Eugene Turner was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 champion figure skater who competed in single skating

Single skating

Single skating is a discipline of figure skating, wherein a single person skates alone. Men's singles and ladies' singles are both Olympic disciplines and are both governed by the International Skating Union. The other Olympic figure skating events are pair skating and ice dancing...

, pair skating

Pair skating

Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...

 and ice dancing

Ice dancing

Ice dancing is a form of figure skating which draws from the world of ballroom dancing. It was first competed at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, but did not become a Winter Olympic Games medal sport until 1976....

, and coached professionally. He was born in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California.

Turner won the mens singles title at the 1940 and 1941 United States Figure Skating Championships

United States Figure Skating Championships

The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...

. Also in 1941, he became the first skater to medal in three disciplines at one U.S. Championship, adding the pairs title with Donna Atwood

Donna Atwood

Donna Atwood was an American figure skater. She competed in pair skating and won the gold medal at the 1941 United States Figure Skating Championships with partner Eugene Turner. In 1949, she married John H. Harris, the first owner of the Ice Capades, with whom she had two children...

 and the silver medal in ice dancing with Elizabeth Kennedy. Hailing from the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, he was the first skater from west of the Mississippi River to win a U.S. senior title.

Turner did not appear in the Winter Olympics or World Championships which were subject to international cancellation from 1940 to 1946 due to World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 and post-war rebuilding. During the war, Turner served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Air Forces, piloting a single seat P-47 Thunderbolt

P-47 Thunderbolt

Republic Aviation's P-47 Thunderbolt, also known as the "Jug", was the largest, heaviest, and most expensive fighter aircraft in history to be powered by a single reciprocating engine. It was heavily armed with eight .50-caliber machine guns, four per wing. When fully loaded, the P-47 weighed up to...

 for 69 missions over Germany and occupied France. After the war, he became a coach and skated professionally.

Turner partnered with Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...

 during her tour and in Iceland (film)

Iceland (film)

Iceland is a 20th Century Fox musical film directed by H. Bruce Humberstone set in Iceland, starring skater Sonja Henie and John Payne as a U.S. Marine posted in Iceland during World War II...

 in 1942. He also performed as a skating double

Body double

A body double is a general term for someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character in any recorded visual medium, in shots where the character's body is shown but the face is either not visible or shown indistinctly, or in shots where the image of the credited actor's face is joined,...

 for Cary Grant

Cary Grant

Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...

 in The Bishop's Wife

The Bishop's Wife

The Bishop's Wife is a 1947 Samuel Goldwyn romantic comedy feature film starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young, and David Niven in a story about an angel who helps a bishop with his problems. It was released by RKO. The film was adapted by Leonardo Bercovici and Robert E...

 in 1948, and for Patrick Knowles.

As a coach, he taught or set programs for Allen Schramm, Dudley Richards

Dudley Richards

Dudley "Dud" Shaw Richards was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles and pairs. In singles, he won the bronze medal at the 1953 United States Figure Skating Championships and finished sixth at that year's World Figure Skating Championships...

, Karol Kennedy

Karol Kennedy

Karol Estelle Kennedy Kucher was an American pair skater. With her brother, Peter, she won five U.S. Championship titles from 1948-1952...

, Peter Kennedy, Catherine Machado

Catherine Machado

Catherine Machado was an American figure skater. She won the bronze medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships twice and became the first Hispanic skater to represent the U.S. at the Winter Olympics in 1956. After that year's World Championships, she turned professional. She was inducted into...

, Richard Dwyer, Tim Brown, and Tenley Albright

Tenley Albright

Tenley Emma Albright, M.D. is an American figure skater. She is the 1956 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 & 1955 World Champion, the 1953 & 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S...

. Skating magazine carried his columns in the 1980s

Eugene Turner was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame

United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame

The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is considered the highest achievement an...

 in 1983.

Results

(mens singles)

Event	1939	1940	1941
North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an...			2nd
U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...	3rd	1st	1st

(pairs with Donna Atwood

Donna Atwood

Donna Atwood was an American figure skater. She competed in pair skating and won the gold medal at the 1941 United States Figure Skating Championships with partner Eugene Turner. In 1949, she married John H. Harris, the first owner of the Ice Capades, with whom she had two children...

)

Event	1941
North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an...	2nd
U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...	1st

(ice dance with Elizabeth Kennedy)

Event	1941
U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...	2nd

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