Mabel Fairbanks
Mabel Fairbanks | |
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Maribel Vinson Owen Howard Nicholson |
Mabel Fairbanks (November 14, 1915 – September 29, 2001) was an American
Youth
Fairbanks was born on November 14, 1915, in Florida's
Fairbanks was orphaned at the age of eight when her mother died.[4] After staying with a teacher who treated her like a "maid," she joined one of her brothers in New York City.[4] She worked for him and his wife at their fish market on 8th Avenue in Harlem but they became displeased when, out of sympathy, she gave a family more fish than they had paid for.[1] A wealthy woman saw her sleeping on a park bench and offered her a job as a babysitter at a home overlooking Central Park.[2]
Career
Fairbanks began figure skating around 1925 to 1928.[5] After observing children at the Central Park ice rink, she bought herself used skates, stuffed them with cotton because they were two sizes too big, and began skating at the rink.[2] She said, "Blacks didn't skate there. But it was a public place, so I just carried on."[3] She gained further inspiration after seeing Sonja Henie in the 1936 film One in a Million.[5]
In the 1930s, Fairbanks, due to her race, was denied access to the local rink by the cashier but she kept returning until the manager admitted her.
Fairbanks performed in shows in New York until the 1940s.[7][2] She often wore pink or purple skate boots rather than the more common black or white.[6] She practiced on a 6 ft by 6 ft rink constructed by her uncle Wally in her room.[1] After relocating to Los Angeles, she toured internationally, skating with Ice Capades in Mexico and later with Ice Follies.[3] After returning to the United States, she saw a sign with "Colored Trade Not Solicited" at the Pasadena Winter Gardens. She stated, "my uncle had newspaper articles written about it and passed them out everywhere until they finally let me in."[8]
Fairbanks coached singles and pairs, including
Death
[2] Mabel Fairbanks was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis in 1997[4] and with acute leukemia in mid-2001.[2] She died on September 29, 2001, at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California.[2][3][13] She is buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California.[citation needed]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d "An Oral History: Mabel Fairbanks" (PDF). LA84 Foundation. January 7, 1999. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Quintanilla, Michael (October 4, 2001). "Obituaries: Mabel Fairbanks, 85; Black Ice Skater". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c d e Reed, Christopher (October 8, 2001). "Obituary: Mabel Fairbanks". The Guardian.
- ^ a b c d e f Levine, Bettijane (February 19, 1998). "The Ice Mother Blazed the Skating Trail for Others". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b c d Scheurer, Ronald A. (December 1, 1997). "Breaking the Ice: The Mabel Fairbanks Story". American Visions. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2019.[ISBN missing]
- ^ a b Gavilanes, Nancy (January 14, 2001). "FIGURE SKATING; A Pioneer at the Rink Is Proud of Her Legacy". The New York Times.
- The Afro American. May 5, 1945.
- ^ McClean, Tony (March 6, 2010). "An Original Ice Princess: Mabel Fairbanks". Black Athlete Sports Network. Los Angeles Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 20, 2018.
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- ^ "Mabel Fairbanks: Breaking Down Barriers". Women's Sports Foundation. Archived from the original on June 18, 2002.
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: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "International Women's Sports Hall of Fame". Women's Sports Foundation. Archived from the original on November 27, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2015.
- ^ Andres, Holly (October 5, 2001). "MEMORIALS PENDING FOR ICE SKATING LEGEND". Daily News (Los Angeles, CA). The Free Library.