This Bo’s a 5 Going on 10.0 : Jason Bohanan Sharon Is Melting Hearts and Making Cash by Burning Up Skating Rinks and Sound Stages From Burbank to Palm Springs

He may be young, but Jason Bohanan Sharon is a quick study.

In two years, Sharon has acted in a television series, made half a dozen commercials, skated in ice shows and competitions, and met The Fonz and the Gerald Fords. His best friends are three beautiful young ladies--Tracy, Christie and Diana--and a gaggle of other giggling females rapturously follow him around.

Sharon isn’t a Hollywood hothead, though. To him, the fast lane is on the freeway and the limelight is some funny-looking green lamp.

He’s 5 years old.

Born near Hollywood and Vine to a musician and a former aerobics instructor, the red-headed freckle face has the right instincts. His favorite part of show biz?

“I got lots of money from it,” he said. A group of adults in the room laughed; Sharon didn’t. “That’s the most fun.”

That’s also the most you’ll get out of Sharon, unless you want to talk ice skating. He may have found success hawking toys, tires and wieners and playing Richie Cunningham’s son on ABC’s “Happy Days,” but Sharon prefers the ice rink to the sound stage.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get tired of ice skating,” said Sharon’s mother, Linda. “He gets bored at commercial tapings or on the set, but he just loves to skate. He can go out there and skate for hours and hours and hours.”

Since he began skating at 3, Sharon has run circles--not to mention figure eights--around the competition. With his All-American Adorable looks, Sharon has become the diminutive darling of the crowds at Burbank’s Pickwick Ice Arena and the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club. He’s already got an impressive list of ice show credentials, although he’s still trying to master a sit spin.

Earlier this month, Sharon performed at the Conejo Valley Ice Show and a $600-a-plate benefit for the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Springs. So did Peggy Fleming, Robin Cousins, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Judy Blumberg and Michael Siebert.

In less than a year, Sharon has taken four International Skating Institute of America awards in the comedy-theatrical event, including two firsts. Last July, he defeated more than 200 skaters of all ages in his ice show debut to become first runner-up for the Joanne Funakoshi award at the L.A. Figure Skating Club’s “Showcase For Skaters” competition at Pickwick.

Sharon, then 4 1/2, competed in the comedy-singles event as a pint-sized Charlie Chaplin. Dressed in a derby, black wig and oversized suit, Sharon inaugurated his Chaplin routine, skating to the tune of “Alley Cat.”

“He just overwhelmed the audience. He wowed them and they loved it,” said Gil McKellen, Pickwick’s resident pro and Sharon’s coach.

“Bo has a great sense of music, maybe from his piano lessons, and he is a very good little skater,” McKellen added. “He’s getting his basics down and working on body control, but he’s very advanced for his age. Besides, he looks so gosh darn cute in that costume.”

Bob Hope, one of the celebrities at the Conejo Valley Ice Show, agreed.

“I started out by imitating Charlie Chaplin too,” Hope told Sharon as he signed the youngster’s program. “That’s why I got a real kick out of (your) act.”

The Chaplin routine evolved over a short period of time. After a month of dragging Sharon around the rink by his collar and the seat of his pants, McKellen said he knew he had an enthusiastic, talented student. McKellen would pull Sharon along the rink at speeds of 25 m.p.h. then let go--and Sharon would continue skating the length of the rink. On one foot.

Sharon quickly learned spins, spirals and spread eagles. He had little trouble with half flips, salchows and waltz jumps. Within a few months, McKellen had Sharon tracing figures and demonstrating moves for his beginners’ classes. The Little Tramp shtick followed soon after.

“Charlie Chaplin is always a great subject,” said McKellen, who has skated professionally with the Ice Follies and Ice Capades. “I was looking through the newspaper one day and I saw this ad featuring a Chaplin imitator and the idea hit me. I began listening to music, to find the right tune for the routine and decided on ‘Alley Cat.’ I talked to Bo and his mother about the idea and then we went down to a shop on Melrose and located a costume small enough for him.”

Although he has spent more than half his life as an actor and performer, Sharon isn’t a brat on blades. He’s polite, smart and would rather listen than talk.

“When Bo got the part on ‘Happy Days,’ they said they picked him because, unlike the other kids, he just sat there and listened to what they told him,” Linda Sharon said.

“He handles all the attention very well. A lot of people come up to him, especially at Pickwick and he just smiles and is very polite. He’s still shy enough not to be overly aggressive. Do you know what I mean?”

All the little girls at Pickwick do.

Sharon’s impish smile has made him one of the most popular male skaters at the rink. Five days a week, Sharon skates around the rink with three to five young girls trailing closely behind.

“He has such an interest in the girls--and they have such an interest in him,” Linda Sharon said. “He’s smart, though. He picked a sport with lots of ladies and few men. His loves pair skaters--and Tai and Randy most of all. I swear, he just wants to pick up girls.”

With his busy schedule, he’s going to break a lot of hearts. In addition to ice skating and acting, Sharon takes piano lessons, German lessons and is contemplating gymnastics lessons. He’s also the kindergarten “valedictorian” at the Pixie Land School in Sherman Oaks, where he will deliver a graduation speech this spring.

“Once in a great while, there comes along a child who has that spark, that special something,” McKellen said. “And Bo has it. He’s a very smart little boy.”