Show Will Go On

Scott Hamilton will miss the friends he made in 15 years of touring with Stars on Ice, the show he co-founded and nurtured, and the friends he made during more than 30 years of figure skating.

But after the four-time U.S. and world champion and 1984 Olympic gold medalist does his last back flip and skates off the ice April 7, he will most miss the little moments that wove the tapestry of his life.

“I’ll miss the goofy stuff, the stuff behind the scenes,” he said. “And the view from center ice after the last solo. It really is unbelievable, standing there and having the spotlight on you, taking the last bow of the show. The other 21 hours, everything has been crazy, but that last bow, those simple pleasures, make it worthwhile.”

Almost four years after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer and a year after he was hobbled by a painful ankle injury, Hamilton believes he is skating better than ever. That’s saying a lot: His dizzying spins, soaring jumps and unflagging exuberance have long endeared him to judges and fans.

“Last year, I couldn’t put weight on my ankle at all,” he said. “This year, it was like the sunshine came through and the angels sang and all of a sudden I can do a lutz again. I was like, ‘Yeah!’ ”

And because he is skating so well and is free of pain--aside from the soreness to be expected in a 42-year-old athlete who skates taxing routines five nights a week--he’s confident it’s the right time to go.

Hamilton is bidding a long goodbye to Stars on Ice, which stops at Staples Center tonight and the Arrowhead Pond on Saturday on a 65-city tour that began in late November. He’s not sure what he will do next. Maybe stage a Broadway-type show. Maybe more work as a skating commentator for CBS. Maybe something he hasn’t thought of yet.

Whatever he chooses, he will embark with happy memories and with confidence castmates such as 1998 Olympic gold medalists Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik will build on his legacy of showmanship, skill and respect for the audience.

“I’ve done this long enough,” Hamilton said during a quick visit to Los Angeles, where he has a home and indulges his passion for golf. “It’s time to reinvent myself. I love this tour so much that I think it’s time to for me to let it go.

“I’ve learned this year the way to lead is to be the last one, to try to find ways of supporting and presenting the other skaters. The best thing for me to do is step away. My spot will be taken by the next person. These guys [Lipinski and Kulik] have their careers ahead of them and they need time to explore the levels they can reach.

“It’s just time, physically and life-wise. There are things I’ve put on hold for a long time in the name of my career and some of them can’t wait anymore. I want to have a family and children, and I don’t want the mother of my children to be changing two sets of diapers at the same time.”

The show also features 1992 Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, four-time world champion Kurt Browning of Canada, 1994 world champion Yuka Sato of Japan, three-time U.S. pair champions Jenni Meno and Todd Sand of Costa Mesa and two-time U.S. ice dance champions Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur. Two-time Olympic champion Ekaterina Gordeeva, a co-headliner since 1991, is on sabbatical.

A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Target House, a residence for children and their families who are being treated for life-threatening illnesses at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

Hamilton broke into the elite skating ranks in the 1970s. He initially won notice because of his diminutive size--a childhood intestinal disorder stunted his growth and limited his height to 5 feet 3--but he won accolades for his skills.

After his 1984 victory at Sarajevo, he started Stars on Ice and helped develop it. “It’s a show. It’s not just people skating and doing numbers and getting off the ice,” Lipinski said.

Each skater has a solo and appears in ensemble routines. The music includes jazz, classical, pop and rock, reflecting the tastes of different generations of skaters.

Hamilton laughs at the variation in clothes, musical preferences and daily wake-up calls among cast members. The bond uniting what he affectionately calls “our dysfunctional family” is his professionalism, generous spirit and ability to get along with everyone in what can be a catty and cutthroat sport.

To each skater, his advice differs. To Lipinski, it was “11 o’clock always comes,” reassurance that if she makes a mistake, the performance will end and she will have a chance to do better the next night.

“You learn a lot from him, and that’s another reason why I came to this tour,” said Lipinski, who is skating back to peak form after September hip surgery. “You see a lot of skaters, they’re great skaters but they just skate. Here, you just have to go out and watch Scott every night and you learn things.

“The other day I was on the ice and in the middle of my program, I thought of him. Maybe last summer he said to me, ‘When you’re on the ice, you have to look at people and really see them.’ I said, ‘I see them. They’re all there.’ But this year, it’s different. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God, I just saw exactly what that person’s face looks like and I tried to see what their expression looks like toward me,’ and I said, ‘That’s what Scott was telling me.”’

Hamilton’s most trying time came after his cancer diagnosis and chemotherapy. There were nights he relied more on acting than athleticism to sell his programs.

“The last three years have been a struggle for me,” said Hamilton, who has periodic checkups. “I learn every day too. I learn about focus and intensity and work ethic. There is a transition period [from the competitive ranks]. As Tara and Ilia said, a lot of it is lifestyle and freedom. It’s all about finding yourself and the part of your personality and makeup that has value to you and you can share with the audience.

“There’s no medal at the end of the year. Nobody hands you a trophy and no one says, ‘You’re the best.’ The only way to look back on a year of touring skating is to say, ‘I grew. I touched people. I really feel I’m a better skater than I was six months ago.’ It’s about the process, not about a result.”

Not a bad way to look back on a skating career, either.