Role Actress Name Zina Bethune | Known for Theater Bethune Years active 1951-2006 | |
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Born February 17, 1945 ( 1945-02-17 ) New York City, New York, U.S. Resting place Mount Sinai Memorial Park Cemetery Occupation actor, ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher Relatives William Charles BethuneIvy Bethune Spouse Sean Feeley (m. 1970–2012) Parents Ivy Bethune, William Charles Bethune Movies and TV shows Who's That Knocking at My Door, Love of Life, Young Doctor Malone, The Nurses, Hollywood Mavericks Similar People Ivy Bethune, Stuart Lancaster, Martin Scorsese, George Balanchine, Irna Phillips | ||
Cause of death hit-and-run accident | ||
Zina bethune bonjour amour by maury yeston in grand hotel
Zina Bianca Bethune (February 17, 1945 – February 12, 2012) was an American actress, dancer, and choreographer.
Contents
- Zina bethune bonjour amour by maury yeston in grand hotel
- Zina bethune fire and ice and villa on a hill by wright forrest in grand hotel
- Early years
- Dancing
- Television
- Film
- Other work
- Death
- Filmography
- References
Zina bethune fire and ice and villa on a hill by wright forrest in grand hotel
Early years
Bethune was born in New York City, the daughter of Ivy (née Vigder), an actress (born June 1, 1918, Sevastopol, Russia) and William Charles Bethune, a sculptor and painter who died in 1950 when Zina was 5 years old.
Dancing
Bethune began her formal ballet training aged 6 at George Balanchine's School of American Ballet. By age 14 she was dancing with the New York City Ballet.
Television
As a child performer, Bethune appeared in the original cast of The Most Happy Fella as well as several American daytime television dramas, including a stint as the first "Robin Lang" on The Guiding Light from May 1956 to April 1958. Bethune played President Franklin D. Roosevelt's daughter in Sunrise at Campobello in 1960.
Newspaper columnist Dick Kleiner described Bethune's performance in a 1958 television production as a "shatteringly beautiful portrayal of Tennessee Williams' young heroine in This Property Is Condemned." In October 1958, Zina portrayed Amy March in the CBS musical adaptation of Little Women.
She portrayed nurse Gail Lucas on The Nurses (1962–65), and appeared in other series, including Kraft Television Theatre (with Martin Huston in the series finale), Route 66, The Judy Garland Show, Pantomime Quiz, Hollywood Squares, Young Dr. Malone, Dr. Kildare, The Invaders and Emergency!.
Film
Bethune starred as "The Girl" alongside Harvey Keitel in Martin Scorsese's first feature film, Who's That Knocking at My Door, released in 1967, although much of it (including Bethune's acting parts) was filmed in 1965 for Scorsese's film project at New York University.
Other work
Throughout her life, Bethune worked with disabled students. She herself was diagnosed with scoliosis at age 11, and at 17 she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Bethune founded Bethune Theatredanse in 1981, a multimedia performance company which has been designated as the official resident company of the Los Angeles Theatre Center. She founded Dance Outreach, now known as Infinite Dreams, in 1982, which currently enrolls about 1,000 disabled children in dance-related activities throughout Southern California.
Death
On February 12, 2012, Bethune was killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident while she was trying to help an injured opossum in Griffith Park, Los Angeles. She was survived by her husband, Sean Feeley, and her mother, retired actress Ivy Bethune.