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She is one of only two skaters to defend a ladies' singles Olympic title, the other being Katarina Witt, and her six European titles has only been matched by Witt. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sonja-henie. 2023 . She enjoyed music and dance from an early age, studying ballet and after beginning her competitive skating career, admired the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova after seeing her perform in London.[2]. Encyclopedia of World Biography. Towards the end of her career, she began to be strongly challenged by younger skaters including Cecilia Colledge, Megan Taylor, and Hedy Stenuf. Sonja's marriage to Winthrop ended in 1956. After retiring After the Japanese attack, she invited the boys from Little Norway to her ice shows, and gave the mechanics a plane as well a substantial sum of money for their educational fund; but her initial reluctance before the US entered the war was never to be forgotten. The idea of an ice skating movie might seem quaint today, but Henie starred in a number of them, most notably One in a Million, the story of a skater's rise to Olympic glory, and Thin Ice. with her constantly, as she did throughout Miss Henie's career. At 11 she won the national championshipand also entered her first Olympics, in which she placed last. Zanuck first cast Henie in One in a Million (1936), which also starred Don Ameche, Adolphe Menjou, and the Ritz Brothers. 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. ." A male cast member from the Hollywood Ice Review had warmer memories of Henie in a 1996 interview in Films in Review. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. Her mother was willing to travel all across Europe with her to find coaches and outdoor ice rinks. 20th Century-Fox and debuted in, - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana . 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. Having turned professional after her Olympic triumph in 1936, Henie toured Europe and the Americas as the star of the Hollywood Ice Revue, and for a time (195152) she acted as producer of her ice shows. Olympic ice queen Sonja Henie became a Hollywood star and Hitler Her illness had been a well-kept secret. Among her many victories as a competitive skater, she also won ten consecutive world championships. Henie was portrayed in the 2018 Anne Sewitsky film Sonja The White Swan, shown at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.[26][27][28]. In addition to traveling to train and compete, she was much in demand as a performer at figure skating exhibitions in both Europe and North America. In 1937, she made her motion picture debut in One in a Million, followed by Thin Ice, My Lucky Star and Sun Valley Serenade.. Skating Champion. She announced then that she was turning professional, and toured the United States in an ice show. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her ." It would later house all of Henie's skating memorabilia. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She took a largely unnoticed, technically-oriented sport and turned it into a dynamic art form that, along with its star performers, is avidly followed by fans around the world. Modern figure skating is deeply indebted to Sonja Henie (1912-1969), one of the greatest athletes of this century. Three years later she married socialite Winthrop Gardner Jr., who divorced her in 1956. She said her greatest hope was to become a movie star, and she soon did. Hans Henie died that year, at a time when his daughter's career had reached amazing heights. She was a three-time Olympic champion ( 1928, 1932, 1936) in women's singles, a ten-time World champion (1927-1936) and a six-time European champion (1931-1936). ." Although later cleared of any responsibility for the accident, she did not stage any more arena- type shows. 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. Ted Scott ( John Payne) is a band pianist whose publicity manager decides that, for good press, the band should adopt a foreign refugee. Henie entered her first Olympic competition in 1924, when she was 11 years old. 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. Corrections? Dividing her remaining years between homes in Norway and the United States, Henie lived happily with her third husband, Niels Onstad. In her revised 1954 biography,[9] she states that no Norwegian judge was in the panel for the 1936 Olympicsas she was entitled to as a Norwegian. "Tormented by a rival who was cold as ice." 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. 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. She did try to make a film series at her own expense; a series that would serve as a travelogue to several cities. . She had become an American citizen in 1941. These shows, the "Hollywood Ice Revues," were major attractions at Madison Square Garden for many years, up to 1952. (b. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in In addition to the income from the fur business, both of Henie's parents had inherited wealth. Name variations: Sonia Henje. The young Norwegian was profoundly influenced by Pavlova's artistry, and she tried to incorporate ballet-style choreography into her skating routines. The tour did not, however, result in the film contract Henie desired. At the time of her death, Henie was planning a comeback for a television special that would have aired in January 1970. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. She is mentioned by Ty Webb, Chevy Chases character in Caddyshack, as a possible but unavailable substitute for Rodney Dangerfields character (Al Czervik) in the final golf wager round before Michael OKeefes Danny Noonan is chosen. However, being a naturalized citizen of the United States effectively put a stop to any propaganda on her behalf until Pearl Harbor. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. was a frequent exclaimatory utterance by Tom and Ray Magliozzi on the National Public Radio show Car Talk. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Biography. Sonja Henie died from leukemia on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo on October 13, 1969. Sun Valley Serenade (1941), with John Payne and Glenn Miller and His Orchestra, received three Academy Award nominations for best cinematography, best music, and best song ("Chattanooga Choo Choo"), but her two releases in 1942 and 1943 marked the end of her contract with Twentieth CenturyFox. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. Sonja Henie Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Family Over the next decade Miss Henie won Olympic titles at St. Moritz, Switzerland (1928), at Lake Placid (1932), and at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria (1936). Her animated counterpart appeared in the Disney short, The Autograph Hound when Donald asked for her autograph. . During World War 2 her connections to the Nazis caused a 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). 2009-05-21 23:06:30. She died a year later at age fifty-seven. In 1927, she won her first world figure skating championship in Oslo, and retained the title for the next nine years. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja Moreover, Hulten believed that Henie's father influenced competition organizers by playing poker for "appearance fees" and, in one case, the agreement to place Hulten third in the 1936 Olympics. [7] She did not make the final list however. In addition to appearing in Hollywood films, she toured North America with her own professional shows, thus amassing a great deal of personal wealth and by popularizing the ice show, opened up professional skating opportunities for other lesser-known figure skaters.[5]. 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.". She was strongly denounced in the Norwegian press for this. In 1968, the Onstads donated 250 of their paintings, plus $3.5 million for a fan-shaped stone-and-glass museum near Oslo. An excellent video documentary directed and produced by Edvard Hambro is entitled Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice (1993). She'd parlayed 10 world championships and three Olympic gold medals into an enormously. Born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway, her father, Hans Wilhelm Henie, was a successful fur trader and her mother, Selma Lochman Nielsen, had a fortune of her own. 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. As a result, her 1939 salary was more than $250,000. During her competitive career, Henie traveled widely and worked with a variety of foreign coaches. 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. 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. 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. While her ice show numbers were still worth watching, the film received few distributors and poor reviews, ending her film career. She was among 250 female stars who were nominated for "50 Greatest Screen Legend" status by the American Film Institute. The Norwegian Royal Family attended both events and indeed attended her funeral in 1969. She finished last, but she didn't give up. (April 27, 2023). ed. 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. Troubles in Henie's film career were not mirrored in her popularity as a live performer. "To her, there were no other skaters," wrote Colledge. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. 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. Sun Valley Serenade - Wikipedia During the years that Henie won her world championships, the five-member judging panel was dominated by three Norwegians. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures, Hamill, Dorothy Her contribution to skating is secure, however, because she combined all of the elements so important to the sport today: high drama, athletic prowess, and star power. At home in Oslo, she trained at Frogner Stadium, where her coaches included Hjrdis Olsen and Oscar Holte. When the Nazis arrived to take over the house, they saw the picture and left quickly. Sonja HENIE Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age "Tonya-no! Henie secured the subsequent nine consecutive world titles, fostering suspicion among the Austrians, who complained that three of the five judges had been Norwegians; soon each country would be allowed only one judge per event. Following the success of Thin Ice, Henie showed her growing business savvy by getting Twentieth Century-Fox to renegotiate her contract. Louis, and Van Johnson. "Sonja Henie, Skating Star, Dies." Hemming, Roy. Could it be Ms. Hart seems a little "chilly!" Please pardon the periodic visual/audio glitches; the source. 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. While also working as an ice show star and producer, she became a multi-millionaire. skating routines. 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. Skater Sonja Henie 'Put A Dollar Sign' Behind The Gold Jimmy Sutton (Tyrone Power), the press agent sent to Bergen to fetch her, at first treats her merely as Entry No. [6] Happy Landing (1938) was her biggest box office hit. Unfortunately she had a serious drinking problem which eventually 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. [2], Kestnbaum argues that although Henie's skating was "athletic and powerful for her day",[2] she purposively added elements,such as using the toepicks of her skates to run or pose on the ice, in movements similar to the use of pointe technique in ballet, that undercut her power and athleticism. advertisement Temper Remembered Coached by Swedish Olympic medalist Gillis Grafstrm, she transformed a predictable series of colourless exercises into a spectacular and popular exhibition. "Henie, Sonja American figure skater Far from being discouraged, the youngster poured all her energies into skating. After placing last in a field of eight, she increased her practice time to some seven hours a day. In Paris yesterday her condition worsened, and it was decided to fly her home. Henie returned to the United States in 1932 for more exhibitions and for the third Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York. Sonja Henie - IMDb With her third husband, the Norwegian shipowner Niels Onstad, she established (1968) the Henie Onstad Art Center, a museum of modern art in Hvikodden, near Oslo, Norway. Time (July 17, 1939): 51-54. 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. For the rest of the war, all of her possessions were left untouched by the Nazis. Won 3 olympic gold medals between 1928 and 1936. [3][19] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. 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. skating even more. Henie won her first major figure skating competition, the senior Norwegian championships, at the age of 10. 8 April 1912 in Oslo, Norway; d. 12 October 1969 on a Paris-to-Oslo plane flight), champion figure skater who won three consecutive Olympic gold medals and most Norwegian, European, and world figure skating championships. 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 Sonja Henie, Michael Kirby - Die Fledermaus! - YouTube Wirtz also acted as Henie's financial advisor. 1932 The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her first pair of ice skates when she was six. [3] She also won six consecutive European championships from 1931 to 1936. Figure skating, Sochi Olympics: The evolution of the jump in women's 1936 her father financed an extravagant ice show in Hollywood. The former NCIS star shared the heartbreaking news Saturday that his younger brother Will Weatherly died on Thursday, April 20. 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. The one obstacle that remained in Henie's way proved to be of small concern: the fact that she wasn't much of an actress. Her husband, Neils Onstad, a Norwegian shipowner, said she "just slept away" halfway through the two-hour flight. 3, Actors and Actresses (1986). Date of Death: October 12, 1969. In 1956, Sonja Henie married for the third time. She married Niels Onstad, a Norwegian shipping magnate. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Her final two Hollywood films, released in 1945 by RKO and in 1948 by Universal, no longer enthralled postwar audiences, who preferred more sophisticated scripts. Sonja Henie Biography, Life, Interesting Facts - Famous Birthdays By Her husband did not trust French doctors, so he flew her unconscious body to Dr Moe in Oslo. Sonya Eddy, star of 'General Hospital,' dead at 55 | CNN 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. Less than two weeks ago she attended a theater performance in Oslo with her husband. 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. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. Because Norway did not yet have indoor ice rinks, she traveled around Europe to train throughout the year and benefit from the best instructors. In recognition of her skating and other athletic accomplishments, she became the first woman to receive a medal from the Norwegian government for versatility and achievement in sports. 1968 Sonja was diagnosed with leukemia. All of her films the world performing in ice shows and landed many lucrative endorsement "Sonja Henie's tutu!" Wiki User. Henie, already a precocious skier and swimmer, cried until her parents bought her a . We had been flying for only an hour and she just slipped away.. Encyclopedia.com. [citation needed]. 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. On a hilltop overlooking the Henie-Onstad Museum. decided to become a US citizen and supported the USO in their efforts. She also forbade the skaters in her chorus from wearing hairpins, after having fallen and broken ribs because of a pin on the ice. She won the first of 10 consecutive world skating titles at Oslo in 1927, captivating the crowd with her ballet style, a white silk and ermine costume and short skirt and a dimpled smile. At the time this was a brave departure from convention, and audiences loved it. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. Sonja had by now developed a comedy flair and these films were all among the top box-office hits for 20th Century-Fox the respective years. During a week in Cleveland, she would skate for more than 62,000 fans. 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.