Beyond the garment's visual impact, it gave her the freedom to do jumps and other movements that had only been done by men. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in This answer is: Study guides. 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. decided to become a US citizen and supported the USO in their efforts. 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 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. She was the first Encyclopedia.com. 1948- During sixteen years of touring she earned something in the range of $10 million and her movies probably netted her more than $25 million. In 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. Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. OSLO, Oct. 12 (AP)--Sonja Henie, ice-skating queen and film star, died tonight on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo. (b. "To her, there were no other skaters," wrote Colledge. So the skating star created her own ice show, Sonja Henie with Her 1952 Ice Revue. She later competed successfully in tennis and auto racing in the midst of her skating career. Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other . Henie was drinking heavily at that time and could no longer keep up with the demands of touring, and this marked her retirement from skating. After placing last in a field of eight, she increased her practice time to some seven hours a day. As Honorary Jumper", "Photo Norwegian Air Shuttle Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner EI-LNA", "Cheap flights to Oslo, Copenhagen, Stockholm Norwegian", "Sundance Film Review: 'Sonja: The White Swan', https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonja_Henie&oldid=1151351901, Inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame (1982), In 1938, at age 25, she became the youngest person to be made a knight first class of. Her brother, Leif Henie, coauthored Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie (1985), in which he discussed her violent temper. turn professional and tour with her own ice show. During the shooting of Second Fiddle (1939), she greeted the then Crown-Prince couple of Norway Olav and Mrtha during their US tour. Corrections? A huge star in the 1930s and '40s, she was also divisive and controversial. She had high profile romances with Tyrone Power, boxer Joe 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. 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.". A little "meowing" before Ms. Henie takes the ice. Encyclopedia.com. 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. By 1939 she was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. Henie did not have any children and became an active collector with her new husband. 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. 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. [citation needed], Henie became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1940. Her talent was evident from a very early age. Sonja-yes!" She was the champion in the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936. She remembered in the Sporting News how Henie had screamed at her after the 1933 World Championship competition, saying she was an unworthy opponent. Louis, and Van Johnson. In the mid-1970s, American figure skater Dorothy Hamill was the leader in her field, capping her success, Skating [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. Nora and her uncle get railroaded into spending the night at a broken-down hotel in Canada. "Henie skates with speed, grace, and eye-boggling abandon through four big numbers," he noted in Entertainment Weekly. One of the most influential female athletes of the past century, Peggy Fleming combined grace and power t, Vanilla Ice Her wide, dimpled smile, pixie eyes and blonde Nordic good looks made her a great favorite of audiences during the years of World War II. In 1940, when the Nazis invaded Norway, she was out of the country. Henie was 5 years old, the story goes, when her older brother, Leif, got a pair of ice skates for his birthday. OSLO, Oct. 12 (AP)--Sonja Henie, ice-skating queen and film star, died tonight on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo. at Graumann's Chinese Theatre. In 1956, Sonja Henie married for the third time. 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. 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. The band goes to Ellis Island to meet the girl and soon discovers that the refugee isn't a 10-year-old child, but a young woman, Karen Benson ( Sonja Henie ). Released on 22 December 1939, it was banned in Nazi Germany. The early start was seen as a disadvantage, with the audience not yet whipped into a clapping frenzy and the judges known to become freer with their higher marks as the event proceeded. Four thoughts about Sonja Henie " I skated with Sonja, and wrote the first biography after her death. Henie's autobiography, written with Janet Owen, is Wings on My Feet (1940). She had already delighted in dancing, and--with her brother Leif giving her her first lessons--enjoyed Henie improved rapidly and by 1926 she was . [3][19] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. The couple was still together in 1969 when Henie died. As a child, Henie enjoyed advantages that greatly contributed to her success as a skater. [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". Sonja Henie in The Countess of Monte Cristo., Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Gordon Lightfoot, mournful Canadian singer-songwriter, dies at 84, Tim Bachman, founding guitarist of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 71, Jerry Springer, syndicated talk-show host and politician, dies at 79, Ginnie Newhart, Bob Newharts wife of 60 years, dies at 82, Search Obituaries & Guest Books on Legacy.com, Honor a loved one, place an obituary notice, Harry Belafonte, singer, actor and civil rights activist, dies at 96, Len Goodman, long-serving judge on Dancing With the Stars, dies at 78, Dame Edna creator Barry Humphries dies in Sydney at 89, Craig Breedlove, former land-speed record holder, dies at 86, Todd Haimes dies; took off-off-Broadway company to Tony Award glory, Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan dies at 92. He soon signed Henie to a five-year contract. She was signed by 20th Century-Fox and debuted in One in a Million (1936), in which she played an ice skater. She was the first skater to incorporate the principles of ballet into her routines and the first woman to perform spins and jumps. [7] She did not make the final list however. [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. Coached by Swedish Olympic medalist Gillis Grafstrm, she transformed a predictable series of colourless exercises into a spectacular and popular exhibition. As a result, her 1939 salary was more than $250,000. 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. He died of Tularmia (Rabbit . In the effort, she exercised the same mental intensity and financial resources that were the foundation of her earlier work. During her competitive career, Henie traveled widely and worked with a variety of foreign coaches. 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. ." 27 Apr. In December 1937 Henie was received into Norway's Knightly Order of St. Olaf. 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. She was 57 years old. 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. 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. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. As the first and only ice-skating film star, Henie is a show business phenomenon comparable only to the swimmer Esther Williams , who appeared in romantic comedies in the late 1940s. 2023 . She died on October 12, 1969 at The 1936 European Figure Skating Championships also took place in Berlin and neither Henie, Colledge, nor Megan Taylor paid obeisance to Hitler. 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. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. 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. The film soon grossed $2 million and made Henie a household name. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Elizabeth Ann Family (1) Spouse Niels Onstad ( 6 June 1956 - 12 October 1969) (her death) Winthrop Gardner ( 15 September 1949 - 14 May 1956) (divorced) ." Henie won Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936 before retiring from amateur skating. What Shows Have Been Renewed or Canceled? 27 Apr. The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million. Dolgan, Bob. She won the children's figure skating championship of Oslo when she was 8, and two years later, in 1923, she won the figure skating championship of Norway. At home in Oslo, she trained at Frogner Stadium, where her coaches included Hjrdis Olsen and Oscar Holte. Henie-Onstad museum. 27 Apr. He was 85. and easily eclipsed the earnings of any other star athlete, male or female. Plain Dealer (January 16, 2002). She earned at least $25 million from her lucrative motion-picture career. skating routines. 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). 1974); James Robert Parish, The Fox Girls (1971); and James Vinson, ed., The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, vol. Henie characterized her skating as very dangerous, but others said that because she almost never fell she did not know how to do it without hurting herself. During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences and of Hitler personally. She At the height of her fame, Henie brought as much as $2 million per year from her shows and touring activities. 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. After Nora falls for the handsome owner, she convinces her uncle to invest in the inn and modernize it. Wiki User. 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. The skater turned professional later that same year, after having won her tenth world championship. Sports Illustrated (February 14, 1994): 18. (April 27, 2023). (Getty Images) I saw a tweet this week from Kiira Korpi, the Finnish figure skater who won medals three times at the European Championships . Throughout the 1940s, Henie and Wirtz produced lavish musical ice skating extravaganzas at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre attracting millions of ticket buyers. 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. Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja Henie famously asserted that she wanted to do for skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing on film. At the time this was a brave departure from convention, and audiences loved it. Skating, besides being an important form of win, Fleming, Peggy (April 27, 2023). 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". Omissions? Copy. By today's standards, Henie's routines were almost ridiculously simple, her jumps far from spectacular. Sonja became the ice-skating world Weatherly did not disclose his brother's cause of death as he paid emotional tribute alongside a throwback photo of himself and Will playing on the beach as children. Sonja Henie: Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. American figure skater Hemming, Roy. Henie went on to win first of her three Olympic gold medals the following year, becoming one of the youngest figure skating Olympic champions. Miss Henie was an exacting star. 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). She had become an American citizen in 1941. 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). She herself earned over $200,000 from her film work alone in 1937. 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. 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). "Even on the podium after the Olympics, there were no kisses, no handshakes, not even a word." 1928, '32, '36 Games: Sonja Henie, 3-Time Gold Medalist ullstein bild via Getty Images <em>Eleven-year-old Sonja Henie competes at the 1924 Winter Olympics.</em> Henie, the Norwegian. Sonja Henie Birthday and Date of Death. [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. Henie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-1960s. Short skirts and choreography were unknown in figure skating before Henie introduced them in the late 1920s. Private tutors were hired to educate her while she concentrated on her skating. 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). with her constantly, as she did throughout Miss Henie's career. These honors were the result of talent, intensive training, and an interest in doing something different from other skaters. Only when she learns the real author of the notes does Trudi realize that her heart has been bent, not broken. 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. 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. (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold."). [13], Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics. An excellent video documentary directed and produced by Edvard Hambro is entitled Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice (1993). Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Henie did not appear in these shows, but rather was an advisor and financial partner. . Her death in Los Angeles, California on October 12, 1969, robbed the skating world of one of its brightest stars. She finished last, but she didn't give up. She signed with Darrly F. Zanuck and 20th Century-Fox, and her first skating film, "One in a Million," was released at the end of 1936. She announced then that she was turning professional, and toured the United States in an ice show. I don't think she ever really learned to enjoy life. Encyclopedia.com. 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. She defended her Olympic titles in 1932 and in 1936, and her world titles annually until 1936. With Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis. She organized her own ice shows, which became immensely popular throughout the world. Her husband, Neils Onstad, a Norwegian shipowner, said she "just slept away" halfway through the two-hour flight. included dazzling ice-skating routines which she choreographed herself. She did try to make a film series at her own expense; a series that would serve as a travelogue to several cities. Skating Champion. She is said to be one of the best figure skaters in history.
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