Zero Tollerance: An Intimate Memoir by the Man Who Revolutionized Figure Skating

Pauline Carey is the author of Magic and What’s in a Name?

Toller Cranston changed things for all figure skaters. No one who
watched him in the 1970s can forget the excitement of his theatrical
performances. In the 1980s, his colorful commentary for CBC-TV provided
a fresh and outspoken take on the sport.

Here are the musings and memories of an exceptional talent. The mix of
arrogance, generosity, and humility displayed in these pages may come as
a shock to readers not familiar with such a temperament. Once one
accepts the tone of the delivery, though, one can settle down and enjoy
the ride. Not that it is plain sailing. The character, the life, and the
telling of the story are full of twists and turns.

Cranston makes outrageous statements, and then qualifies them. He
dramatizes unceasingly and then delivers a flip self-assessment (“my
good old pompous, egocentric self”). He makes statements of fact that
are corrected in footnotes and then delivers words of utter truth and
wisdom.

At the height of his stardom, Cranston swanned around in fur coats and
everything first-class. He was billed as Patineur du Siиcle in Paris at
a time when he considered himself a total failure. As his fantastical
canvases (he is also a visual artist) were making him rich, there was no
emotion in his personal life. He was, and still is, lonely.

The stories tumble over themselves as he tells of travels around the
world, relates dark tales of other skaters and the Canadian Figure
Skating Association, and discusses his work as a TV commentator and his
successful lawsuit against the CBC. He is funny and sad, bitter, and
sometimes touchingly reflective.