Belita

Belita
Born	25 October 1923(1923-10-25) Garlogs, Nether Wallop, Hampshire, England
Died	18 December 2005 (aged 82) Montpeyroux, 34150 France
Other name(s)	Maria Belita Gladys Olive Lyne Jepson-Turner
Spouse(s)	James Kenny AKA Berwick, actor

Maria Belita Gladys Olive Lyne Jepson-Turner married Joel McGinnis, divorced and later married the actor James Kenny, AKA Berwick'who died in 2000. Belita Jepson-Turner, born 25 October,1923, died December 18, 2005, known professionally as 'Belita, was an Olympic figure skater, dancer and early film actress.

She was born at Garlogs,Nether Wallop, Hampshire, England and died at home in Montpeyroux,France.

Belita Jepson-Turner skated for Great Britain in the 1936 Winter Olympics where she was placed 16th in the Ladies' singles competition , then her career turned towards Hollywood. Belita had a classical Russian ballet training which carried over into her skating, and she was considered far superior to others skating at that time. As a young ballerina she was partner to Anton Dolin, appearing with the Dolin-Markova Ballet.

She appeared in films including 'Never Let Me Go' (1953), with Clark Gable, and opposite Charles Laughton in 'The Cherry Orchard'.

She also made several highly profitable productions for "Poverty Row" studio - Monogram Pictures. Her appearances included 'Silver Skates' (1943), 'Lady, Let's Dance' (1944) and 'Suspense' (1946) -with its novel mixture of ice-skating and film noir proving enormously popular at the box-office.

In 1946 Belita married Joel McGinnis; they divorced in 1956. She married later, the actor James Kenny, AKA James Berwick, (died 2000). In 1956 she retired from skating and three years later gave up show business altogether. She appeared briefly on the ice at Madison Square Garden, New York in 1981 in a short production based on the music 'Solitude', Duke Ellington.

She retired to live in France towards the end of her life.

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External links

• Olympic profile
• Belita at the Internet Movie Database

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