmingham's Olympic champion ice skater|last=Young|first=Graham|date=15 Aug 2014|website=BusinessLive|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref> Instead, he began to take figure skating lessons under the guidance of Ken Vickers at the Summerhill Road rink in Birmingham.<ref name="bird" />

==Skating career==
After his father died of tuberculosis, when John was 16,<ref name="bird"/> he moved to London to study with [[Arnold Gerschwiler]], who coached him to his first British title in 1971. In 1972, Curry found an American sponsor who enabled him to study in the United States with [[Gus Lussi]] and [[Carlo Fassi]].<ref name=sr/>

===Competitive career===
Fassi coached Curry to [[European Figure Skating Championships|European]], World, and Olympic titles in 1976.<ref name=sr/> He is the first man to win all three titles in the same season.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ifsmagazine.com/john-curry-triumph-and-tragedy/|title=John Curry: Triumph and Tragedy|last=Russell|first=Susan|date=10 June 2007|website=International Figure Skating|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref>  He also won the British championships, giving him four major titles in 1976.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Curry|title=John Curry|last=|first=|date=11 April 2019|website=Encyclopaedia Britannica|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref> In the same year, he was the flag bearer at the [[1976 Winter Olympics|Winter Olympics]] for Great Britain<ref>[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/countries/GBR/ Great Britain]. sports-reference.com</ref> and was voted [[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]] in 1976.{{cn|date=July 2018}} Indeed, he is the first figure skater from Great Britain to win Olympic gold.<ref name=":2" />

As an amateur competitor, Curry was noted for his ballet-like posture and extension, and his superb body control. Along with Canadian skater [[Toller Cranston]], Curry was responsible for bringing the artistic and presentation aspects of men's figure skating to a new level. At the peak of his competitive career, Curry was also accomplished both at [[compulsory figures]] and the athletic ([[figure skating jump|jumping]]) aspects of free skating.  

During his 1976 Olympic free skate, he successfully landed a triple [[toe loop jump|toe loop]], a triple [[Salchow jump|Salchow]] and a triple [[loop jump]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2010/feb/12/john-curry-olympic-gold|title=From the archive: Curry hits the gold standard Originally published on 12 February 1976|last=Stevenson|first=Sandra|date=12 February 2010|website=The Guardian|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z79TMsYRnEc|title=Video 1976 Winter Olympic Free Skate|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref> His performance is known to have garnered the highest score ever given during the era of the 6.0 scoring in figure skating.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/winter-olympics/2018/02/05/britain-let-john-currys-golden-legacy-winter-olympics-go-waste/|title=Britain let John Curry’s golden legacy at the Winter Olympics go to waste|last=White|first=Jim|date=5 February 2018|website=The Telegraph|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref>  He earned 105.9 points out of a possible 108 points from a panel of 9 international judges.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/john-curry|title=Official IOC Website|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=}}</ref>  Only the judges from Canada and the Soviet Union did not place him first.<ref name=":2" />  The judges' decisions are noteworthy because the silver medallist was [[Vladimir Kovalev]] of [[Soviet Union at the Olympics|USSR]] and the bronze medallist was Toller Cranston of Canada.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.olympic.org/innsbruck-1976/figure-skating|title=Innsbruck 1976 Olympics|last=|first=|date=|website=Olympic.org|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=14 June 2019}}</ref>  

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.{{cn|date=July 2018}}

===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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/olympics/bal-sp.skate24jan24-story.html|title=Curry's state of grace|last=Thomson|first=Candus|date=24 January 2008|website=The Baltimore Sun|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref>  Besides choreographing routines for the company, Curry commissioned works from such noted dance choreographers as [[Sir Kenneth MacMillan]], [[Peter Martins]] and [[Twyla Tharp]]. Curry was reportedly a difficult person to get along with, and a dispute with the business managers of his company forced it to suspend operations in the mid-1980s. After that, Curry performed only rarely in public.{{cn|date=July 2018}}

Curry's Broadway theatre credits include ''Icedancing'' (1978)<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se19k1ZvLSw John Curry – Scheherazade 1980 (Professional Version)]. Youtube</ref> as a performer<ref name=Channel4>{{cite web|author=Edwards, Phil|title=The Real John Curry|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/curry.html|publisher=[[Channel 4]]|year=2003|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030404153717/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/R/real_lives/curry.html|archivedate=4 April 2003}}</ref> and director and the 1980 revival of ''[[Brigadoon]]'' as an actor and the [[Roundabout Theatre]] 1989 revival of ''[[Privates on Parade]]'' as an actor.

==Personal life==
Prior to the 1976 World Championships, Curry was [[outed]] as gay by a German tabloid newspaper, ''[[Bild-Zeitung]]''.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title=On this day 1976: John Curry skates to Olympic gold|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/11/newsid_4504000/4504532.stm|work=[[BBC Online]]|accessdate=22 August 2011|date=11 February 1976}}</ref> Other sources state that it was a reporter from the Associated Press immediately after his Olympic victory who was responsible.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/feb/17/adam-rippon-lgbt-figure-skaters-john-curry|title=Adam Rippon, John Curry and figure skating's complex history with gay athletes|last=O'Callahan|first=Eoin|date=17 Feb 2018|website=The Guardian|archive-url=|archive-date=|dead-url=|access-date=12 June 2019}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> It caused a brief scandal in Europe at the time, but Curry's sexual orientation was generally ignored by the press and public for many years afterwards.{{or|date=July 2018}}

In 1987 Curry was diagnosed with [[HIV]], and in 1991 with [[AIDS]]. Before his death, he spoke to the press about both his disease and his sexual orientation. He spent the last years of his life with his mother. He died of an AIDS-related [[heart attack]] on 15 April 1994 in [[Binton]], [[Warwickshire]], aged 44.<ref name="bird" /><ref name=":1" />

A 2007 biography of actor [[Alan Bates]] claimed that Curry and Bates had a two-year affair, and that Curry died in Bates's arms.{{cn|date=July 2018}}

In 2018, a documentary on Curry's life and career, ''The Ice King'', was released by [[Dogwoof|Dogwoof Pictures]].<ref>[https://dogwoof.com/theiceking/ The Ice King-Dogwoof-Documentary Distribution] Retrieved 1 April 2018.</ref>

==Programmes==
{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Season
! [[Short program (figure skating)|Short programme]]
! [[Free skating]]
! Exhibition
|-
! 1975–1976
|
*[[Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini]]<br><small>by [[Sergei Rachmaninoff]]</small>
| 
*[[Don Quixote (ballet)|Don Quixote]]<br><small>by [[Ludwig Minkus]]</small>
| 
*[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]<br><small>by [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov]]</small>
|}

==Results==
{|  class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! style="background-color: #ffdead; " colspan=8 align=center | '''International'''
|-
! Event
! 1969–70
! 1970–71
! 1971–72
! 1972–73
! 1973–74
! 1974–75
! 1975–76
|-
| align=left | [[Figure skating at the Olympic Games|Winter Olympics]] || || || 10th || || || || bgcolor=gold | 1st
|-
| align=left | [[World Figure Skating Championships|World Champ.]] || || 14th || 9th || 4th || 7th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=gold | 1st
|-
| align=left | [[European Figure Skating Championships|European Champ.]] || 12th || 7th || 5th || 4th || bgcolor=cc9966 | 3rd || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st
|-
| align=left | [[Grand Prix International St. Gervais|St. Gervais]] || || bgcolor=gold | 1st || || || || || 
|-
! style="background-color: #ffdead; " colspan=8 align=center | '''National'''
|-
| align=left | [[British Figure Skating Championships|British Champ.]] || bgcolor=silver | 2nd || bgcolor=gold | 1st || || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st || bgcolor=gold | 1st
|}

==See also==
*[[Larry Parnes]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/11/newsid_4504000/4504532.stm On this day – 1976: John Curry skates to Olympic gold] BBC News

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{{Succession box|title=[[BBC Sports Personality of the Year]]|before=[[David Steele (cricketer)|David Steele]] |after=[[Virginia Wade]]|years=1976}}
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{{Use British English|date=August 2010}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Curry, John}}
[[Category:1949 births]]
[[Category:1994 deaths]]
[[Category:AIDS-related deaths in England]]
[[Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners]]
[[Category:British male single skaters]]
[[Category:Figure skaters at the 1972 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Figure skaters at the 1976 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Gay sportsmen]]
[[Category:LGBT sportspeople from England]]
[[Category:Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain]]
[[Category:English Olympic medallists]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Birmingham, West Midlands]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain]]
[[Category:People educated at Solihull School]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in figure skating]]
[[Category:LGBT figure skaters]]
[[Category:World Figure Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:European Figure Skating Championships medalists]]
[[Category:World Figure Skating Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Medalists at the 1976 Winter Olympics]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire]]