Henie also had great spinning ability. Within a month of her last amateur victory, Henie signed with promoter Arthur Wirtz to appear in a U.S. tour. The international star had managed to keep her illness a secret and was seen with her husband at an Oslo theater less than two weeks before her death. In 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. The signature of her ice skate blades adorns the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre. NEW HOPE, PA. John R. Walsh, who toured professionally as the figure-skating partner of Olympic champion Sonja Henie, died Thursday from complications following a stroke. "Henie skates with speed, grace, and eye-boggling abandon through four big numbers," he noted in Entertainment Weekly. Sports Illustrated (February 14, 1994): 18. Henie incorporated ballet movements into her skating; she had taken ballet lessons from the age of five and was influenced by ballerina Anna Pavlova. 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. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 and died on October 12, 1969. [1], Henie began skating at the age of 5. These honors were the result of talent, intensive training, and an interest in doing something different from other skaters. Encyclopedia.com. Hemming, Roy. first pair of ice skates when she was six. Henie would make eleven films in Hollywood, with the first six being the most successful. From the Archives: Don Ameche, Dapper Film Star, Dies at 85, From the Archives: Andy Warhol, Pioneer of 60s Pop Art, Dies, From the Archives: Jazz Great Thelonious Monk Dies, From the Archives: Armand Hammer Dies; Billionaire, Art Patron, From the Archives: Buster Crabbe, Athlete, Hero of Serials, Dies. . Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. 3, Actors and Actresses (1986). Hans was himself very athletic; among his diverse pursuits, he was a former world champion in bicycling. 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. In the summer of 1927 Henie had the thrill of seeing her idol, Russian dancer Anna Pavlova, on stage in London, which inspired her to adapt Pavlova's Dying Swan to figure skating. 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. 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. Troubles in Henie's film career were not mirrored in her popularity as a live performer. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. "When Cleveland fell under Sonja's spell 64 years ago, Henie's visit enchanted the city." Birthday: April 8, 1912. Louis, and Van Johnson. He died of Tularmia (Rabbit . Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja. "Remembering Sonja Henie." Her performance, skating "at home" in Norway's Frogner Stadium, earned her the first of ten consecutive world figure skating titles (and the distinction of being the youngest world champion until Tara Lipinski edged her out in 1997 by a margin of thirty-two days). During the twentieth century no competitor was able to match Henie's three consecutive Olympic gold medals in women's figure skating. ." Became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1941. Sonja Henie, blonde Norwegian figure skater who dominated the rink for a decade and then skated her way to a second fabulous career in films, died Sunday of leukemia. At the time, she was only 11 years old and she had to punctuate her free skating routine with frequent visits to the sidelines to ask her coach what she should do next. Bill Griffin described Henie as a perfectionist with a short fuse. Because each style has its own formatting nuances that evolve over time and not all information is available for every reference entry or article, Encyclopedia.com cannot guarantee each citation it generates. With her well-to-do father's backing, she studied ballet in London, and began applying choreography to her routines. 20th Century-Fox and debuted in, - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana . Throughout the 1940s, Henie and Wirtz produced lavish musical ice skating extravaganzas at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre attracting millions of ticket buyers. She died on October 12, 1969 at the age of 57. Henie went on to win first of her three Olympic gold medals the following year, becoming one of the youngest figure skating Olympic champions. A male cast member from the Hollywood Ice Review had warmer memories of Henie in a 1996 interview in Films in Review. In the mid-1970s, American figure skater Dorothy Hamill was the leader in her field, capping her success, Skating When their daughter showed a special passion for skating at about age six, which she began under the instruction of her brother Leif, they provided her with whatever training she required. It featured spectacular costumes and included waltz and hula dances. During a week in Cleveland, she would skate for more than 62,000 fans. A champion in her own day, she has become a legend in ours. Sonja Henie. . Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Her father was a wealthy fur salesman and a former amateur cycling champion who encouraged his children to compete. After Nora falls for the handsome owner, she convinces her uncle to invest in the inn and modernize it. She was signed by Critic Roy Hemming enthused about the film when it was among seven video releases made at the time of the 1994 Olympics. Sandvika, Brum kommune, Akershus fylke, Norway Show Map. Skating, besides being an important form of win, Fleming, Peggy The highly-publicized shows were well attended by film stars and filmmakers, including Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century-Fox. skating even more. Her father, Hans Wilhelm Henie, was a successful fur trader and amateur athlete, and her mother, Selma Lochman Nielsen, inherited her family's wealth. Date of Death: October 12, 1969. Her death in Los Angeles, California on October 12, 1969, robbed the skating world of one of its brightest stars. By 1939 she was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. 2023 . New York Times (October 13, 1969). Henie was also successful in Hollywood. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. She earned at least $25 million from her lucrative motion-picture career. During World War 2 her connections to the Nazis caused a "You could laugh with Sonja, but she had other things on her mind. Within the Cite this article tool, pick a style to see how all available information looks when formatted according to that style. She died on October 12, 1969 at From its ninth-century, Northern European origins as a means for hunting and traveling on ice, skating has been explored for its leisure poss, Rapper, actor, social commentator Members of the audience paid up to $4.40 for the chance to see Henie. 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. Henie's connections with Adolf Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials made her the subject of controversy before, during, and after World War II. Nora and her uncle get railroaded into spending the night at a broken-down hotel in Canada. After the 1936 World Figure Skating Championships, Henie gave up her amateur status and took up a career as a professional performer in acting and live shows. She married Onstad that same yearby which time her film career was largely behind herand embarked on an avocation of art collecting which resulted in one of the finest collections of paintings in Hollywood. Three-quarters of a century later, in 2010 . Sonja Henie died from leukemia in 1969, at the age of 57. 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. Get the day's top news with our Today's Headlines newsletter, sent every weekday morning. Because she was still a child, she competed in a knee-length skirt, rather than the calf-length outfits the older women wore. 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. That 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. Her mother traveled Released on 22 December 1939, it was banned in Nazi Germany. Her husband, Neils Onstad, a Norwegian shipowner, said she "just slept away" halfway through the two-hour flight. skater to parlay her athletic success into a lucrative career. Henie also insisted on having total control of the skating numbers in her films such as Second Fiddle (1939). 2023 . But Henie will be best remembered for putting skating above the personal and political. Norway's king and queen attended the funeral service. In her autobiography, Wings on My Feet, Henie explained that the primary factor facilitating her being so "lucky" in achieving her skating goals was her family's wealth. 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. Her animated counterpart appeared in the Disney short, The Autograph Hound when Donald asked for her autograph. Henie's popularity as a film actress attracted many new fans and instituted skating shows as a popular new entertainment. A bubbly, smiling figure in her performances, she was in fact a fierce competitor who wanted nothing to do with her rivals. Mitt livs eventyr, Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1938. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in In the fall of 1968 Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. In 1936, Miss Henie decided to turn professional, stating simply, I want to go into pictures, and I want to skate in them. [15], Also according to Kestnbaum, "Henie's largest contribution to public images of skating"[15] was in her professional ice shows and in her Hollywood films, which were often the first time audiences were exposed to figure skating through the mass media. She was 57 years old. During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences and of Hitler personally. Sonja Henie (see photo above) had been the world's premiere figure skater in the 1920s and '30s. Hulten charged that Henie was responsible for having her strip searched and detained on suspicion of smuggling jewels while traveling across the German border in 1935. Commenting on the difference between skating in her shows and in competition, Miss Henie once said: "When I was in championship competition I was on the ice for exactly four minutes. After placing last in a field of eight, she increased her practice time to some seven hours a day. In December 1937 Henie was received into Norway's Knightly Order of St. Olaf. An obituary is in the New York Times (13 Oct. 1969). Since Wirtz controlled the best arenas and dates, Henie was left playing smaller venues and markets already saturated by other touring ice shows such as Ice Capades. Sonja was 57 years old at the time of death. How did Sonja Henie the ice Star die? Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other . Sonja's marriage to Winthrop ended in 1956. Memorial ID. She defended her Olympic titles in 1932 and in 1936, and her world titles annually until 1936. It would later house all of Henie's skating memorabilia. The pretty, blond skater stood out among the competitors in a white silk and ermine skating dress that had a short skirt. This was more than a day's pay for Steve Turocy, who at age eighty-two remembered having to settle for a $3.30 seat because the others were sold out. (April 27, 2023). When she returned the following year, she secured the women's national championship title and, as part of her record-making legacy, would come back the subsequent six years to retain that title. He agrees that she has no chance for the part but talks her into flying to Hollywood for the trip, with her Aunt Phoebe (Edna May Oliver). . accent audiences loved her. 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. At the time of her death, Henie was planning a comeback for a television special that would have aired in January 1970. She was signed by 20th Century-Fox and debuted in One in a Million (1936), in which she played an ice skater. In 1936 she would turn professional and tour with her own ice show. 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. back to Norway and opened a museum to showcase their art collection. She recalled the champion's marvelous clothes and icy disdain. Miss Henie had a home in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, an apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland, and an estate overlooking the Oslo fjord. 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. Touched by Roger's mash notes, which are really written by Jimmy, Trudi moons over him all during production of Girl of the North. [1], Henie was born in 1912 in Kristiania (now Oslo) Norway; she was the only daughter of Wilhelm Henie (18721937), a prosperous Norwegian furrier, and his wife, Selma Lochmann-Nielsen (18881961). After her retirement in 1956, Henie and Onstad settled in Oslo and accumulated a large collection of modern art that formed the basis for the Henie Onstad Art Centre at Hvikodden in Brum near Oslo. According to various polls, by the end of 1937 Henie ranked among the top ten Hollywood earners; by 1938 she was among Twentieth CenturyFox's top female stars, which included Shirley Temple, Alice Faye, and Loretta Young; and by 1939 she ranked as the third most popular screen actor after Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. The 1936 European Figure Skating Championships also took place in Berlin and neither Henie, Colledge, nor Megan Taylor paid obeisance to Hitler. 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. In 1921, at Oslo's Frogner Stadium, Henie competed in and won Norway's highest junior level of competition. She starred in a string of hits including It recounted that her appearance had been a front-page story in which Roelif Loveland had written "there is no simile to express adequately the grace and loveliness of this glamorous young woman." At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in Skating, a feat she would repeat in 1932 and 1936. Henie entered her first Olympic competition in 1924, when she was 11 years old. So the skating star created her own ice show, Sonja Henie with Her 1952 Ice Revue. "Sonja Henie's tutu!" He was 85. 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. At age seven Henie learned to skate from her elder and only brother, Leif. A huge star in the 1930s and '40s, she was also divisive and controversial. Death. They also made her wealthy. Theatergoers of the era certainly were thrilled with Henie and their introduction to figure skating. In 1940 she married millionaire-sportsman Dan Topping, from whom she was divorced in 1946. The result of her first entry into the national championship at Frogner, in 1922, was to win second place. The next year, she began training for the national championship of Norway. A 1930 New York Times article dubbed Henie a "Pavlova on Ice" and stressed her athletic prowess. While her ice show numbers were still worth watching, the film received few distributors and poor reviews, ending her film career. She appeared in the film Thin Ice and was rated in a Motion Picture Herald poll as the eighth most popular film star of the year. Jimmy believes that, as the new star, she can be used to bolster the publicity value of Roger Maxwell (Rudy Vallee), a crooner on the studio pay roll whose self-esteem is more impressive than his newsworthiness. Short skirts and choreography were unknown in figure skating before Henie introduced them in the late 1920s. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. During the shooting of Second Fiddle (1939), she greeted the then Crown-Prince couple of Norway Olav and Mrtha during their US tour. Henie's autobiography, written with Janet Owen, is Wings on My Feet (1940). [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 skating built on the innovative styles of Jackson Haines and Hilda Holowsky. While also working as an ice show star and producer, she became a multi-millionaire. She announced then that she was turning professional, and toured the United States in an ice show. Notable Sports Figures. 12 Oct 1969 (aged 57) Oslo, Oslo kommune, Oslo fylke, Norway. An English translation, Wings on My Feet, was released in 1940 and republished in a revised edition in 1954. Soon after winning her first world championship, Henie saw a ballet performance by Russian great Anna Pavlova. "She went after me in every which way from that point on," said Hulten. The couple moved Towards the end of her career, she began to be strongly challenged by younger skaters including Cecilia Colledge, Megan Taylor, and Hedy Stenuf. Born in Oslo, Norway, on April 8, 1912 (some sources erroneously cite 1910); died of leukemia on board an ambulance plane . It was also noted in Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows that before the war started the Henies had visited with Adolf Hitler and that during a 1936 show in Berlin she had given him the Nazi salute and said "Heil, Hitler.". Sources Sun Valley Serenade (1941), in which Henie appeared with John Payne and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, is memorable for its Academy Award nominations for best cinematography, best music, and best song. Later programs included her famous hula sketch. Skating as a Sport Born in Oslo on April 8, 1912, Miss Henie received her first skates from her father, a Norwegian fur wholesaler, on the Christmas after her sixth birthday. [citation needed], Henie became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940. She'd parlayed 10 world championships and three Olympic gold medals into an enormously. 436. 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. Another accusation that hurt Henie's image was the perception that she was a Nazi sympathizer. She remembered in the Sporting News how Henie had screamed at her after the 1933 World Championship competition, saying she was an unworthy opponent. It was not just the sheer quantity of her titles and awards or profits from skating in revues and from motion pictures that distinguished her, but rather the unique quality of her skating, her innovative influence on the development of women's competitive skating, and her overall creative artistry and ingenuity, for which she has secured a unique niche in the history of figure skating. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Gradually her appearances dwindled, and in 1956 she retired. After a twirl on the ice with her pupils, Trudi consents. She nevertheless had negotiated an impressive contract and was an immediate hit with audiences. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. Subsequently, she appeared on television several times, including her own one-hour special. Henie Onstad Kunstsenter Grounds. It made the most of Henie's smiling, energetic persona and her dimpled beauty in a story about an Olympic hopeful. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. She also forbade the skaters in her chorus from wearing hairpins, after having fallen and broken ribs because of a pin on the ice. Michael Weatherly is mourning the loss of his brother. 10 time World Champion Women's Figure Skating according to A&E She was to have danced to "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago. The skater turned professional later that same year, after having won her tenth world championship. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. [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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. turn professional and tour with her own ice show. Henie, Sonja (1912-1969) Norwegian figure skater who won three consecutive gold medals and became a movie box-office attraction surpassed in her day only by Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. She was 55, her. Less than two weeks ago she attended a theater performance in Oslo with her husband. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja She also lit the entire performance with a dazzling, dimpled smile. She All of her films with her constantly, as she did throughout Miss Henie's career. "Sonja Henie ." But the minute I skate in them I become a professional, so why shouldnt I go on tour?. Henie opened up opportunities for figure skaters to use their skills to earn a living. These shows, the "Hollywood Ice Revues," were major attractions at Madison Square Garden for many years, up to 1952. 1956- Sonja Henie: Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. Of the films in general, he decided, "The best of them hold up as unmatched combinations of romantic comedy, catchy songs, and dazzling skating routines." Zanuck took notice of the petite blonde and signed her to a contract. As a result, the image of the figure skater was linked to "the image of the glamorous movie star",[15] within the conventions of film and stage musicals of the 1930s. The tour did not, however, result in the film contract Henie desired. 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. Henie's unprecedented three Olympic gold medals have not been matched by any ladies' single skater since, nor have her achievements as ten-time consecutive World champion. But Henie did not stop there. However, she held off these competitors and went on to win her third Olympic title at the 1936 Winter Olympics, albeit in very controversial circumstances with Cecilia Colledge finishing a very close second. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. [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. During her competitive career, Henie traveled widely and worked with a variety of foreign coaches. She had also performed for European royalty and presented a skating version of Pavlova's "Dying Swan" that was first seen in Milan, Italy in 1933. The young Norwegian was profoundly influenced by Pavlova's artistry, and she tried to incorporate ballet-style choreography into her skating routines. Entries on Henie, many with further bibliographies, appear in Barbara Sicherman and Carol Hurd Green, eds., Notable American Women: The Modern Period: A Biographical Dictionary (1980); Robert J. Condon, The Fifty Finest Athletes of the 20th Century: A Worldwide Reference (1990); and Robert Markel, ed., The Women's Sports Encyclopedia (1997). [8] However, a subsequent South American tour in 1956 was a disaster. She became a millionaire by 1940, an accomplishment that outstrips even the male athletes of her generation. After retiring She did try to make a film series at her own expense; a series that would serve as a travelogue to several cities. He hopped on a train, reached Chicago the next day, rushed to her hotel, and sharpened the skates with a hand stone--a few minutes work. ." It set the pattern for the films to follow as a light musical comedy that included songs and skating. She managed to tie together the elements in her routine in way that had not been done before. 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. As a girl Henie also was a nationally ranked tennis player, and a skilled swimmer and equestrienne. [14] Figure skating writer and historian Ellyn Kestnbaum credits Henie with transforming figure skating into what she calls "a spectacle of the skater's body" and for "shifting [the sport's] meanings firmly in the direction of femininity". Sonja became the ice-skating world For a time she had her own company, Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revue, but an unfortunate bleacher collapse at one of her shows caused the venture to fold. [10], During the occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany, German troops saw Hitler's autographed photo prominently displayed at the piano in the Henie family home in Landya, Asker. In 1923 she became the senior national champion of Norway. Henie famously asserted that she wanted to do for skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing on film. Sonja is buried on a hilltop overlooking the Surely she exceeded nearly everyone's expectations when she was rated as the third most popular film star of 1938, surpassed by only Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. She wore jewels during practice and plumes during competition.. . Likewise, her films are still enjoyable, but their style and that of her skating is dated. As Sandra Stevenson recounted in The Independent, "the closeness [of the competition] infuriated Henie, who, when the result for that section was posted on a wall in the competitors' lounge, swiped the piece of paper and tore it into little pieces. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. She was a three-time Olympic champion (1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (19271936) and a six-time European champion (19311936). She herself earned over $200,000 from her film work alone in 1937. It is her effect on the sport of figure skating that is unrivaled.
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