Bruce Mapes was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 figure skater

Figure skating

Figure skating is an Olympic sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform spins, jumps, footwork and other intricate and challenging moves on ice skates. Figure skaters compete at various levels from beginner up to the Olympic level , and at local, national, and international competitions...

 from the early 1900s. In 1913, the jump now known today as the flip

Flip jump

The flip jump is a figure skating jump which takes off a backward inside edge with a toe pick assist, and lands on the backward outside edge of the opposite foot.-Flip technique:...

 became known by his last name, but it is not known for certain if he was the inventor. In 1920, Mapes invented the toe loop, which is now called a Mapes in artistic roller skating

Artistic roller skating

Artistic roller skating is a sport similar to figure skating but where constestants run on roller skates instead of ice skates. Within artistic roller skating there are several disciplines:* figures...

. Later he was a lighting director for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and resided in Fair Haven, New Jersey

Fair Haven, New Jersey

Fair Haven is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, along the Navesink River. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 6,121....

at the time of his death.