ICE CAPADES
75 YEARS
ed Johnnie Walker (a brand of Scotch whiskey) for several years. He wore its costume, which included high black boots. “Whereever he went, when he was represent-
ing Johnnie Walker, they sent him a case of John- nie Walker whiskey,” Taylor Parnell said. “For him, that was great.” Taylor Parnell skated until 1953 and then joined her husband, who had been named a road manager for the Ice Capades. “I still had my hand in it,” Taylor Parnell said.
“A lot of kids called me Mom. I was a good sound- ing board for a lot of them. Some of them who attended the reunion came up to me and said, ‘Phil Taylor was the best manager I ever had.’ It was nice to hear those comments.” Taylor battled cancer during this time and he
passed away from the disease in 1959. After his passing, the Ice Capades’ owner
John H. Harris asked Taylor Parnell to come back to the show as a performance director, but having two young sons prevented her from accepting the offer. She instead moved back to Canada, got re- married and had a daughter, Jane. She, however, kept in touch with the show for
many years, venturing 200 miles south to Duluth, Minnesota, where Ice Capades West rehearsed each year.
“I used to go down there for opening night
and reacquaint with some of those I skated with,” Taylor Parnell said. “Tis went on as long as they were there. Ten I started going to Skate Canada and met some very good skating friends. Now with the Ice Capades reunion, I reconnected with some of my friends and it’s been great.”
ICE-CAPET MEMORIES: Lucile & Betty support the war effort
Lucile Miller Creighton and Betty Heiss
Barnes joined the Ice Capades in the early 1940s and recall what the show meant to all of the U.S. service men and women during World War II. “With the war, things changed so radically,”
Creighton, who spent 40 years with ice shows, said. “It did for us, too. We always took collections for the soldiers and many times we had private cars but had to give them up [for the war effort]. It was quite a time when I think back on those days and how cold it was. We all enjoyed having the op- portunity to be helpful for the war and we felt we were.”
Barnes said the Ice Capades show entertained
countless troops over the years. She remembered an Army sergeant who taught the women the “manual of arms” each morning in a parking lot. “Well, our shoes got worn out,” Barnes said.
“He did the job and on the opening night of the show, we did that number. He was sitting in the front row and every girl who went by him noticed that he was sitting there with tears running down his face. He was such a hard-boiled sergeant and he could be tough on us, but he was sitting there crying because those were his girls.” Creighton, who today lives in Mission, Texas, was a line skater and had a bicycle act, too. She recalled falling on her face during a kick line and
ended up sliding under a spectator’s chair in the first row. “He had to get up and pick up the chair so I
could get up, and everybody roared,” she said. “I didn’t get hurt, but it was quite something to see. We had a rehearsal after the show that lasted three hours to teach us that no matter what happens, or who falls, you never laugh, you never laugh.” Creighton, who also spent many years with
Holiday on Ice, wore many hats with the travel- ing ice shows, including being the paymaster. She was responsible for paying all of the show’s bills, including making sure that all the performers re- ceived their paychecks. “Tey loved me for that,” she said. “I have no regrets and I’m happy to have the experiences I did with ice skating. I wouldn’t trade those for anything in this world,” Creighton added. Barnes, who resides in Cleveland, looks back
fondly on her years with the Ice Capades, which lasted from 1941 to the mid-1950s. Some of the great performers she worked with included Bobby Specht, Donna Atwood, Red McCarthy, Phil Tay- lor and the “Old Smoothies” Orrin Markhus and Irma Tomas.
“I was doing something I loved and it was
a great time,” said Barnes, who went on to teach skating for 21 years in Euclid City, Ohio, after leav- ing the Ice Capades. One of Barnes’ most vivid memories from
the Ice Capades took place on Tanksgiving Day in Buffalo, New York, where Specht and Joe Jackson Jr. took liberties with their number to Scheherazade. Specht was the prince and Jackson the king.
“Bobby was with the king’s daughter and he was bringing a jewel box to give to the king,” Barnes said. “He handed the king the jewel box and he opened it up and pulled out a great, big turkey. We roared. Te audience thought it was hysterical, but we all got fined for it.”
BACK TOGETHER AGAIN For Dwyer, the reunions provide a golden op-
portunity to see the people who made his career special. “It’s been five years [since the last reunion] and it seems like yesterday when you see them again,” he said. “I had the advantage of being around so long and I’ve watched so many of them grow up that I can’t decide which year to put them in. Tey all look so great!” Dwyer, who still skates four or five days a
week at Pickwick Ice in Burbank, California, re- mains involved with the current generation of skaters, supporting them at National Showcase, Teatre on Ice and other events. “I feel like a groupie,” he joked. “I think it’s
important. I remember how happy I was when I was encouraged as a skater. I like to be there. It’s a thrill. I also still love to go out and skate during the adult sessions; I love those people who are compet- ing. I love to encourage them, and I have to get out of their way when they are doing their numbers. We just laugh and have fun.” Looking back, Dwyer said it was the spirit of
SKATING 23
the performers and the enduring friendships that truly made the shows special. “Tere was that pride, that working togeth-
er and everyone enjoying seeing the other guy do well,” he said. “So many people have touched my life.”
BROWN MCRAEWINS
GALAAUCTIONPRIZE Former Ice Capades skater Bobbi
Brown McRae enjoyed the Ice Capades 75th Diamond Jubilee gala with fellow alum and friend, Jean Yun, as winners of the U.S. Fig- ure Skating-sponsored reunion auction. Brown McRae, a former competitive skater with the All Year FSC and the Santa Monica FSC, retired in 1982 from compet- itive skating to tour with the Ice Capades. From there, she came back home and began coaching. “In 2005 I started a skating program
and began sponsoring children and young adults at local Los Angeles orphanages and care facilities to share my love of the sport,” she said. In May, Brown McRae noticed the auc- tion item online and acted. “I thought what a great way to go to my
first reunion in 32 years and help out the U.S. Figure Skating scholarship program and fig- ure skaters across America,” she said. Brown McRae’s guest for the event was
Yun, who came to America to train with John Nicks in 1972. She is the Korean champion, a 1976 Olympian and Ice Capades star from the early 1980s.
Jean Yun, Mr. Debonair Richard Dwyer and Bob- bi Brown McRae at the Ice Capades reunion
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