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leiter22 Profile
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Registered: 08-2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 528
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Hans Leiter :: You will be missed


By now most of you know my father passed this Christmas day, but not many of you know what kind of man he was.

My dad was a professional comedian on ice from 18 years of age until around 40. He skated for Ice Capades, Holiday on Ice, Disney on Ice, among others. Dud was in better shape in his early 40's than I was at 25. He was world renowned and pretty famous in his circle. During college, I did quite a bit of research on my dad, and became prouder by the minute. He was the real deal. Not only a phenomenal athlete and consummate performer, he was a modern day comedian in every sense of the word. Read the paper daily, and watched to news as fodder for his sketches. Spoofed women's lib, historical figures, literary figures....sky's the limit. So proud of my dad you wouldn't believe.

Here's an article from the New York times printed in 1982 ::


THE 30-YEAR ODYSSEY OF AN ICE COMIC

STRANGE things happen when Hans Leiter takes to the ice in ''Walt Disney's Great Ice Odyssey'' at Madison Square Garden. Twirls become sprawls. Leaps suddenly end in splits, from which Mr. Leiter pulls himself up by the head. He turns dainty, a large, crusty ballerina twiddling her blades in ''Tiptoe Through the Tulips.'' By the end of his solo as Cinderella's step-sister Drizella, one of two comedy routines Mr. Leiter does in the show, he has lost most of his costume but not his knowing grin. And the audience is his.

This year's version of the touring ''Ice Follies-Holiday on Ice'' show brings onto the ice just about every Walt Disney character known. The production is lavish, with a slew of varied ice-dancing and trick acts. But for timing and a comic tradition that recalls the hallowed English ''pantomime dame'' style, Mr. Leiter is the star of the show.

It is not surprising, considering that this is his 30th year in the business. The little Austrian boy who started his professional life as a 10-year-old soloist with the Vienna Boys Choir was a knockabout ice comic by age 19.
''I started skating for fun with my twin sister, Gretel - yes, we were called Hansel and Gretel - at 6,'' Mr. Leiter said the other day at the Garden. ''I began figure skating at 12, but I never liked the monotony of it.''
Four years later, his coach paired him with a girl for an icedancing act. ''But in one season she outgrew me by a head,'' he said, ''so I gave up and went to dental school.''

He continued to skate, however, working on the tumbling and jumping at which he had become expert as the champion junior gymnast of Vienna. A scout caught him somersaulting on the ice, and an invitation followed to travel to South America with a German ice show. ''Two weeks later, the comedian broke his leg,'' Mr. Leiter recalled. To their dismay, his family had lost a dental technician and gained an ice comic.

Mr. Leiter joined the ''Ice Follies'' in 1973, after 13 years with the ''Ice Capades'' and numerous club ice acts. ''Walt Disney's Great Ice Odyssey'' poses a special challenge. He has had to tone down some of the more ribald jokes in his ''dame'' act. ''Skating to 'Pop Goes the Weasel' is not my cup of tea,'' he says. The show, which continues through Aug. 29, is done to both taped and live music and dialogue, so little improvisation is possible, and timing can be tricky.

Some things remain the same. Mr. Leiter always sails out onto a male lap in the audience and loses his skirt, whether he is playing Drizella, Dolly Parton or Cleopatra. ''It's harder to find guys, because there are so many kids here,'' he said. ''But I never use stooges. And I always involve the audience. It's funny how people want to be fooled. You skate over with a bucket. They know you're not going to throw water at them, but they always duck.''

Ice comedy has to be broad. ''I worked with Buster Keaton about 10 years ago, when the 'Ice Capades' hired him as a consultant,'' Mr. Leiter said. ''He was a very nice guy, but he was used to being deadpan and playing right close to the camera. You have to play to the top of the stadium in ice shows.''

Mr. Leiter said audiences seem to respond less and less to live acts, as if they were too used to television. He said he had been thinking of retiring, with a little coaxing from his wife, Cathy Cushner, the former Canadian gold-medal-winning ice dancer.

The declining tradition of solo ice comedy troubles him. ''Freddy Trenkler quit the 'Ice Capades' last year,'' Mr. Leiter said. ''Mr. Frick of Frick & Frock also retired last year. And for some reason no one seems to be coming up, though there's good money in it. But it's not so easy to do. Taught, it can get too mechanical. You have to have a flair.''

Jennifer Dunning

Here are a couple photo's I pulled off of Ebay :

Image

Image

I've got a ton of footage on VHS that I have to find a way to archive.....soon as I do I will post more.

 :cheers:

Johann

---
.....RIP Hans (dad), you will be missed.
1/2/2012, 10:49 pm Link to this post Send Email to leiter22   Send PM to leiter22
 
drftfan Profile
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Registered: 10-2006
Posts: 257
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Re: Hans Leiter :: You will be missed


How awesome. Really a good article.
As for preserving the video tapes....
I was at best buy tonight and there are converters to put them on to DVD using your computer.
Hopefully that helps
1/2/2012, 11:46 pm Link to this post Send PM to drftfan
 
Darranged Profile
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Registered: 01-2009
Location: South Africa
Posts: 59
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Re: Hans Leiter :: You will be missed


My condolences man. Reading the article, it sounds like your father was a true legend on the ice.

Good luck on preserving those memories, and his contributions to those skills and ice capades, from the VHS tapes.
1/4/2012, 12:48 pm Link to this post Send PM to Darranged
 
BatNar Profile
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Registered: 10-2008
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Re: Hans Leiter :: You will be missed


wow..my hats off. Im so sorry for your loss but you must be very proud to have sucn an accomplished and inspiring father.
He is in peace.
1/9/2012, 8:11 pm Link to this post Send Email to BatNar   Send PM to BatNar Blog
 
eltinge Profile
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Registered: 07-2013
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Re: Hans Leiter :: You will be missed


I saw Hans perform with the Ice Capades in Providence Rhose Island in 1963. I was so amazed. What a wonderful 8th birthday present ! He was such a talent ! I remember him as the ballerina skating faster and faster around the ring then disappearing behind a small curtain. Entertaining !
7/10/2013, 10:13 pm Link to this post Send Email to eltinge   Send PM to eltinge Blog
 


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