Scott Hamilton performs in "Stars on Ice"

America loves a success story. But even more than that, America loves a story of adversity surmounted - with a humanitarian subtext.

Small wonder, then, that Olympic champion Scott Hamilton - who comes to Savvis Center on Friday as part of the "Target Stars on Ice" show - is near and dear to the hearts of sports lovers in general and figure-skating enthusiasts in particular. In an era when some sports figures seem more likely to be associated with drunken driving or murder raps, Hamilton offers a contrast as stark as that between the humid vapors of July and the clear, brisk air of January.

"Every young skater comes out of the Olympics, but you realize that what you bring is unique," Hamilton said in a recent telephone interview. "You are not going to change the world, but you need to do what you can in your time."

Twice in his life, Hamilton has faced daunting medical problems, and both times has overcome them to experience further triumphs inside and outside the skating rink.

As a child, he was at one time given six months to live. Concerted exercise and proper diet pulled him back from the brink and set him on the path to Olympic stardom. As he approached middle age, Hamilton was stricken with cancer, but he has again bounced back and has a clean bill of health. He has continued with his performance schedule and charitable activities, and he's brimming with plans for the future.

The current "Stars on Ice" tour is Hamilton's 15th and final season with the show he helped create and produce. The current version features a bevy of great skating athletes, including Tara Lipinski, Kristi Yamaguchi, Ilia Kulik, Kurt Browning, Yuka Sato and Denis Petrov. The grueling schedule for the show takes the stars to 65 cities in a little more than four months. The end of Hamilton's participation in the revue, however, represents not retirement from skating for the athlete, but rather a desire to move on to new challenges.

America's love affair with glamorous and attractive figure skaters goes back to Sonja Henie, the Norwegian skater and actress who won three Olympic gold medals and starred in Hollywood musicals in the '30s and '40s. Such musicals are largely a thing of the past, but high-profile skating careers continue to hinge upon Olympic success, Hamilton observed.

Henie first broke ground for skaters, he said, and Olympians Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill advanced the state of skating. "I've tried to do the same."

The tour's daunting schedule makes one wonder how much the 42-year-old performer has to strain to keep up with the pace. It's a question about which Hamilton is rather blase.

"You get into a kind of rhythm. But when you are in your 40s you take longer to recover. It comes down to what you are trying to accomplish.

"Would I like to compete again? No. But over the years I have tried to build an audience. I do everything that I would do in the Olympic competition, but spread through the evening. No more of the 'do or die' in 5 minutes. This allows me to develop beyond simple competitive abilities. The nine judges for an Olympic event just don't exist for me anymore."

Instead, Hamilton works to connect with the whole audience.

Not just an athlete, Hamilton has earned his stripes as a show producer and idea man. In addition to his ice spectacles, he has produced shows for television and off-Broadway. In a cutthroat world that sometimes prizes success above all else, Hamilton has a refreshing philosophy.

"I want to feel good about trying to be the right person. I've prided myself on never hurting a promoter. In my producer role, I try to pay the performers as well as - or better than - they have been paid before."

Hamilton's fame is only partly linked to his showmanship. Never far from his thoughts is the charitable aspect of "Stars on Ice."

"We tour with a heart. A portion of the house receipts goes to Target House, a new approach for families whose children are undergoing treatment at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn." Last season, "Stars on Ice" was able to generate $250,000 for the facility.

When selecting new skaters for the revue, "generally the show chooses the highest level of marquee, the highest level of talent." As a skater you "try to play roles you haven't played before. New skaters find themselves free to grow by doing something different."

When "Stars on Ice" comes to St. Louis, it will be a regular arena-style revue, but Hamilton has also produced a number of ice shows for the proscenium stage. The difference is a significant one, he said.

In an arena, audience members look at one another as well as the skaters. But the conventional proscenium setting adds another, exhilarating dimension.