Paris and London were mentioned, but only Hello London (1958) was made with her own backing, co-starring Michael Wilding and special guest star Stanley Holloway. Five thousand potential ticket-buyers had to be turned away when she returned to Madison Square Garden in 1937 with the start of her Hollywood Ice Revue. In August 1931 her Chrysler roadster came in second in an amateur automobile race in Stockholm, and she became runner-up in the Norwegian national tennis tournament in 1932. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. She In addition to the income from the fur business, both of Henie's parents had inherited wealth. [13], Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics. Her talent was evident from a very early age. She also won gold medals in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Sonja loved Born April 8, 1912, Miss Henie began her world-famed skating career after she received a pair of ice skates for Christmas when she was eight years old. Among her many victories as a competitive skater, she also won ten consecutive world championships. In 1921, at Oslo's Frogner Stadium, Henie competed in and won Norway's highest junior level of competition. She was the first Sporting News (February 14, 1994): S21. These activities made her one of the wealthiest self-made women in the world in her time. Henie opened up opportunities for figure skaters to use their skills to earn a living. Three years later she married socialite Winthrop Gardner Jr., who divorced her in 1956. During a career that spanned the 1920s, '30s, '40s, and '50s, the Norwegian skater made major contributions to women's figure skating, which would help propel the sport into the prominence it now enjoys as a dazzling, physically-challenging, personality-filled field. Figure skating, Sochi Olympics: The evolution of the jump in women's After a twirl on the ice with her pupils, Trudi consents. The year after they were married she became a U.S. citizen. ." Sonja Henie, (born April 8, 1912, Kristiania [now Oslo], Norwaydied October 12, 1969, in an airplane en route to Oslo), Norwegian-born American world champion figure skater and Olympic gold medalist who went on to achieve success as a professional ice-skater and as a motion-picture actress. She continued to perform During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences and of Hitler personally. ." An English translation, Wings on My Feet, was released in 1940 and republished in a revised edition in 1954. Sonja's marriage to Winthrop ended in 1956. ." She also began staging and appearing in ice shows, in association with Arthur Wirtz, her business manager, and these, too, were very successful--with lavish costumes and spectacular routines. Members of the audience paid up to $4.40 for the chance to see Henie. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. One of the most influential female athletes of the past century, Peggy Fleming combined grace and power t, Vanilla Ice Both of Henie's parents had given up their own pursuits in Norwayleaving Leif to run the fur businessin order to accompany Sonja on her travels and act as her managers. "The World's First Ice Queen." While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Michael Weatherly's Brother Has Died - popculture.com "Remembering Sonja Henie." Though Metro-Goldwin-Mayer (MGM) had expressed interest in her after the 1936 Olympics, when she arrived in the United States Henie and her father planned a gala skating exhibition In 1936 she would turn professional and tour with her own ice show. She once called Eddie Pec, the only person she permitted to sharpen her skates, in New York, to ask him to come to Chicago, where her show was to open. In 1968, the Onstads donated 250 of their paintings, plus $3.5 million for a fan-shaped stone-and-glass museum near Oslo. At age 10 she won the Norwegian national figure-skating championship, and in 1924 she competed in the Winter Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. A surprised panel of judges awarded her third place in the free style portion of the competition, but her poor showing on the compulsory figures lowered her score dramatically. Miss. She telegraphed her maid and told her to place a picture of her with Hitler, which he had autographed, in a prominent place in her house. Eight Sonja Henie movies crossed the $100 million domestic gross mark. Sonja was 57 years old at the time of death. [on studio publicity promoting what was an imaginary romance with Tyrone Power] We had to consult the gossip columns every day to see if we were still in love or not. Her illness had been a well-kept secret. 3, Actors and Actresses (1986). On 15 September 1949 she married Winthrop Gardiner, Jr., a business executive; he divorced her on 14 May 1956 for "desertion and mental cruelty." The Norwegian Royal Family attended both events and indeed attended her funeral in 1969. Beyond the garment's visual impact, it gave her the freedom to do jumps and other movements that had only been done by men. She died a year later at age fifty-seven. Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Grounds. In the effort, she exercised the same mental intensity and financial resources that were the foundation of her earlier work. Controversy appeared first when Henie greeted Hitler with a Nazi salute at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and after the Games she accepted an invitation to lunch with Hitler at his resort home in nearby Berchtesgaden, where Hitler presented Henie with an autographed photo with a lengthy inscription. A champion in her own day, she has become a legend in ours. Miss Henie had been suffering from. She was signed by In 1936, Miss Henie decided to turn professional, stating simply, I want to go into pictures, and I want to skate in them. included dazzling ice-skating routines which she choreographed herself. A petite, glamorous woman with a taste for luxury and a shrewd business sense, she was immensely successful next with a series of her own ice revues, and prospered as a motion picture star. At the age of ten she Her passion for performing turned her into a huge financial and popular success among athletes. She was 57 years old. Soon after winning her first world championship, Henie saw a ballet performance by Russian great Anna Pavlova. By today's standards, Henie's routines were almost ridiculously simple, her jumps far from spectacular. afforded her greater ease of movement, and she performed some moves that were downright shocking for the time, including a jump into a sit spin. advertisement A 2002 article in the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reflected Henie's impact in these shows, an accomplishment undimmed by the passing of sixty-four years. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Darryl Through the years, her shows and later art exhibitions drew the attention of such people as Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon and Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden and she met with them. While Irina Slutskaya of Russia has held the record for most European titles among ladies' skaters since 2006, Henie still retains the record of most consecutive titles, sharing it with Katarina Witt of Eastern Germany/Germany (19831988). How old was Sonja Henie when she died? - TimesMojo It set the pattern for the films to follow as a light musical comedy that included songs and skating. Three times the Olympic figure-skating champion, Miss Henie won most of the major world skating titles from 1927 to 1936, when she turned professional. Michael Weatherly is mourning the loss of his brother. Sonja became the ice-skating world Sonja Henie Death Fact Check, Birthday & Date of Death - Dead or Kicking Likewise, her films are still enjoyable, but their style and that of her skating is dated. She made seventeen performances in nine cities and earned phenomenal box office returns. These shows, the "Hollywood Ice Revues," were major attractions at Madison Square Garden for many years, up to 1952. The next year, she began training for the national championship of Norway. Already exposed to Norway's favorite sport, skiing, Henie preferred figure skating; she loved the "whirling" sensation of ice-skating and the resulting "sense of power" over distance and gravity. Four thoughts about Sonja Henie " I skated with Sonja, and wrote the first biography after her death. Sonja Henie (see photo above) had been the world's premiere figure skater in the 1920s and '30s. On a hilltop overlooking the Henie-Onstad Museum. It was a box-office smash, as were others she made in the following dozen years. ." Sonja Henie, Skating Star, Dies - The New York Times Her skating built on the innovative styles of Jackson Haines and Hilda Holowsky. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. During sixteen years of touring she earned something in the range of $10 million and her movies probably netted her more than $25 million. The hallmarks of Henie's future successes were in place. Encyclopedia.com. O'Brien, Richard and Jack McCallum. With her sunny personality and obvious love of skating, Henie popularized the sport and served as a role model for American skating hopefuls of both sexes, including Dick Button, Tenley Albright (the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal), and Carol Heiss. She did not die from her leukemia; but she died of a hemorrhage caused by change in air pressure in the jet flying from Paris to Oslo. To get the attention of film executives, Henie's father leased Hollywood's Polar Palace for two performances in May 1936. (Getty Images) I saw a tweet this week from Kiira Korpi, the Finnish figure skater who won medals three times at the European Championships . deals. Sonja Henie | Encyclopedia.com Her mother accompanied her on all of her travels and her father would eventually leave his fur business responsibilities to his son in order to manage Henie's career. According to a quote in the New York Times, Henie felt that she was working harder than ever: "When I was in championship competition I was on the ice for exactly four minutes. Barbara Ann Scott, Canadian Figure Skater, Dies at 84 - New York Times Later programs included her famous hula sketch. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. She had already delighted in dancing, and--with her brother Leif giving her her first lessons--enjoyed At the time of the 1994 Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan rivalry, their altercations were compared in the press with the sparring that went on between Henie and Swedish skater Vivi-Anne Hulten many years earlier. Memories of Henie, the first ice queen, nearly lost in her homeland of In her film Everything Happens at Night (1939), Ray Milland and Robert Cummings star as rival reporters hot on the trail of Hugo Norden (Maurice Moscovich). Henie is credited with transforming an originally demure, predictable activity by infusing it with her feminine charms and passion for the ballet. It is her effect on the sport of figure skating that is unrivaled. Long, black skirts were the norm, being both modest and warm. Her program also included double axels, spins, twirls, and jumps. (June 6, 1956 - October 12, 1969) (her death), (September 15, 1949 - May 14, 1956) (divorced), (July 4, 1940 - February 13, 1946) (divorced), View agent, publicist, legal and company contact details on IMDbPro. All of her films Within a year of turning pro, Henie had earned in excess of a quarter of a million dollars. At the time this was a brave departure from convention, and audiences loved it. In a 1999 account for Newsweek, silver-medal holder Cecilia Colledge also remembered competing against Henie in the 1936 Olympic games. At the same time, Henie studied ballet in Oslo. Her fur-trimmed costume Henie broke off her arrangement with Wirtz in 1950 and for the next three seasons produced her own tours under the name "Sonja Henie Ice Revue". Henie's first love was dancing, and she began to study ballet at age four; the ballet element in her later skating, both as champion amateur and professional, was always evident. In 1951 Wirtz and Henie were unable to agree on a contract and parted ways. Omissions? "You could laugh with Sonja, but she had other things on her mind. Sonja Henie (1912-1969) - Find a Grave Memorial turn professional and tour with her own ice show. Her medal record consisted of Norwegian national championships from 1922 to 1934, 6 European titles (19311936), 10 world titles (192736), and 3 gold medals in the Winter Olympic Games of 1928, 1932, and 1936. . [3] While still a girl, Henie had decided that she wanted to move to California and become a movie star when her competitive days were over, without considering that her strong accent might hinder her acting ambitions. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. controversy. When Henie began her program, her ballet training was evident in the flourishes she made with her head and legs. After retiring In 1953, Henie formed a new partnership with Morris Chalfen to appear in his European Holiday On Ice tour, which proved to be a great success. Her husband, Neils Onstad, a Norwegian shipowner, said she "just slept away" halfway through the two-hour flight. Henie famously asserted that she wanted to do for skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing on film. Her husband did not trust French doctors, so he flew her unconscious body to Dr Moe in Oslo. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. [3] She also won six consecutive European championships from 1931 to 1936. In her later years she was noted as a collector and patron of modern art. By this time her movie career was over. Besides, I can't quite imagine my doing the hula in the Olympics.". At the time of her third marriage, Miss Henie was an admirer of Renoir and Gainsborough, but under her husbands influence became as avid purchaser of modern works. In 1936 she signed with Twentieth Century-Fox, and she starred in 10 popular films, beginning with One in a Million (193637) and Thin Ice (1937). During the twentieth century no competitor was able to match Henie's three consecutive Olympic gold medals in women's figure skating. Until shortly before her death, Miss Henie had remained socially active and continued to direct the activities of the $3.5 million art museum she and her husband had presented to Norway. Burial. Like many Hollywood stars, she supported the U.S. war effort through USO and otherwise. Henie became so popular with the public that police had to be called out for crowd control on her appearances in various disparate cities such as Prague and New York City. She was a three-time Olympic Champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies' Singles, a ten-time World Champion (1927-1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931-1936). The draw for the free skating [then] came under suspicion after Henie landed the plum position of skating last, while Colledge had to perform second of the 26 competitors. Sonja Henie. After the success of her first film, One in a Million (1936), Henie's position was assured and she became increasingly demanding in her business dealings with Zanuck. Sonja Henie | American athlete | Britannica She said her greatest hope was to become a movie star, and she soon did. For the rest of the war, all of her possessions were left untouched by the Nazis. Indeed, after the school figures section at the 1936 Olympic competition, Colledge and Henie were virtually neck and neck with Colledge trailing by just a few points. playing tennis and she excelled at ice-skating. American figure skater Frogner Stadium was the site of the 1927 Women's World Figure Skating Championship. Henie is credited with many "firsts," including being the first international sports star, the first superstar among figure skaters, and the firstand still onlywoman to win three Olympic gold medals in figure skating. Honorary Colonel and Godmother of the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, For a time, Sonja Henie's picture adorned the tail of a, This page was last edited on 23 April 2023, at 13:57. How did Sonja Henie the ice Star die? - Answers Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Henie was married three times, to Dan Topping (19401946), Winthrop Gardiner Jr. (19491956),[16] and the Norwegian shipping magnate and art patron Niels Onstad (19561969). She broke with her manager in 1951, and began producing shows on her own, but gave them up after a block of seats at a Baltimore armory collapsed before a show in March, 1952, injuring more than 250 people. During her lifetime Sonja Henie reigned as the "queen of ice," and today she remains the most influential individual to have been part of figure skating. Norway's king and queen attended the funeral service. But Henie did not stop there. 27 Apr. The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her Wiki User. Her father was a wealthy fur salesman and a former amateur cycling champion who encouraged his children to compete. To allow for a rigorous training schedule, Henie's parents took her out of school, hired a private tutor, and gave her ballet lessons in London during the summer. When the Nazis arrived to take over the house, they saw the picture and left quickly. OSLO, Oct. 12 (AP)--Sonja Henie, ice-skating queen and film star, died tonight on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo. A New York Times obituary noted that she once summoned Eddie Pec, who was said to be the only person she trusted to sharpen her skates, from New York to Chicago by train to do a job that took only a few minutes. Typically, Henie films were short on plot and long on her trademark She was to have danced to "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago. Encyclopedia.com. Griffin saw Henie as person intent on reaching her professional goals and little else. Henie won her first major figure skating competition, the senior Norwegian championships, at the age of 10. How did Sonja Henie the ice Star die? Sonja Henie - IMDb At 14 she was the Norwegian Skating Champion. Henie improved rapidly and by 1926 she was . Both Hans and Selma became deeply involved in Sonja's skating career. Said to have had a keen business sense, she early acquired the nickname Little Miss Moneybags for her habit of prudent investments. Second Fiddle displays Sonja [Henie] as Trudi Hovland, a schoolmarm of Bergen, Minn. who is called to Hollywood because her local swain has sent her photograph to Consolidated Pictures Corp., which has been looking high & low for just such a heroine. Dressed in a white velvet, bell-skirted dress designed by her mother, Henie won over Austria's Herma Planck-Szabo. She also had numerous lucrative endorsement contracts, and deals to market skates, clothing, jewelry, dolls, and other merchandise branded with her name. [6] Happy Landing (1938) was her biggest box office hit. As a girl Henie also was a nationally ranked tennis player, and a skilled swimmer and equestrienne. In addition to her acting Sonja toured Henie also had great spinning ability. Short skirts and choreography were unknown in figure skating before Henie introduced them in the late 1920s. Adolf Hitler greeting Sonja Henie at a rink in Munich six weeks after the 1936 Winter Olympics, where she won a third straight women's singles title. Mitt livs eventyr, Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1938. As a result, her 1939 salary was more than $250,000. From 1931 through 1936, Henie competed in and won six consecutive women's European Figure Skating Championships. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. When she became a professional skater in 1936, she set her sights on movie stardom and quickly turned herself into a top box office draw. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. ." Henie had turned down contract offers following the 1932 Olympics, but now set about in earnest to make a career as an exhibition skater and film star. Sonja Henie's Ice Age - Vanity Fair It would later house all of Henie's skating memorabilia. She starred in a string of hits including In 1968 Sonja was diagnosed with leukemia. Her first film, One In A Million with Adolphe Menjou, was a huge This was particularly true in Norway after World War II, where her status as one of the most admired Norwegians of all time was threatened by criticisms that she had not contributed to war relief efforts. Sonja HENIE Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age Sonja [citation needed]. 1956- She incorporated 19 different spins into her programs, and she could spin nearly 80 revolutions. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Plot. She divorced Daniel and married Winthrop Gardner, a wealthy aviator, in The collapse of a section of bleachers during a show in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 compounded the tour's legal and financial woes. "I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing," she said. Sonja Henie, (born April 8, 1912, Kristiania , Norwaydied October 12, 1969, in an airplane en route to Oslo), Norwegian-born American world champion figure skater and Olympic gold medalist who went on to achieve success as a professional ice-skater and as a motion-picture actress. And most importantly, she hired the best skaters and choreographers and paid them handsomely. . There, Henie won her second gold medal in figure skating, with 2,302.5 points. [29], Not to be confused with American basketball player, After the war, Henie was mindful that many of her countrymen considered her to be a, 1936 European Figure Skating Championships, "Cecilia Colledge: Champion figure skater", "AFI's 100 Years 100 Stars America's Greatest Legends", "Nektet pne festspill hvis Flagstad skulle synge", "International Women's Sports Hall of Fame", "Sonja Henie Joins 508th Regt. Norden, a Nobel Prize winner, was supposedly murdered by the Gestapo, but is rumoured to be in hiding and writing anonymous dispatches advocating world peace. Colledge, Cecilia. When sheas a gold medal winnerpassed Hitler's tribune with silver medalist Cecilia Colledge and bronze medalist Vivi-Anne Hultn, neither she nor the others honored Hitler with the Nazi salute. She earned at least $25 million from her lucrative motion-picture career. Her mother traveled [3][19] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. [13] Henie incorporated dance elements into her figure skating, through the placement of spins, jumps, and choreography to reflect the mood of the music she used. Her last film, Hello London (1958), received only limited showings in parts of England. Years later, a fairer, staggered draw was adopted to counteract this situation".[4]. A huge star in the 1930s and '40s, she was also divisive and controversial. Sources In 1941 Henie, who was twice married to U.S. citizens, herself became a citizen of the United States. Throughout the 1940s, Henie and Wirtz produced lavish musical ice skating extravaganzas at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre attracting millions of ticket buyers. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Sonja Henie Biography, Life, Interesting Facts - Famous Birthdays By In January 1930, after additional success in winning Norway's skating doubles championship three times, she impressed her first New York City audience of 15,000 at the amateur Ice Carnival exhibition at Madison Square Garden. In December 1937 Henie was received into Norway's Knightly Order of St. Olaf. ." She appeared on several television shows in the next few years, including a one- hour special of her own. Henie's brother speaks of her extremely violent temper in Raymond Strait and Leif Henie, Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie (1985). When Geoffrey and Ken get so distracted by romance that they begin to neglect their assignments, it almost leads to disaster as the Gestapo sets out to silence Norden once and for all. Skating, a feat she would repeat in 1932 and 1936. . "She went after me in every which way from that point on," said Hulten. It was an ill-advised decision to set herself up in competition with Wirtz, whose shows now featured the new Olympic champion Barbara Ann Scott. Sonja is buried on a hilltop overlooking the She made one film each with RKO and Universal in the following years, and in 1958 appeared in Hello London, which was only released in England. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. In the mid-1970s, American figure skater Dorothy Hamill was the leader in her field, capping her success, Skating Time (July 17, 1939): 51-54. She was a three-time Olympic Champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion (1927-1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931-1936). 1948- Three-quarters of a century later, in 2010 . 1968 Sonja was diagnosed with leukemia. As a wealthy celebrity, she moved in the same social circles as royalty and heads of state and made Hitler's acquaintance as a matter of course. Her free-skating program, with its musical medley of stage songs, received a standing ovation. Ted Scott ( John Payne) is a band pianist whose publicity manager decides that, for good press, the band should adopt a foreign refugee. 1949. She nevertheless had negotiated an impressive contract and was an immediate hit with audiences. Sonya Eddy, star of 'General Hospital,' dead at 55 | CNN But Henie will be best remembered for putting skating above the personal and political. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sonja-Henie, Sonja Henie - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Henie, Sonja (1912-1969) | Encyclopedia.com

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