Stewart Dudley Dagge Reburn was a renowned Canadian figure skating champion who competed in both singles and pair skating events.
He began his competitive career by winning the junior Canadian championship in singles in 1928, concurrently coming in third place in the senior pairs championship with Veronica Clarke. The following year, he won the silver medal at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in both 1929 and 1931.
In 1932, he was selected to compete in the Winter Olympics, but unfortunately, he withdrew prior to the event, while his rival, Bud Wilson, took home the bronze medal.
Reburn then took a two-year hiatus from competitive skating, during which time he began competing with a new partner, Louise Bertram. The pair won the gold medal at the 1935 Canadian Championships, placed fourth in the world figure-skating championships, and competed in the 1936 Winter Olympics, finishing sixth.
Reburn and Bertram's innovative approach to pair skating, which involved skating to the music rather than using it as mere background noise, captivated audiences in both the figure skating and entertainment worlds.
In 2015, Reburn and Bertram were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame.
Following his competitive career, Reburn went on to skate professionally as the partner of Sonja Henie in her international touring ice show and also appeared alongside Henie in the 1939 film Second Fiddle.
When World War II broke out, Reburn enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force, where he became a fighter pilot and eventually attained the rank of Flight Lieutenant. He was wounded by shrapnel in December 1943, which ultimately ended both his skating and acting careers.
After the war, Reburn worked behind the scenes in the film industry for several years before transitioning to a career in real estate management.
Sadly, Reburn passed away in June 1976 at the age of 63 due to cancer, and was interred in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.
