Christopher Bowman, the former U.S. figure skating champion, was found dead in his Budget Inn motel room in North Hills, north of Los Angeles, on Thursday afternoon, police reported. Bowman died at the age of 40 after a possible overdose, but a further investigation is under way before determining whether his death was accidental or suicide.

The figure skating champion, also called ‘Bowman the Showman’, is known to have had drug abuse problems in the past, as he checked himself into the Betty Ford Clinic before the 1988 Olympic Games. His former coach Toller Cranston’s 1997 book “Zero Tollerance” described him as a party guy, who “sometimes announced that he was going out for a carton of milk and didn’t return for three days,” but at the same time he was a charismatic person, with a wonderful sense of humor.

Everyone that has ever worked with him admitted he had an outstanding talent that he may not have been fully aware of, but at the same time, his biggest problem was the discipline, as he used to make training sessions very difficult for his then trainers.

He came into the public eye by first starting his child-actor career, in movies such as “Little House on the Prairie”, and later became one of U.S.’ best figure skaters of all times, as his former trainers and colleagues have declared him. Before becoming a figure skating trainer himself, he was a two-time National Champion and finished second at the 1989 and third in 1990 at the World Championships.

Brian Boitano, the 1988 Olympic figure skating champion, said about Bowman: “If I had to pick the three most talented skaters of all time, I would pick Christopher as one. He had natural charisma, natural athleticism, he could turn on a crowd in a matter of seconds, and he always seemed so relaxed about it.”