Full Name Naciye Batir Years active 1952–1966 | Name Nejla Ates | |
Born 1932 Constanta, Romania | ||
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Nejla Ateş (March 7, 1932 - died in Istanbul in 2005) was a Turkish belly dancer and actress, born in Constanța, Romania. Born as Naciye Batır, she achieved fame under the stage name Nejla Ateş in Turkey and as Nejla Ates in the United States. She was also known as Turkish Delight. Notably, she appeared in the films King Richard and the Crusaders and Son of Sinbad and Fanny, a Broadway musical.
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A naked statue of her was erected in Central Park in November 1954.
Ates had a number of scandal sheet-moments, including a running feud with Burlesque queen Rose la Rose, who claimed Ates stole her best belly dancing moves from Rose's act.
Ates, despite her success and beauty, fell into poverty and twice attempted suicide. Her first suicide attempt via an overdose of tranquilizers and asprin followed an argument with her then lover, singer Bobby Colt. Ates was named as correspondent in his divorce by Colt's wife Hope Diamond. Ates spoke publicly about her depression thus: "I'm fed up with life... with love... with everything."
Her second suicide attempt with an overdose of barbiturates left her in a temporary coma.
She also suffered a series of injuries, including a slipped disc, apparently related to her dancing. Scandal sheets reported that after she left America to return to Turkey, the once delicate 4'11' tall 98 lb brunette dancer had become a 200 lb blonde. Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen states that she was born in Romania on 7 March 1932 and died in an Istanbul hospital in April 2005.
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