Now, it's Play It Again Kurt, on the glitzy pro figure skating circuit

TORONTO - He'll always have Paris.

And Halifax. And Munich. And Prague.

Kurt Browning - who brought Humphrey Bogart to ice with his long-program portrayal of Casablanca cabaret-owner Rick Blaine - said goodbye Wednesday, leaving behind the artistic impressions and judging pecadillos of the amateur ranks for the bright lights and glitz of the pros.

"There's a moment in every athlete's career when it's obvious it's time to do something else," Browning told a nationally televised news conference. "I feel great right now, it's the right moment for me to move on."

The native of tiny Caroline, Alta., leaves as one of the most accomplished skaters in Canadian history.

He won the first of four world championships in Paris in 1989, followed that with triumphs in Halifax in 1990, Munich in 1991 and Prague in 1993.

Even the lasting memory of Olympic disappointments - fifth in Lillehammer, sixth in Albertville in 1992 as the favorite each time, and eighth in Calgary in 1988 - couldn't dim the spotlight on his departure.

"I had opportunities most skaters would dream of or kill for," he said after announcing he wouldn't skate at the world championships this month in Japan. "It's not over, it's just the beginning of something new. I'm looking forward to many more years of great skating."

Browning, 27, isn't an imposing physical presence at five-foot-seven and about 150 pounds but he will be remembered as one of skating's revolutionaries.

His Casablanca act, his demanding dance routine as Gene Kelly in Singing in the Rain in a recent television special, his quadruple leap at the 1988 worlds in Budapest set his performances apart from the slow, plodding classical music routines that dominated the sport for so long.

"He probably opened the doors on creativity and people will be less anxious about going out in different directions," said Louis Stong, who coached Browning through his Casablanca incarnation. "The image he portrayed was great for our sport."

Browning will get a chance to ham it up with the best of him in his new life.

Starting tonight in Miami and continuing Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York, he's a professional entertainer, out solely to please audiences rather than stodgy judges. It's a challenge he can't wait to meet.

"Casablanca was the kind of program that made me relax in competition because there was a character involved," he said. "I'm anxious to see what I'll do next."

While his success is unrivaled in Canadian skating history, Browning's Olympic foibles will be a large part of his legacy. He knows it, he accepts it.

"I think i prefer to be standing here and bragging rather than standing here talking about the Olympics," he said. "But I don't feel bad at all. I'm untarnished in any way."

Kurt Browning Facts

• PERSONAL: Born June 18. 1966, Rocky Mountain House, Alta. Grew up on a ranch in rural Alberta. Lived in Edmonton from 16 to 26. Now resides in Toronto. Single, 5-7, 145 pounds.
• OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE: Fifth in Lillehammer, Norway; sixth in Albertville, France, in 1992; eighth in Calgary in 1988.
• NO. 1: World championship four times; 1989, in Paris; 1990, in Halifax; 1991, in Munich; 1993, in Prague. Won Canadian senior championship four times.
• LANDMARKS: First Canadian to win three world championships in a row; 1989, 1990, 1991. First skater to land a clean quadruple jump in competition (1988 world championship, Budapest).
• AWARDS: Lionel Conacher Award as Canadian male athlete of the year in 1990 and 1991, awarded by The Canadian Press; Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada's athlete of the year on 1990, awarded by Toronto Star; Order of Canada 1989; Canadian Olympic Association Hall of Fame, 1990.
• QUOTE: "Casablanca was the kind of program that made me relax in competition because there was a character involved. I'm anxious to see what I'll do next."