Former "World Class Figure Skater" Ordered to Pay $$$ To "Trophy Husband"

[Jenny]

She's almost the same age as Barbara Ann Scott, so I tried a search with both names to see if they turned up at anything together, but no can do.

[MacMadame]

I tried All her names in Google yesterday and didn't find anything except pictures of her. All the articles were about this settlement, nothing prior to that. The pictures included stuff form when she was younger and she did look like models of the time period. Nothing of her in skates though.

[l'etoile]

I get a Jack and Karen vibe from all of this.

[steve skater]

On this page, Valerie Fortune Brown is identified as "a former professional world figure skating champion in 1946."

So it could be Valerie Moon, the 1946 Women's Figure Ice Skating Open Professional Champion of Great Britain.

On this page, she is introduced here as: " ... a group of young children on skates being giving an ice skating lesson by Valerie Moon (a gold medalist)"

Clip of her spinning here in 1948 (when Cecilia College won).

(Her middle name is now "Fortune?" No wonder why he was attracted to you!)

[overedge]

Wow, good research, Steve Skater! That does kind of look like a younger her in the film.

[Iceman]

In several histories on British skating, Valerie Moon is listed as Valerie Moon-Barnes. I assume Barnes was the birth name of her husband.
http://www.brightontigers.com


http://sussexicehouse.co.uk/history-...ing-in-sussex/

[vesperholly]

I had opined that she could be Valerie Hunt. If so, she would have been 34 when competing in 1961. Possible, but probably unlikely. I found nothing on a Valerie Moon.

Well done Steve.

[OldGuy]

It seems to me she taught in Vancouver in the 50's under the name Valerie Mann or Mant and also for a time in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Her picture is what jogged my memory so I called a few old friends in the Vancouver area and the reaction was, "OMG" and peals of snarkey laughter.

[joeperryfan]

We are all pretty sure she is not Amelia Earhart, are we?

(kudos on your research everyone j/k)

[skatingfanfun]

It seems to me she taught in Vancouver in the 50's under the name Valerie Mann or Mant and also for a time in the Seattle/Tacoma area. Her picture is what jogged my memory so I called a few old friends in the Vancouver area and the reaction was, "OMG" and peals of snarkey laughter.

That should be correct. The court document says she married his first husband, an electrical engineer Mr. Mant.

My question is if she was Valerie Moon because Valerie Moon became Valerie-Barnes, but Ms. brown only married twice. in addition the photo of Valierie Moon does not resemble Ms. brown. She looks more like Cecilia Colledge, the second lady in Steve's last link ,who passed away already.

[victorskid]

Valerie Mant apparently skated with Ice Capades (with John Johnson?) in 1950.

[Iceman]

The Respondent Valerie Fortune Brown was one of two children in a family raised in England. Her English parents provided a comfortable standard of living. She was educated in a girls private school. She later became a world class figure skating champion, performed professionally in ice follies and was also employed as a model for art sculptures.

[12] She was first married to a Mr. Mant, an electrical engineer in Montreal, had 5 children with him and later divorced him, taking the two youngest children with her but leaving the three older ones with Mr. Mant. They remained on amiable terms until Mr. Mant’s death shortly after his 90th birthday.

[13] Her second husband was James Brown, a successful chartered accountant and businessman in Vancouver. It was a second marriage for both of them. They had no children from this union. Mr. Brown retired in 1975 and the Browns moved to Sechelt, living on a substantial piece of waterside property with a large house. During their retirement, they travelled frequently. The Browns were married for 24 years when Mr. Brown died in 1994. The Respondent was left with her husband’s estate which consisted of an investment portfolio of assorted stocks and bonds held in a private holding company called Yakoun Investments (Yakoun). Yakoun’s holdings together with a shareholder loan were worth over $5,000,000. Ms. Brown also inherited a retirement income fund, then worth 1.3 million dollars. Her home on Yacht Road, named Val Paradiseo by the Browns, had an appraised value of 1.6 million dollars.

[14] After her husband’s death, the Respondent lived alone in her large house.

http://www.bcjustice.com/index.php?o...08&Itemid=1208

[Iceman]

http://www.tacomasportsmuseum.com/vi...t5/e50217b.htm



Valerie (3rd on left) at 1951 Cast Party

http://www.tacomasportsmuseum.com/vi...t5/e50123b.htm

[OldGuy]

At one point in the 50's, Valerie's mother came to visit and she was just marvelous. A wonderful sort of Bohemian Auntie Mame type - great fun. Sounds like the gene passed down!

[skatingfanfun]

That picture is definitely her . She is a beauty and had talent. She had 5 children with her first husband and when she married the second time she was 44. if she was already Valerie Mant in 1950 then she married Mr. Mant before she was 24. she left with two youngest children when divorced. her first husband should not be too old otherwise they wouldn't have 5 children but definitely older than she was as he died at 90. Her second husband retired about 5 years after the marriage, so he should be about 15 years older than she was. The marriage lasted 24 years and it appears that at least he loved her from the name of their house.

based on these induction, IMO she should be a nice lovely woman. She married an engineer and a CA. I would say she was just reasonably well married, not a gold digger as some people commented on the Internet. it was not like she married old men waiting for them to die and get their money.

that Mr. walker actually get about 1 million from this relationship for the 14 years together, so he should consider himself very lucky off the welfare he relied on.

We tax payer should thank Ms. Brown for the 14+9 years support of that parasite.

[Sasha'sSpins]

Cougars have always existed. You go pool boy. Get your money honey!
The pictures of her latest facelift are priceless. They made my day.

I think it's very sad that a lonely old widow who happens to be wealthy was taken advantage of. And that is just what this guy has done. He took advantage of her loneliness imo. Even the judge who ruled in his favor noted the guy's unseemly behavior.

Mrs. Fortune Brown was clearly a lovely skater in her youth.

Her life story in the twilight of her years is very sad. It reminds me of "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone".

[Iceman]

OT Oh, Vivien Leigh, my favorite actress, was so good as Mrs. Stone. I haven't seen the Helen Miren version, which I hear is quite brutal and wasn't restricted by the mores of the time when the first version was made.
Lenya was so deliciously malevolent as the procuress.

Mrs. Brown must have been terribly lonely to just pick up someone so casually. Reminds me of another Vivien Leigh line from Ship of Fools: "It's enough to scare the hell out of anyone, waiting for fear and loneliness to do their dirty work."