Added: 5 years ago
From: msclairol
Views: 43,525
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  • He died?  What happened to him?

  • @billiejean1977 Too much hard living caught up with him - he OD'd a couple of years ago. Tragic. What a great talent he was. R.I.P.

  • OMG 2:07, uber-young Katia & Sergei! Too many tragic deaths in this sport. =( I hope Chris found the peace he couldn't find in life.

    I *love* this routine of his - I had such a crush on him, partly because he was SUCH a bad boy - that was before I knew how serious the "bad boy" thing was for him.

  • Can never hear Wooly Bully without thinking of Chris Bowman. RIP

  • Me too!

  • This is the Chris I will remember - talented, sweet, funny, and irreverent. It's really nice to see how many people have responded to his passing. Godspeed, Chris.

  • They don't call him a showman for nothing. RIP Chris!

  • Chris was something else indeed...

    Watching the other staid, formal, inhibited members of the sport's faces alone was worth saving this clip.

    Remember him this way. It's what he would want.

  • Christopher was a tortured genius who was ahead of his time in his sport. Tragically, he was unable to grow into productive adulthood due to bipolar disorder that went undiagnosed unbelievably too long. Chris, I hope you are able to see my Mom in heaven and to recognize what you meant to us all. Skate in Peace.....Mary Hughes, your dear friend in Rhode Island

  • Oh Bowman the Showman. He was always my favorite! RIP Chris.

  • It IS true. I skated several times at Culver City rink when he was like 11-12. And yes, his mother used to hit him with his skate guards and tell him what a worthless peice of shit he was. I can't believe his mother is still alive. She was a TOTAL BITCH to him. I saw it for myself.

    God bless Chris. He deserves peace FINALLY.

    I'll remember him not just for the great skater he was but also for the really nice person he was.

    R.I.P. Chris.

  • yes, his mother shouldn't have done that...it hurts! esp he was just a kid that time.

  • @ZakSF I used to skate in Van Nuys and Santa Barbara with him. She did do all of that, and more. He was a great guy and didn't deserve that crap from her.

  • What a talent! And how even more heartbreaking to read the comments on his mother being so abusive to him when he was young. Her was her only child. Not hard to see why he used drugs, at least in part, as a means of escape, of coping with emotional pain. RIP, Christopher--you were loved by many.

  • Chris Bowman was WAY ahead of his time. He was often criticized for playing to the cameras and the audience. Skating pioneers like Chris, Rudy Galindo and Phillipe Candelero recognized that skating was as much a performance as it is a sport and they knew what audiences loved. Chris never got the credit he deserved for being one of the forefathers of modern exhibition skating. Rest in peace Chris - you are missed and loved.

  • I couldn't have said this better myself!

  • Christopher Bowman remembered- what a tremendous talent. RIP.

  • I remember seeing Christopher Bowman do this routine on TV. I am sad that he passed away. He was quite charming and talented...so sad that he let parental abuse and his other weaknesses overpower him. I hope he is free now.

  • We miss you, Christopher. You gave us wonder and joy :) Be at peace now. "You done good."

  • rip

  • I'm sure she's grieving, but I remember her so vividly: fat, rude, obnoxious b*&#@ standing in the middle of the rink berating Christopher until he ran off crying.

  • I remember his mother beating him with skate guards too. We all despised her for that. I was hoping they maybe reconciled in later life, but seeing how things ended for Christopher, I highly doubt it.

  • Wow how sad. I haven't thought of him in so long. I was in love with him as a teenager! I thought he was sooooooo cute! Stop at 2:07 and you will also see another fantastic skater who has passed, Sergei Grinkov. So sad.

  • Yes...Serge's wonderful smile breakes my heart....

  • You will be very missed.....I hope you can now really rest in peace!!!!

  • That's how I want to remember the man--exuberant, playful and graceful, young and gorgeous. He rocked!

  • He always executed his Half-camel-toes with such ease.

  • My entire family joins me in sending this message of condolence to the Bowman Family and Friends. Chris will be missed.

    "I don't know the key to success, but I know the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

    -- Bill Cosby

    Sk8

  • he gave me a backstage pass for a party at the hyatt in pittsburgh in 1989. he had me follow him up to his room after the show-brian boitano was shaving in the bathroom when we went in to the room. what a shame to have ended this way.

  • I worked at the ice rink Chris practiced at in 1981. He was about 13yo. I remember him being so obnoxious. But then again, his mother would stand on the ice and embarrass him until he cried. I remember him crying a lot and throwing lots of fits. This kid had many problems and they started early.

  • How sad for Chris and his family to endure such a tragic end to a tragic life.

  • I hadn't thought of him in years, but back then when I was 16 I was in love with him. I remember taping this and watching it several times. I still think of the routine whenever I hear that song. I'm actually really sad watching it. :/

  • He will be missed! Great guy.

  • Thank you, Christopher, for so many great performances.

  • Christopher is gone, but he will never be forgotten.

  • Does anyone have his Rolling Stones exhibition? That was hysterical.

  • I was at World's when he did that - one of the highlights of my time as a skating fan

  • Bowman was fucking awesome....too bad he never medalled at the Olympics.....he had the talent

  • its 1989 worlds he was already like 240 lbs by 1999!

  • D'oh! Fixed it. :)

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