included dazzling ice-skating routines which she choreographed herself. 2023 . 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 finished last, but she didn't give up. Although later cleared of any responsibility for the accident, she did not stage any more arena- type shows. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in She managed to tie together the elements in her routine in way that had not been done before. In Paris yesterday her condition worsened, and it was decided to fly her home. She died a year later at age fifty-seven. While traveling with her husband in Europe, she became uncomfortably ill in Paris. 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. In the effort, she exercised the same mental intensity and financial resources that were the foundation of her earlier work. 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. The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million. 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. [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. She was the first skater to incorporate the principles of ballet into her routines and the first woman to perform spins and jumps. She was signed by 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). In 1936, Miss Henie decided to turn professional, stating simply, I want to go into pictures, and I want to skate in them. 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. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja When live television began to cut into the film industry, Henie stopped making movies and returned to traveling ice shows. She later competed successfully in tennis and auto racing in the midst of her skating career. 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. Her program also included double axels, spins, twirls, and jumps. Although Trudi does no skating in her screen test, she makes the grade. ." After the hotel opens, Nora's uncle faces financial ruin and her romance hits a snag in the form of . 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. . She She was the champion in the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Vanilla Ice, the white boy who recorded the first rap single to hit Number One on Billboards Hot 100 pop chart, was controver, Sonnenberg, Susanna 1965- (Susanna Sophia Sonnenberg), Sonnenfeld, Joseph ayyim ben Abraham Solomon, https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sonja-henie, Born April 8, outside of Oslo, Norway, to Hans Wilhelm Henie and Selma Lochman Nielsen, Wins Norway's junior-level national competition, Studies with private tutor to allow for longer practice sessions, Wins first of ten Women's World Figure Skating Championship titles, Awarded Olympic gold medal in figure skating at St. Moritz, Awarded Olympic gold medal in figure skating at Lake Placid, Awarded Olympic gold medal in figure skating at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Signs five-year contract with Twentieth-Century Fox, Rated third-most-popular film star in poll, Ends long relationship with promoter Arthur Wirtz and tours independently, Stops appearing in arena-style shows after bleacher accident injures 250 spectators, Donates modern art collection to Norway; builds Henie-Onstad Museum near Oslo, Norwegian junior-level national championship, Women's World Figure Skating Championship, Made Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olaf. Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja 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. (Getty Images) I saw a tweet this week from Kiira Korpi, the Finnish figure skater who won medals three times at the European Championships . But Henie stopped producing shows after an accident in 1952 prior to a performance. 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. 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. She therefore made the best of it and won her third Olympic medal. Sonja Complaints by Austrian skaters would result in new rules allowing only one judge per country for each event. Wirtz also acted as Henie's financial advisor. Her wealth allowed her to maintain a home in Hollywood, a villa in Norway, and an apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland, and to invest in impressionist and expressionist paintings. plummeted when a photo of her with Adolphe Hitler was published. Her passion for performing turned her into a huge financial and popular success among athletes. 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. 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. In 1956, Sonja Henie married for the third time. Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. Born April 8, 1912, in Oslo, Norway, Henie was blessed from the beginning with every attribute a skater might need. 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. Henie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-1960s. [6] Happy Landing (1938) was her biggest box office hit. After Nora falls for the handsome owner, she convinces her uncle to invest in the inn and modernize it. By today's standards, Henie's routines were almost ridiculously simple, her jumps far from spectacular. Besides, I can't quite imagine my doing the hula in the Olympics.". 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. Because Norway did not yet have indoor ice rinks, she traveled around Europe to train throughout the year and benefit from the best instructors. Three years later she married socialite Winthrop Gardner Jr., who divorced her in 1956. The intensity of Henie's commitment to skating was further intensified after competing in the first winter Olympics, in Chamonix, France, in 1924. 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. Her father, Hans Wilhelm Henie, was a successful fur trader and amateur athlete, and her mother, Selma Lochman Nielsen, inherited her family's wealth. (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. The year 1937 held some of Henie's greatest accomplishments and one of her greatest losses. [13] Kestnbaum argues that Henie influenced female skaters' costumes that emphasized their wealth, especially her fur-trimmed outfits, which were emulated at the 1930 World Championships, held for the first time in North America, in New York City. 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). 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 "I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing," she said. Her first American film, One in a Million (1936) , starring Don Ameche and Adolphe Menjou, opened in New York in 1936 and quickly grossed $2 million. [13] When white boots quickly became standard for female skaters, Henie began wearing beige boots because she wanted to remain unique. Sonja Henie's Night, an exhibition that played before and during the intermission of ice hockey games at Madison Square Garden during March 1936, was a success. 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 family also fully appreciated Henie's interest in sports. 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). At 14 she was the Norwegian Skating Champion. 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. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. A huge star in the 1930s and '40s, she was also divisive and controversial. 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. 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. Said to have had a keen business sense, she early acquired the nickname Little Miss Moneybags for her habit of prudent investments. 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. 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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold."). 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. turn professional and tour with her own ice show. Sonja Henie died from leukemia on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo on October 13, 1969. 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. ." Sports Illustrated (February 14, 1994): 18. 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. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. In 1940 she married millionaire-sportsman Dan Topping, from whom she was divorced in 1946. Moreover, her skating numbers were fantastic. Sonya Eddy, a veteran actress best known for her performance as nurse Epiphany Johnson on the soap opera "General Hospital," has died, the show announced in a tribute post. 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. 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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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. At the time this was a brave departure from convention, and audiences loved it. 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. This answer is: Study guides. Hemming, Roy. Henie-Onstad museum. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja. While improving her skating, in the next few years, she also studied ballet with a former teacher of Anna Pavlova, and eventually she combined the two forms on ice. 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). Henie began skating when she was six years old. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. In 1923 she became the senior national champion of Norway. As a result, her 1939 salary was more than $250,000. Her husband chartered a plane to convey her from Paris to Oslo to see her doctor, but she died onboard in her sleep. won her first ice-skating competition. 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). The film soon grossed $2 million and made Henie a household name. Another accusation that hurt Henie's image was the perception that she was a Nazi sympathizer. 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. But the minute I skate in them I become a professional, so why shouldnt I go on tour?. 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. 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. Thin Ice, My Lucky Star, and and Sun Valley Serenade. Both Hans and Selma became deeply involved in Sonja's skating career. 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. Gradually her appearances dwindled, and in 1956 she retired. He named Henie as the instigator. and easily eclipsed the earnings of any other star athlete, male or female. [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. Kestnbaum argues that the costumes Henie wore in her shows and films, which were short, revealing, full of sequins and feathers, and more reminiscent of the costumes of female entertainers than of the clothes worn in the more conservative world of competitive figure skating of the time, most likely contributed to the "showiness" that influenced the costume choices of later generations of female competitive figure skaters.[15]. Her jumps and spins seem ridiculously easy compared to the athletic feats of contemporary figure skaters. Henie has won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies' figure skater. Although critics complained about her acting skills and thick Zanuck took notice of the petite blonde and signed her to a contract. 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. An excellent video documentary directed and produced by Edvard Hambro is entitled Sonja Henie: Queen of the Ice (1993). 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. [3][19] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. Temper Remembered 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. She was 57. Sources Touched by Roger's mash notes, which are really written by Jimmy, Trudi moons over him all during production of Girl of the North. [citation needed]. "Sonja Henie The result of her first entry into the national championship at Frogner, in 1922, was to win second place. 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 World War 2 her connections to the Nazis caused a Birthday: April 8, 1912. 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. [citation needed] The Royal Family were very mindful of whom they supported after the war[11] and Norwegians looked to them as role models in that respect. The skater turned professional later that same year, after having won her tenth world championship. Encyclopedia.com. She earned at least $25 million from her lucrative motion-picture career. Henie kept her Hollywood home in Holmby Hills and enjoyed her Grundholtet villa in Norway and apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland. 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 She was the first By this time her movie career was over. At the age of eighty-two, Hulten still had plenty of venom for Henie. She did try to make a film series at her own expense; a series that would serve as a travelogue to several cities. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She defended her Olympic titles in 1932 and in 1936, and her world titles annually until 1936. Norway's king and queen attended the funeral service. In addition to the MLA, Chicago, and APA styles, your school, university, publication, or institution may have its own requirements for citations. Within a year of turning pro, Henie had earned in excess of a quarter of a million dollars. Within a month of her last amateur victory, Henie signed with promoter Arthur Wirtz to appear in a U.S. tour. At the time, figure skating and ice shows were not yet an established form of entertainment in the United States. very wealthy family and was encouraged to play sports. 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.
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