As the Show’s Host, Longtime Skating Pro Breaks the Ice

As a professional ice skater, Richard Dwyer, 54, jumps, spins and exudes charm. The skater, who lives in Hollywood Hills, is host at this year’s historic Ice Capades “Golden Anniversary Edition,” which opened Friday and will run through Nov. 4 at the Great Western Forum.

In the late ‘40s, he inherited the title of Mr. Debonair from Roy Ships, who played the original role in the show.

The costume and routine have become an Ice Capades tradition: Mr. Debonair skates into the arena dressed in a black top hat and tails. At each performance, he presents a dozen roses to a woman in the audience, and has given away more than 13,000 roses over the years.

“I’m an optimist, you have to make things happen,” Dwyer said, noting that “at times, it’s been difficult to maintain a professional skating career, but I still enjoy the challenge of keeping up with changes in the sport.”

Pepperdine University Prof. Byron D. Lane has been appointed to the county’s Developmental Disabilities Program Board for the Los Angeles area by Supervisor Deane Dana.

Lane has a doctorate in organizational psychology and a master’s degree in business management.

Bel Air resident Herbert D. Eagle has been named to the board of directors of GrandPeople, a nonprofit community organization dedicated to helping senior citizens become more active.

GrandPeople sponsors activities for more than 1,000 senior groups, retirement residences, nutrition centers and the like in Los Angeles.

Eagle is a retired senior vice president of Transamerica Occidental Life Inc. He currently serves as a consultant for the Executive Service Corps of Southern California and is on the boards of the Skid Row Development Corp. and the Organization for the Needs of the Elderly.

The colleagues of two Beverly Hills Unified School District staff members recently honored them with awards.

A music teacher at Horace Mann School, Eloise Haldeman, was named teacher of the year. After working in the district for 16 years, she retired last June. Betty Peasley was named classified employee of the year. A district employee for almost 40 years, Peasley is a secretary at Beverly Vista School.

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