Philip Romanchuk Jr. (Phil Romayne)
February 12, 1926-March 23, 1983
Cathy Steele and Phil Romayne
The son of Polish immigrants, Phil Romayne (born Philip Romanchuk Jr.) was born in Newark, New Jersey. He grew up in the working class Brooklyn neighbourhood of Greenpoint, known to locals as 'Little Poland'. He first learned to skate at the age of fourteen on a tennis court that had been flooded and frozen in winter. Largely self-taught, he turned professional in 1943 to skate in one of Sonja Henie and Arthur M. Wirtz's ice revues at the Center Theatre. With partners Terry Brent and Cathy Steele, Phil established himself as one of the top adagio pairs skaters in the world in the fifties and sixties. He toured with Tom Arnold's continental company and the Ice Capades and appeared in ice shows at the Lido in Paris, Stoll Ice Theatre in London, Hotel New Yorker and Hotel Roosevelt in New Orleans. He also appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show". After he stopped performing, Phil worked as a coach and choreographer for the Ice Capades and taught skating in Burbank, California. He passed away in Los Angeles on March 21, 1983 at the age of fifty-four.
