John Edward Powell Dunn (28 March 1917 – 16 July 1938) was a British

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

who competed in the 1930s. His best finish was a silver medal at the 1935 World Figure Skating Championships. Dunn was a close friend and lover of

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

, who was training in London towards the end of her competitive career. Following Henie's victory at the

1936 Winter Olympics The 1936 Winter Olympics, officially known as the IV Olympic Winter Games (german: IV. Olympische Winterspiele) and commonly known as Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936 ( bar, Garmasch-Partakurch 1936), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 16 ...

, where Dunn placed sixth in the

singles event A singles event is an activity or program made available specifically to the romantically unattached, often with the underlying or explicit purpose of fostering dating or relationships among attendees. A singles event with a cocktail party-type a ...

, he accompanied the Henie family to the United States and became her professional skating partner in her touring ice show for the next two years. Their relationship ended when Henie became involved with

Tyrone Power Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads. His better-known films include '' Jesse James'', ...

. Shortly afterward, in 1938, Dunn died from

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat infe ...

contracted from handling a rabbit while on a hunting trip in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He died in Hollywood. At the time of his death Dunn had appeared in the movie '' Everybody's Girl'', been cast by producer

Edward Small Edward Small (born Edward Schmalheiser, February 1, 1891, Brooklyn, New York – January 25, 1977, Los Angeles) was a film producer from the late 1920s through 1970, who was enormously prolific over a 50-year career. He is best known for the movi ...

in the lead of ''

The Duke of West Point ''The Duke of West Point'' is a 1938 American drama film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Louis Hayward, Joan Fontaine and Tom Brown. It was described as "''A Yank at Oxford'' in reverse". Plot An American diplomat's son, Steven Early, ...

'' (1938) and was in the running to play

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

in a film based on that actor's life.

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References

External links

*
Skatabase
* Raymond Strait and Leif Henie: ''Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie''. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Jack 1917 births 1938 deaths British male single skaters Figure skaters at the 1936 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters of Great Britain Infectious disease deaths in California World Figure Skating Championships medalists