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Robin Cousins
Robin John Cousins was born in Bristol in 1957. His father, Fred Cousins was a civil servant and his mother Jo was a secretary. He has two older brothers, Nicholas and Martin.
I met Robin Cousins in April 2012, outside the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham, where he had been involved with the production there of the musical Grease. I had been to the Theatre Royal to see something else, so it was quite a lucky chance meeting with Britain's best-ever champion ice skater!
Whilst on holiday in Bournemouth, nine year old Robin persuaded his mother to let him try ice skating at the Westover Road ice rink there. He took to it instantly, and wanted skating lessons as his Christmas present. He received these from Pamela Davis who had skated with British Olympic and World Champion skater John Curry.
Robin also studied ballet at school where his teacher Joan Watson tried to persuade him to give up skating and concentrate on ballet! Skating won in the end but the ballet skills he learnt stood him in good
2 year old Robin with his father
Robin Cousins aged 11
good stead as a choreographer. As an amateur in those days, money was a problem, and to help him pursue the sport in Bristol, his older brothers did extra paper rounds and his mother took on a second job to cover his costs. In 1972, his first competetive year, Cousins came 15th in the European
Pamela Davis with Eamonn Andrews
In 1974, Robin Cousins left Brimsham Green Secondary School in Bristol, and moved to Notting Hill in London where, with a new trainer, the famous skating coach Gladys Hogg, he rose up the amateur ranks. He finished tenth in the 1976 Innsbruck Olympics before winning the British Championships in 1977.
European Championship and 3rd in the British Championship for amateurs.
Gladys Hogg
Robin Cousins in 1980
Cousins left London in 1977, and for thenex
the next three years was based in Denver, Colorado, where he perfected his skating technique, and also developed his choreography skills, in which he excelled, and which became a trademark of his skating routines.
Cousins became British Figure Skating Champion again in 1978, 1979 and 1980. He became the first Gold medal winner of the men'ss
men's singles event of the NHK Trophy, held in Tokyo in October 1979.
Robin Cousins wins Gold in the 1980
Robin Cousins Winter Olympics 1980
Robin Cousins sees his marks
In 1980 Robin Cousins represented Great Britain in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, winning the Olympic Gold medal in the men's singles figure skating event. Britain's John Curry had
had won the Olympic Gold medal at the previous Winter Olympics held in 1976. Both Cousins and Curry attribute their Olympic successes to their Italian coach, Carlo Fassi.
Winter Olympics at Lake Placid
Carlo Fassi
Robin Cousins at Lake Placid
Robin Cousins & John Curry
Robin Cousins becomes Sports Personality of the Year in 1980
Such was Cousin's achievement as an ice skater, and his great popularity with the British public, that he was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1980, receiving the trophy from the veteran cricket commentator John Arlott.
Robin Cousins is surprised by Eamonn Andrews!
In March 1980, Robin received a great surprise when Eamonn Andrews surprised
Robin Cousins with his parents, brothers and sister-in-law on
This is Your Life in March 1980
Robin Couisins on This is Your Life
suddenly apppeared during a homecoming presentation in Bristol, by appearing and telling him that he was to be the subject of This Is Your Life. On the programme were his family, and guests who included his school teachers, his coach Carlo Fassi, and Gold medal winner at the 1936 Berlin Olympics Harold Whitlock.
Harold Whitlock. After Robin Cousins won a Silver medal in the 1980 World Championships, he felt it was the right time to turn professional.
Robin Cousins' professional career began in great style when he won the World Professional Figure Skating Championship, at a time when it was a team event. He won the title of men's World Professional Figure Skating Champion again in 1985 & 1987, with 2nd places in 1981 & 1986.
Robin Cousins 'butterfly jump'
Robin Cousins publicity photograph
Robin Cousins' Italian coach
Robin Cousins
As a professional skater, Cousins was based in New York from 1982 until 1986, after which time he worked from California for eight years. He made many appearances as a guest star insuch
in such skating shows as the long running Holiday on Ice and Ice Capades (USA). He found that
He has also entered the Guinness Book of Records when he achieved an amazing 18 feet (5.48m) with a back flip at Surrey's Richmond Ice Rink on 16th November 1983
In 2000, Cousins was forced through injury to retire from full time skating, after which he devoted a lot of his time to choreography.
that this gave him the freedom to perform without formal judges to please, or rivals to compete against. It did mean though that instead of 12 competitions a year, he was sometimes doing 12 entertainment performances each week!
Robin Cousins performing a backflip
During the last decade, away from the ice Robin Cousins has followed a very successful career in the theatre. He has starred as Munkustrap in a UK tour of Cats; the transsexual Frank-N-Furter in TheRo
Robin Cousins as Munkustrap in Cats
Robin Cousins as Teen Angel in Grease
Robin Cousins as Frank-N-Furter
in The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show in the West End and National tour; and the Prince in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella inSt
in St Louis, USA.. In 2009 he played the role of Jack Frost in the pantomime Santa Claus and the Return of Jack Frost at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton, whilst in 2010 he was Teen Angel in the 60s musical Grease at the Piccadilly Theatre in London’s West End. He played the role again for part of their National tour in 2011, and again in 2012. In July 2012, Cousins will play the role of lawyer Billy Flynn, for an eight-week run in the musical Chicago at the Garrick Theatre in London's West End.
Combining both his skating and theatrical experience, Robin Cousins has been closely involved with a number of 'ice spectacular' TV movies including playing the Prince in both The Nutcracker: A Fantasy on Ice (1983) and Sleeping Beauty on Ice (1987). He played Jack's father in Back to the Beanstalk
Robin Cousins as Jack Frost in
Beanstalk (1990), and choreographed TheW
For the skating film The Cutting Edge (1992), Robin Cousins was a choreographer & technical advisor as well as performing some of the stunts in the movie.
In 2000, Robin formed his own production company, Cousins Entertainment Limited, a full entertainment and event orgaisation that also supplies, and manages, various ice rinks around the country.
The Wizard of Oz on Ice (1996) and Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express on Ice (1997) both performed in the USA. He was also one of the choreographers for the very successful Disney's Toy Story on Ice which ran in America for seven years, and included a UK tour in 2001.
Santa Claus and the Return of Jack Frost
Robin Cousins with Jason Gardiner & Emma Bunton
Robin Cousins with Louie Spence & Katarina Witt
Since 2006, Robin Cousins has been the head judge on the ice panel of ITV1’s hit show Dancing on Ice, in which celebrities and their professional partners skate in front of a panel of judges. He continued in this role for the show's 2011 live tour.
Robin Cousins supports the
Anna's Hope charity
In 2012, he took part, along with his four nephews, in All Star Family Fortunes, competing against Wild at Heart actress Dawn Steele and her family. The Cousins family won £10,000 for one of Robin's charities - the Demelza Hospice, a charity in Kent providing a large range of hospice & care services to children, and their families. Robin is also a big supporter of the charities Meningitis UK, Anna's Hope and the Rockinghorse Appeal.
Robin Cousins supports the
Demelza Hospice charity
Robin Cousins with his four nephews on All Star Family Fortunes
During Olympic year, Robin Cousins is an official Team GB ambassador for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Links to three of Robin
Games. He will attend the athlete training camps and have various motivational speaking engagements
engagements. He will also have a mentoring role with the GB synchronised swimming squad.
A biography of Robin Cousins by Martha Lowder Kimball was published in 1998.
Robin Cousins' illustrated children's book aimed at five to nine year olds, Adventures in Frostavia was published in 2004, with a foreword by Jayne Torvill.
Robin Cousins now lives in Brighton.
Cousins' charities
Robin supports these charities:
VIDEOS
Robin Cousins - 1980 Olympics
Short Programme
Robin Cousins on the cover of
The Radio Times (16 - 22 Feb 1980)
