British figure skater and Olympic Champion, John Curry OBE was born on 9th September 1949 in Birmingham, and educated at Solihull School; a private school in the West Midlands. As a child – inspired by his first visit to a musical starring Margot Fonteyn – John wanted to become a dancer but his father disapproved of this passion for a young boy. As a compromise, in 1957, he began figure skating lessons with Ken Vickers at the Summerhill Road rink in Birmingham; a version of dancing that John said was “protected by the umbrella of sport.” Later, at the age of 18, after the death of his father, he would, however, add ballet lessons to his training.
Quoted in an article from Team GB, John Curry recalled: “I was very lucky with Ken, because he cared a great deal about the way one skated. From the very first time I went on the ice, he told me to keep my back straight, to hold my head up and that I should bend my knees without sticking my bottom out.”
At the age of 16, Curry moved to London to study with Arnold Gerschwiler, who coached him to his first win in 1971, at the British Figure Skating Championships. In 1972, Curry found an American sponsor who enabled him to study in the United States with Gus Lussi and Carlo Fassi. Fassi coached Curry to European, World, and Winter Olympic titles in 1976, making him the first male figure skater from Great Britain to win Olympic gold. Curry also won the British championships in the same year – placing first for the fourth year in a row – giving him the coveted Grand Slam in figure skating with his four major titles in 1976. In 1976, Curry was also the flag bearer at the Winter Olympics for Great Britain and was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Fellow figure skater, Robin Cousins described Curry’s Olympic free skate routine – set to Leon Minkus's ballet Don Quixote – in the Radio Times: “John’s ethos was purely aesthetic dance perfection. He loved the perfect line, the perfect jump, and it made him mesmerising to watch. Everything was so precise, and yet there was such freedom in that performance. It was balletic and beautiful, but I still find it a very masculine performance – his aura and command.”
It is thought that John Curry was outed as a gay man by a German tabloid newspaper, Bild-Zeitung before the March 1976 World Championships. John Vinocur, a reporter from the Associated Press, interviewed him, and his subsequent report included quotes from Curry that were candid about his sexuality. The article was published just 24 hours after Curry’s victory at the Winter Olympics, and Curry confirmed his sexuality at a press conference in Innsbruck, Austria the same evening. Although the news caused a brief scandal in Europe initially, his sexuality was generally ignored by the press and public for many years afterwards.
Following the 1976 World Championships, Curry turned professional and founded a touring skating company. Alongside choreographing routines for his own company, Curry also commissioned works from noted dance choreographers including: Sir Kenneth MacMillan, Peter Martins and Twyla Tharp.
In 1987, Curry was diagnosed with HIV and, in 1991, with AIDS. Speaking to The Mail (October 1992) Curry said: “My whole circle of friends died. I don't mean lovers, but I'm talking about people you go to the theater or to dinner with.”
Curry spent his final years with his mother, Rita, who had been a great support throughout his life. He sadly died of an AIDS-related heart attack on 15th April 1994 in Binton, Warwickshire, aged 44. According the Donald Spoto's authorised biography of actor Alan Bates, Curry died in Bates’ arms, following a two-year affair.
In 2017, Curry was finally commemorated with a blue plaque on his childhood home in Acocks Green, Birmingham.
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