Toller Cranston

Toller Cranston (April 20, 1949 – January 24, 2015) was a Canadian figure skater.

Toller Cranston
Cranston performs a split jump at the 1974 World Figure Skating Championships
Born	20 April 1949
Died	24 January 24 2015
Nationality	Canadian
Occupation	Figure skater

Early life and career

Cranston was born in Hamilton, Ontario. He grew up in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. He was Canadian champion six times, and, despite never coming higher than third at a world championship, he came first in the free skate four times. He was well-respected for his artistic ability, and is recognized as someone who brought a new level of artistry to men's figure skating.

Professional career

He skated as a professional for many years, choreographed (designed movement patterns for) skating routines, and was a commentator (talked about events) on T.V. during skating events. Many people don't realize that Toller was also an extremely successful and talented fine art painter. He funded his career off the sale of his artworks, and continued to paint ferociously until the end of his days.

Retirement and death

After his retirement, Cranston lived in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He was found dead at his home in San Miguel de Allende on the morning of January 24, 2015. He was 65 years old. His cause of death was later said to be a heart attack.

Amateur competitions

• World Championships: third in 1974
• Olympics: bronze medal in 1976
• Canadian Championships: first in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, and 1976

Other websites

• Toller Cranston Archived 2015-05-01 at the Wayback Machine official site

• Media related to Toller Cranston at Wikimedia Commons