Christopher Nicol Bowman (March 30, 1967 - January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater, born in Hollywood, California. Immensely talented, Bowman was always expected to become the next great American male skater, but it never truly came to pass. He was known as "Bowman the Showman" for his crowd-pleasing performances.
Bowman was a child actor, appearing in commercials and two episodes of the TV series “Little House on the Prairie.” He then used his theatrical skills in skating, becoming known as Bowman the Showman. But a wild lifestyle, and inattentiveness to his training kept Bowman from ever realizing his potential.
Christopher Bowman in 1988
Early Career and Achievements
In 1983 Bowman won the US Juniors and the World Juniors. At the senior level he won the US title in 1989 and 1992, but at the Worlds, he mounted the podium only twice, second in 1989 and third in 1990.
His achievements include:
Read also: Comprehensive Ice Skating Rink Guide
- National Men's Figure Skating Champion - 1992
- World Men's Figure Skating Bronze Medalist - 1990
- World Men's Figure Skating Silver Medalist - 1989
Christopher Bowman 1991 US Nationals SP
Coaching and Training
Bowman changed coaches frequently, or they changed on him, often quitting because they could not control his profligate habits. After the Goodwill Games, he parted ways with Frank Carroll, who had coached him for eighteen years. Toller Cranston and Ellen Burka were his next coaches, followed by John Nicks.
Skating Style and Personality
Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic champion, told the Chicago Tribune: "If I had to pick the three most talented skaters of all time, I would pick Christopher as one. He had natural charisma, natural athleticism, he could turn on a crowd in a matter of seconds and he always seemed so relaxed about it."
Bowman's competitive programs were usually set to classical music, with choreography, as figure skater writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum stated, that "on most other skaters would emphasize the aesthetic and dramatic qualities of the movement".
Kestnbaum states that Bowman would instead deliberately overplay facial expressions and emotional gestures in his programs, "thus drawing attention to the constructedness of the emotions he was conveying", which made his performances humorous. He would also, from time to time, interrupt his skating to point or to "mug directly at a spectator or into a television camera that happened to be along his path".
Kestnbaum reports that at 1991 Skate America, Bowman "further breached aesthetic distance" by leaning over the barrier and grabbing the leg of an acquaintance in the first row.
Read also: Action Figures: Starting Lineup
Life After Competitive Skating
Bowman retired from competitive skating after the 1992 World Championships and toured with Ice Capades the following year. He left the tour in 1993 when Dorothy Hamill purchased Ice Capades.
For some years thereafter, Bowman worked as a skating coach, first in Massachusetts and then in the Detroit area, where he lived from 1995 until 2007, and as a skating commentator.
Personal Struggles and Death
After his skating career ended, Bowman admitted to a cocaine habit and that he had checked into drug rehab prior to the 1988 Winter Olympics. He battled drug problems, and underwent treatment at least twice - once before the 1988 Olympics and then again after the Albertville Games in 1992. He also had run-ins with the law.
Bowman was divorced from skating coach Annette Bowman Jasinkiewicz with whom he had a daughter, Bianca (b. Bowman's body was found at a motel in the North Hills section of Los Angeles, and an autopsy was planned for this weekend, Bale said."He just passed away in his sleep," Bowman's mother, Joyce, told the Detroit Free Press, which first reported details of his death. He was 40 years old.
He was found in a motel in the North Hills area of Los Angeles. Christopher Bowman died of accidental drug overdose.
Read also: Discover the story of Charlie White
tags: #christopher #bowman #figure #skater