Skating away Hamilton to end touring career after Portland show

The end of an era will arrive Saturday night in Portland. The sold-out show by Target Stars on Ice, set for 7:30 at the Cumberland County Civic Center, will mark the conclusion of Scott Hamilton’s touring career.

For 15 years, Hamilton has been the master of ceremonies, the ringmaster, for Stars on Ice, a tour he helped found. Portland has always been the finale of the touring season, but it will take on special meaning this year.

Hamilton, for one, is trying to downplay the significance of the night.

“I’m trying not to think about it,” he said by phone from a tour stop in New Orleans. “I understand that a lot more people will be coming in, but I’m just trying to skate an ice show. I want to go out, do what I do every night, and have a great time. I would like it to be a celebration, not a time of sadness.”

With a collection of skaters that includes Olympic gold medalists Kristi Yamaguchi, Tara Lipinski and Ilia Kulik and four-time world amateur champion Kurt Browning, the production would be, as the name suggests, an all-star team even without Hamilton.

But Hamilton, 42, has always been the straw that stirs the drink. Since winning Olympic gold in 1984, he has been simply the most visible face of figure skating in the United States, and maybe even the world. He’s been an entertainer, a producer, a sports analyst, a fund-raiser for many causes.

What’s next for Hamilton? Don’t ask him, because he’s not looking ahead.

“It might be denial, it might be living for the moment, but I really haven’t thought about it,” he said. “We’ll see where it goes. I’d like to skate in the future. But I’m just trying to savor every moment of this year.”

Hamilton hasn’t been as involved with the planning of the production as he was in the past, leaving that in the hands of Stars on Ice co-producer and director Sandra Bezic and choreographers Lee Ann Miller, Christopher Dean and Michael Seibert.

Still, it’s obvious this year’s production is a tribute to Hamilton. He skates solo to “My Way” and “Double Bogey Blues” (suggesting what the avid golfer plans to do with some of his spare time). The night closes with numbers featuring him in tandem with Yamaguchi and Lipinski, and then the entire cast.

His fellow skaters spoke of the lessons he’s taught them.

“No matter what’s going on with his skating, he’s always there for the audience,” Lipinski said. “He’s taught me how important the audience is. They come to see you – it could be your 60th performance, but they don’t know that, so go out there and have fun.”

Rosalynn Sumners, who retired from Stars on Ice two years ago, added, “He’s taught all of us: No matter what you’re going through, don’t lose that love of skating itself.”

Above all else, Scott Hamilton has been a survivor. He had stopped growing at age 2, and for the next six years, doctors prescribed a variety of unsuccessful treatments. Then he discovered skating, and, within a year, he began to grow again. His recovery was attributed to the intense physical activity in the cold of the rink.

Then, in 1997, Hamilton battled and survived testicular cancer, as detailed in his 1999 autobiography, “Landing It.” After that, he struggled with ankle injuries for several years. But, after surgery, he’s back and better than ever.

“The last three years, I was 60 percent,” he said. “This year, I’m 100 percent plus. Some nights, I’m skating better than ever. I’m able to skate without pain, and I’ve got my jumps back. To put my skates on, and know my foot’s going to hold up on landing, is a nice feeling.”

So what will Hamilton be doing in his post-touring life? One thing for sure is that he will still be an entertainer. He hopes to continue to perform at special events. He’s early in the development of a Broadway show. He acts in the soon-to-be-released feature film “On Edge,” in which he plays Ricky Metford, a frenzied, offbeat former skating coach and judge.

After 14 years as a sports analyst on CBS, he moves to NBC for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

One beneficiary of Stars on Ice is Target House, a residential complex affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., where families can live together while critically ill children undergo treatment.

It’s a cause near to Hamilton’s heart.

“When I was sick, as a child, my mom either had to drive home every night, stay in a hotel close by, or sleep in a chair in my room,” he told International Figure Skating magazine. “Now, with Target House, especially for the families whose children are going through long-term therapies, it’s a place where they can live as a family. That’s extremely important.”

Over the past three years, he has raised nearly $350,000 for Target House through his Scott Hamilton Annual Circle of Friends Invitational golf tournament, held at the Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Hamilton is also involved with increasing cancer awareness, through his Scott Hamilton C.A.R.E.S. (Cancer Alliance for Research, Education and Survivorship) Initiative. Located at the Cleveland Clinic’s new Taussig Cancer Center, its mission is to be a resource of information and support.

“We’re still growing and fund raising like crazy,” he said. “We’re about to announce a sponsor for a dedicated Web site, a place to go for answers on cancer.”

On this sunny day, Hamilton is planning to head out for a round of golf. He’ll likely be playing at least a little more golf in the future, as the Denver resident recently bought a vacation home on the grounds of the Sherwood Country Club.

After 17 years on the road, Hamilton wants to experience other things, including possibly a family.

“I felt this was the year to announce a little slowing down, to create a little balance in my life,” he said. “I feel it’s time for me to have a full and complete life.”