Zina Bethune(1945-2012)
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Lovely, lithe and light-haired Zina Bethune, noted ballet dancer,
choreographer and teacher, also had a promising acting career during
the late 1950s and 1960s.
The native New Yorker was born on February 17, 1945, the daughter of
William Charles Bethune (who died in 1950 when Zina was 5) and
established actress Ivy Bethune (née Vigner)
of General Hospital (1963)
fame. Zina's mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant, born in Sevastopol.
Formally trained in dance from age 6, she was a student at
George Balanchine's School of American
Ballet, and performed with the New York City Ballet as a teen despite
the fact she was diagnosed at various times with scoliosis, lymphedema
and hip dysplasia.
As an adolescent, she appeared in several daytime TV dramas, including
a breakthrough part (1956-1958) as the first "Robin Lang" on the serial
Guiding Light (1952).
Over time, she joined the cast of other soaps, including a lengthy
running part on
Love of Life (1951) from
1965-1971 and, many years later, a recurring part on
Santa Barbara (1984). Zina
co-starred with Shirl Conway on the TV
drama The Doctors and the Nurses (1962) [best
known as "The Nurses," the series was later entitled "The Doctors and
the Nurses"], and won touching reviews for her naive student nurse
role. She also played the sensitive role of "Amy" in one of several TV
adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's
beloved
Little Women (1958). As a
young adult, she continued to demonstrate a formidable dramatic flair
on such popular shows as
Route 66 (1960),
Naked City (1958),
Gunsmoke (1955),
Lancer (1968),
The Invaders (1967),
Emergency! (1972) and
CHiPs (1977).
Making her first movie appearance as one of the Roosevelt children in
Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
starring Ralph Bellamy and
Greer Garson, she did not make as indelible
a mark in film as promised, but did earn semi-cult notice for her
moving streetwise role opposite
Harvey Keitel in
Martin Scorsese's autobiographical
feature-length debut
Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967) [aka Who's That
Knocking at My Door?], a notable predecessor to his acclaimed
star-maker Mean Streets (1973).
Zina graced many musicals as a singer/dancer and made her Broadway
debut at age 11 playing "Tessie" in "The Most Happy Fella". A number of
touring productions came her way in the form of "Sweet Charity",
"Oklahoma!", "Damn Yankees!", "Carnival", "Carousel" and "The
Unsinkable Molly Brown". Non-musical offerings came in the form of "The
Member of the Wedding", "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Owl and the
Pussycat". In 1992, Zina returned to Broadway as a replacement in
"Grand Hotel" in which she portrayed Russian ballerina "Elizaveta
Grushinskaya".
Ms. Bethune's ultimate passion and commitment, however, has remained in
the art of dance...and on many levels. In her prime, she was a
highly-regarded prima ballerina. Among her many credits were "Swan
Lake", "Le Corsair", "Romeo and Juliet", "Black Swan", "Giselle", "Don
Quixote" and "Sleeping Beauty", not to mention Balanchine's own
"Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux". A guest artist with The Royal Danish Ballet,
Nevada Dance Theatre and San Francisco Ballet Theatre, she went on to
form her own New York-based company in 1969 -- Zina Bethune and
Company. Her career as a dance director and choreographer has
encompassed over 50 plays, films, videos and ballets.
Bethune was sporadically seen on camera in later years, including small roles in the film The Boost (1988) as a dance choreographer, the TV movie Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987) and the TV series "Santa Barbara" and "Party of Five." Throughout her life, she has remained steadfast in her contribution to
children with physical and mental disabilities. Helping them embrace
the art of dance as a means of self-expression and therapy, she was
prompted by her own physical ailments diagnosed while growing up. In
addition to the Theatredanse (aka Theature Bethune) dance performance company she founded in 1980,
she also organized Dance Outreach (now known as Infinite Dreams) in
1982, which continues to enroll disabled young children in
dance-related activities throughout Southern California.
On February 12, 2012, Bethune was killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident while visiting the Griffith Park area in Los Angeles. She was five days short of her 67th birthday. She was survived by her husband, technical/visual effects artist 'Sean Feeley and mother Ivy.
choreographer and teacher, also had a promising acting career during
the late 1950s and 1960s.
The native New Yorker was born on February 17, 1945, the daughter of
William Charles Bethune (who died in 1950 when Zina was 5) and
established actress Ivy Bethune (née Vigner)
of General Hospital (1963)
fame. Zina's mother was a Russian Jewish immigrant, born in Sevastopol.
Formally trained in dance from age 6, she was a student at
George Balanchine's School of American
Ballet, and performed with the New York City Ballet as a teen despite
the fact she was diagnosed at various times with scoliosis, lymphedema
and hip dysplasia.
As an adolescent, she appeared in several daytime TV dramas, including
a breakthrough part (1956-1958) as the first "Robin Lang" on the serial
Guiding Light (1952).
Over time, she joined the cast of other soaps, including a lengthy
running part on
Love of Life (1951) from
1965-1971 and, many years later, a recurring part on
Santa Barbara (1984). Zina
co-starred with Shirl Conway on the TV
drama The Doctors and the Nurses (1962) [best
known as "The Nurses," the series was later entitled "The Doctors and
the Nurses"], and won touching reviews for her naive student nurse
role. She also played the sensitive role of "Amy" in one of several TV
adaptations of Louisa May Alcott's
beloved
Little Women (1958). As a
young adult, she continued to demonstrate a formidable dramatic flair
on such popular shows as
Route 66 (1960),
Naked City (1958),
Gunsmoke (1955),
Lancer (1968),
The Invaders (1967),
Emergency! (1972) and
CHiPs (1977).
Making her first movie appearance as one of the Roosevelt children in
Sunrise at Campobello (1960)
starring Ralph Bellamy and
Greer Garson, she did not make as indelible
a mark in film as promised, but did earn semi-cult notice for her
moving streetwise role opposite
Harvey Keitel in
Martin Scorsese's autobiographical
feature-length debut
Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967) [aka Who's That
Knocking at My Door?], a notable predecessor to his acclaimed
star-maker Mean Streets (1973).
Zina graced many musicals as a singer/dancer and made her Broadway
debut at age 11 playing "Tessie" in "The Most Happy Fella". A number of
touring productions came her way in the form of "Sweet Charity",
"Oklahoma!", "Damn Yankees!", "Carnival", "Carousel" and "The
Unsinkable Molly Brown". Non-musical offerings came in the form of "The
Member of the Wedding", "Barefoot in the Park" and "The Owl and the
Pussycat". In 1992, Zina returned to Broadway as a replacement in
"Grand Hotel" in which she portrayed Russian ballerina "Elizaveta
Grushinskaya".
Ms. Bethune's ultimate passion and commitment, however, has remained in
the art of dance...and on many levels. In her prime, she was a
highly-regarded prima ballerina. Among her many credits were "Swan
Lake", "Le Corsair", "Romeo and Juliet", "Black Swan", "Giselle", "Don
Quixote" and "Sleeping Beauty", not to mention Balanchine's own
"Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux". A guest artist with The Royal Danish Ballet,
Nevada Dance Theatre and San Francisco Ballet Theatre, she went on to
form her own New York-based company in 1969 -- Zina Bethune and
Company. Her career as a dance director and choreographer has
encompassed over 50 plays, films, videos and ballets.
Bethune was sporadically seen on camera in later years, including small roles in the film The Boost (1988) as a dance choreographer, the TV movie Nutcracker: Money, Madness & Murder (1987) and the TV series "Santa Barbara" and "Party of Five." Throughout her life, she has remained steadfast in her contribution to
children with physical and mental disabilities. Helping them embrace
the art of dance as a means of self-expression and therapy, she was
prompted by her own physical ailments diagnosed while growing up. In
addition to the Theatredanse (aka Theature Bethune) dance performance company she founded in 1980,
she also organized Dance Outreach (now known as Infinite Dreams) in
1982, which continues to enroll disabled young children in
dance-related activities throughout Southern California.
On February 12, 2012, Bethune was killed in an apparent hit-and-run accident while visiting the Griffith Park area in Los Angeles. She was five days short of her 67th birthday. She was survived by her husband, technical/visual effects artist 'Sean Feeley and mother Ivy.