Cathy Rigby Biography - Talented, But Torn, Off To The Olympics, Hiding A Painful Secret, Flying High As Peter Pan - CONTACT INFORMATION
gymnast
1952-
American gymnast
Before Mary Lou Retton, before Nadia Comaneci, even before Olga Korbut came the gymnast whose prodigious talent and upbeat personality served to make her a representative of her sport. America's Cathy Rigby never won an Olympic medal, but she was much-honored in international competition and helped boost gymnastics in the United States. Following her competitive career, Rigby remained in the public eye, recreating herself as a musical-comedy actress best known for her athletic portrayal of the boy who would not grow up, Peter Pan. At the same time, Rigby became an advocate for healthy eating, freely discussing her own battles with anorexia and bulimia.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Address: McCoy Rigby Entertainment, 110 East. Wilshire Ave., Ste. 200, Fullerton, CA 92832. Phone:(714) 525-8388.
Additional Topics
Born in Long Beach, California, to two aerospace specialists, Cathy Rigby was a spirited child who turned first to ballet to channel her energy. At age nine she discovered gymnastics—still a relatively low-profile activity in the early 1960s. Rigby showed early talent at tumbling, but found herself in the midst of a power struggle between her father and her coach. Each man wanted to direct …
None of this information was made available to Rigby's fans at the time. She was far better known the embodiment of health and fitness, the youngest and smallest member of the U.S. gymnastics team competing in Mexico City in 1968. Competing in the four divisions of gymnastics—floor exercise, balance beam, vaulting, and uneven bars—Rigby finished sixteenth, the best-ever placem…
Now a recognizable figure, Rigby embarked on a new career as a gymnastics commentator while she started her family. The early days of post-athletic training proved difficult, she related in a 1984 People article. "I no longer had a goal and all I was doing was eating and throwing up. Everybody thought I had the most successful life: I had a career working with ABC Sports, I was doing TV mov…
As her performing talent developed Rigby was finding herself cast in musicals where she could display her range. She starred in such shows as Meet Me in St. Louis, They're Playing Our Song, and South Pacific. But her best-known role came with a lavish revival of Peter Pan that made it to Broadway in 1991 (she had done an arena version of the show as early as 1974). The title role seemed tai…
St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Gale, 2002. Churnin, Nancy. "Cathy Rigby Finds Her Inner Child in 'Peter Pan.'" Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. (October 4, 2000). Goodman, Mark. "Cathy Rigby, Flying High." People. (May 6, 1991). Kelleher, Terry. "Perfect Body." People. (September 8, 1997). Kendt, Rob. "Local Heroes.�…
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