Encyclopedia.com gives you the ability to cite reference entries and articles according to common styles from the Modern Language Association (MLA), The Chicago Manual of Style, and the American Psychological Association (APA). 27 Apr. She died a year later at age fifty-seven. Dolgan, Bob. She nevertheless had negotiated an impressive contract and was an immediate hit with audiences. It is her effect on the sport of figure skating that is unrivaled. 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. The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million. April 08, 1912 Died October 12, 1969 Cause of Death Leukemia Biography Read More Winner of the Olympic Gold medal in figure skating an impressive three times in a row (1928, 1932, 1936), Henie came to Twentieth Century-Fox shortly after her last win and was built up as a popular star. During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences and of Hitler personally. She was the first She also won gold medals in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. Rap singer In 1936 Henie won her third and final gold medal at the fourth Winter Olympic Games at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, by earning 2,971.4 points. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. 27 Apr. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. Among her many victories as a competitive skater, she also won ten consecutive world championships. Henie went on to win a total of three Olympic figure skating championships: she also won gold medals at Lake Placid, New York in 1932 and at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria in 1936. Miss Henie had been suffering from leukemia for the last nine months. Sonja Henie. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. She said her greatest hope was to become a movie star, and she soon did. Mitt livs eventyr, Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1938. At the age of ten she Sonja Henie - IMDb (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica entry on figure skating.). She therefore made the best of it and won her third Olympic medal. 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. Entertainment Weekly (February 11, 1994): 62. An obituary is in the New York Times (13 Oct. 1969). In 1936, Sonja Henie of Norway won her third consecutive gold medal in women's figure skating without ever having rotated more than once in the air. And most importantly, she hired the best skaters and choreographers and paid them handsomely. Later programs included her famous hula sketch. Sonja Henie would have been 57 years old at the time of death or 103 years old today. After her marriage to Mr. Onstad, a childhood sweetheart, in 1956, she became interested in modern art. I want to do with skates what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing. This answer is: Study guides. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures, Hamill, Dorothy [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 to have danced to "Lara's Theme" from Doctor Zhivago. Henie is credited with transforming an originally demure, predictable activity by infusing it with her feminine charms and passion for the ballet. 2023 . 1. 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. first pair of ice skates when she was six. Sports Illustrated (February 14, 1994): 18. Henie improved rapidly and by 1926 she was . Sonja Henie (see photo above) had been the world's premiere figure skater in the 1920s and '30s. She produced her own show at New York's Roxy Theatre in January 1956. She'd parlayed 10 world championships and three Olympic gold medals into an enormously. Corrections? Sonja Henie's skating partner cut swath in PR world Long, black skirts were the norm, being both modest and warm. Notable Sports Figures. Sonja Henie - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family | Sticky Facts With Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis. She had to concentrate on her profession, and fulfill contracts, really from the age of nine on," he explained. 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. Notable Sports Figures. No other skater before or since has dominated the sport as thoroughly as Henie did between 1927 and 1936. After a twirl on the ice with her pupils, Trudi consents. A male cast member from the Hollywood Ice Review had warmer memories of Henie in a 1996 interview in Films in Review. 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. Won 3 olympic gold medals between 1928 and 1936. 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). 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. 2009-05-21 23:06:30. Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. [1], Henie began skating at the age of 5. 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. She already had considerable experience as an exhibition skater, having been a soloist for the New York Skating Club's production Land of the Midnight Sun at Madison Square Garden in 1930. In 1968, the Onstads donated 250 of their paintings, plus $3.5 million for a fan-shaped stone-and-glass museum near Oslo. Oscar Holte, the outstanding Norwegian skating coach, supervised much of her training in Oslo and at St. Moritz, Switzerland, as she prepared to enter the International Winter Sports Week at Chamonix, France; retroactively, this special "week" became an official part of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. American figure skater Henie won Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936 before retiring from amateur skating. She had often performed in Germany and her popularity (b. Henie wed American business executive Winthrop Gardiner Jr. in 1949; he divorced her in 1956 for "desertion and mental cruelty." "You could laugh with Sonja, but she had other things on her mind. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja Touched by Roger's mash notes, which are really written by Jimmy, Trudi moons over him all during production of Girl of the North. Updates? Best Answer. After placing last in a field of eight, she increased her practice time to some seven hours a day. Omissions? But Henie will be best remembered for putting skating above the personal and political. She incorporated 19 different spins into her programs, and she could spin nearly 80 revolutions. 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. During the years that Henie won her world championships, the five-member judging panel was dominated by three Norwegians. She was the first skater to incorporate the principles of ballet into her routines and the first woman to perform spins and jumps. ." 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. . In 1968 Sonja was diagnosed with leukemia. Henie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-1960s. 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. For this, she was condemned by many Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans. Encyclopedia.com. "To her, there were no other skaters," wrote Colledge. She appeared on several television shows in the next few years, including a one- hour special of her own. Wirtz also acted as Henie's financial advisor. She was educated by tutors, and her father hired the best experts in the world, including the famous Russian ballerina, Tamara Karsavina, to transform his daughter into a sporting celebrity. In 1937, she made her motion picture debut in One in a Million, followed by Thin Ice, My Lucky Star and Sun Valley Serenade.. Typically, Henie films were short on plot and long on her trademark It was Selma Henie, he said, who ended her daughter's squabbles and made sure that things ran smoothly. Another measure of her worth is that in 1940 her legs were insured by Lloyds of London for $5,000 per week. 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. 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. A dynamic athlete, Henie ranked third among Norway's female tennis players and was "a daring equestrienne." Sonja became the ice-skating world The young Norwegian was profoundly influenced by Pavlova's artistry, and she tried to incorporate ballet-style choreography into her skating routines. Henie opened up opportunities for figure skaters to use their skills to earn a living. The intensity of Henie's commitment to skating was further intensified after competing in the first winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France, in 1924. Sonja Henie - IMDb Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 and died on October 12, 1969. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. Gradually her appearances dwindled, and in 1956 she retired. She died on October 12, 1969 at the age of 57. 20th Century-Fox and debuted in, - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana . Henie also had great spinning ability. Less than a month later, she was married to a childhood friend, Niels Onstad, who had become a shipping magnate and art collector. 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. 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. Sonja Henie's Ice Age - Vanity Fair During sixteen years of touring she earned something in the range of $10 million and her movies probably netted her more than $25 million. Sonja Henie died from leukemia in 1969, at the age of 57. Her third and final marriage was to fellow Norwegian Niels Onstad, a shipping magnate, on 9 June 1956. Sporting News (February 14, 1994): S21. In In the mid-1970s, American figure skater Dorothy Hamill was the leader in her field, capping her success, Skating (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold."). At the height of her acting career, she was one of the highest-paid stars in Hollywood and starred in a series of box-office hits, including Thin Ice (1937), Happy Landing, My Lucky Star (1938), Second Fiddle (1939) and Sun Valley Serenade (1941). 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. Kestnbaum states that although toe steps are used as "occassional couterpoints to the legato flow of skating movement", she argues that Henie might have overused these steps, calling them "mincing and ineffective". ." success. Zanuck took notice of the petite blonde and signed her to a contract. 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. 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. Sonja Henie: Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. Henie died in her sleep on an ambulance plane that was taking her from Paris to Oslo to see a specialist. 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. [citation needed], Henie is credited with being the first figure skater to use dance choreography, to adopt the short skirt in figure skating, and to wear white boots,[12] which deemphasized the heaviness of skates and produced a lighter and longer appearance of the skater's legs that was "a focal point for judges' and spectators' gaze". [citation needed], After the war, Henie was mindful that many of her countrymen considered her to be a quisling. ." champion in 1927 and the following year she won an Olympic gold medal. She made seventeen performances in nine cities and earned phenomenal box office returns. The couple decided to build a museum for their collection, and in 1968 donated 250 works to the Sonja Henie-Niels Onstad Art Center outside of Oslo. 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. Films in Review (July-August 1996): 60. During the 1940s, Henie's popularity with movie audiences began to falter and her contract with Twentieth Century-Fox was not renewed. 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. 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. Unfortunately she had a serious drinking problem which eventually 436. [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. In cooperation with promoter Wirtz, Henie honed her skills as a producer of ice shows as well as maintained her prowess as a skater. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary Globetrotting by After Nora falls for the handsome owner, she convinces her uncle to invest in the inn and modernize it. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. 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. Dressed in a white velvet, bell-skirted dress designed by her mother, Henie won over Austria's Herma Planck-Szabo. [citation needed]. Encyclopedia.com. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. 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. 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Her fur-trimmed costume Onstad transformed her art collecting interest from traditional masters to contemporary works; they donated 250 paintings and millions of dollars to Norway and in 1968 completed the Henie-Onstad Museum near Oslo to house the collection and, after Henie's death, her career memorabilia. Sonja Henie Birthday and Date of Death. The highly-publicized shows were well attended by film stars and filmmakers, including Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century-Fox. [7] She did not make the final list however. A stand of bleacher seats collapsed at a Baltimore armory, injuring more than 250 people. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Henie's popularity as a film actress attracted many new fans and instituted skating shows as a popular new entertainment. 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. Sonja Henie Biography, Age, Height, Husband, Net Worth, Family With her well-to-do father's backing, she studied ballet in London, and began applying choreography to her routines. forced her to retire. Henie incorporated ballet movements into her skating; she had taken ballet lessons from the age of five and was influenced by ballerina Anna Pavlova. [citation needed] She then placed eighth in a field of eight at the 1924 Winter Olympics, at the age of eleven. [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). 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. A bubbly, smiling figure in her performances, she was in fact a fierce competitor who wanted nothing to do with her rivals. She studied in Oslo together with Martin Stixrud and Erna Andersen who was her competitor and skate club member.[17]. When Zanuck realized this, he cast her in more musical comedies; Sun Valley Serenade (1941) with Glenn Miller, John Payne, The Nicholas Brothers, and hit songs such as "In the Mood", "Chattanooga Choo Choo", "It Happened in Sun Valley", and "I Know Why (And So Do You)"; followed by Iceland (1942) with Jack Oakie, Payne, and the hit song "There Will Never Be Another You"; and finally Wintertime (1943) with Cesar Romero, Carole Landis, Cornel Wilde, and Oakie. By today's standards, Henie's routines were almost ridiculously simple, her jumps far from spectacular. New York Times (October 13, 1969). 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. For emphasis on Henie's film career, see entries in David Shipman, The Great Movie Stars: The Golden Years (1970; rev. Her jumps and spins seem ridiculously easy compared to the athletic feats of contemporary figure skaters. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. 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). Actress: Sun Valley Serenade. 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. She also planned to become a Hollywood actress and to accomplish on screen for ice-skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing. In 1940 Sonja married businessman Daniel These honors were the result of talent, intensive training, and an interest in doing something different from other skaters. Henie married Daniel Reid Topping, an American sports investor from Greenwich, Connecticut, on 4 July 1940; they divorced in 1946. 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. [3][19] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. She no longer attended school but studied at home with tutors. decided to become a US citizen and supported the USO in their efforts. playing tennis and she excelled at ice-skating. Her autobiography Mitt livs eventyr was published in 1938. skating routines. She had no children. She managed to tie together the elements in her routine in way that had not been done before. [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. Her father, Hans Wilhelm Henie, was a successful fur trader and amateur athlete, and her mother, Selma Lochman Nielsen, inherited her family's wealth. At age seven Henie learned to skate from her elder and only brother, Leif. the age of 57. Norway's king and queen attended the funeral service. Henie also insisted on having total control of the skating numbers in her films such as Second Fiddle (1939). Like many Hollywood stars, she supported the U.S. war effort through USO and otherwise. Encyclopedia.com. Encyclopedia of World Biography. 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). Her new goal was the 1927 world figure skating championship. [13], Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. In 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 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. 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. It was her only film shot in Technicolor, but it was not as huge at the box office as her other films and also proved her limitations as a dramatic actress in her only dramatic film. Most online reference entries and articles do not have page numbers. She remembered in the Sporting News how Henie had screamed at her after the 1933 World Championship competition, saying she was an unworthy opponent. Her talent was evident from a very early age.
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