With her well-to-do father's backing, she studied ballet in London, and began applying choreography to her routines. Olympics and came in eighth place. When she became a professional skater in 1936, she set her sights on movie stardom and quickly turned herself into a top box office draw. Updates? In 1940 she married millionaire-sportsman Dan Topping, from whom she was divorced in 1946. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sonja-henie. - 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) She was made a Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olaf by King Haakon of Norway, becoming the youngest person to receive this honor. At the time of her death, Henie was planning a comeback for a television special that would have aired in January 1970. 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. Hjordis Olsen, an amateur skater at a private club, drilled Henie in mastering the mandatory school figures. Jimmy Sutton (Tyrone Power), the press agent sent to Bergen to fetch her, at first treats her merely as Entry No. 1948- https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja Date of Death: October 12, 1969. Another accusation that hurt Henie's image was the perception that she was a Nazi sympathizer. Henie is credited with transforming an originally demure, predictable activity by infusing it with her feminine charms and passion for the ballet. While Irina Slutskaya of Russia has held the record for most European titles among ladies' skaters since 2006, Henie still retains the record of most consecutive titles, sharing it with Katarina Witt of Eastern Germany/Germany (19831988). But Henie stopped producing shows after an accident in 1952 prior to a performance. 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. She grew up in Norway and was a dominant presence on the ice for . At 14 she was the Norwegian Skating Champion. But the fourteen-year-old Henie was too small to wear such heavy garb; it tended to act like a sail and tangle in her legs. "She went after me in every which way from that point on," said Hulten. She was 57 years old. She also won gold medals in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics. 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. She also planned to become a Hollywood actress and to accomplish on screen for ice-skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing. The Hollywood Ice Review was polished by Henie's unwavering pursuit of perfection. Henie initially showed talent at skiing, then followed her older brother, Leif, to take up figure skating. Encyclopedia.com. In 1923 she became the senior national champion of Norway. 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. American figure skater 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). By this time her movie career was over. Henie famously asserted that she wanted to do for skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing on film. skating even more. Hemming, Roy. Skating, besides being an important form of win, Fleming, Peggy Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja. 27 Apr. In . 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. Three-quarters of a century later, in 2010 . Therefore, its best to use Encyclopedia.com citations as a starting point before checking the style against your school or publications requirements and the most-recent information available at these sites: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html. The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her first pair of ice skates when she was six. With her was her third husband, Norwegian shipping magnate Niels Onstad. Loveland continued, "she seems to float, like something in gossamer wings, but anyone tempted to drift off into an ethereal realm is brought back by a pair of very shapely limbs, which move with the smoothness of running water and the strength of youth." Age at Death: 57. 20th Century-Fox and debuted in, - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana . 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 finished in last place. She was signed by turn professional and tour with her own ice show. "I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing," she said. She became a United States citizen in 1941. As a girl Henie also was a nationally ranked tennis player, and a skilled swimmer and equestrienne. "Henie, Sonja Her name and likeness were mentioned and portrayed by an ice skating Donald Duck in Walt Disney's 1939 The Hockey Champ. 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. plummeted when a photo of her with Adolphe Hitler was published. Darryl After Henie won the world championship one last time in 1936, she prepared to retire from amateur sports and enter professional skating. While traveling with her husband in Europe, she became uncomfortably ill in Paris. Gradually her appearances dwindled, and in 1956 she retired. Her jumps and spins seem ridiculously easy compared to the athletic feats of contemporary figure skaters. She was the first woman figure skater to wear short skirts above the knee. 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. Hans was himself very athletic; among his diverse pursuits, he was a former world champion in bicycling. Although Trudi does no skating in her screen test, she makes the grade. Henie won Olympic gold medals in 1928, 1932, and 1936 before retiring from amateur skating. Skating Champion. The collapse of a section of bleachers during a show in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 compounded the tour's legal and financial woes. 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. Sonja Henie Birthday and Date of Death. At age seven Henie learned to skate from her elder and only brother, Leif. The family also fully appreciated Henie's interest in sports. 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. Henie retired from skating in 1956, the same year that she married her third husband, following two earlier marriages that ended in divorce. included dazzling ice-skating routines which she choreographed herself. ." She entered her first Olympic Winter Games the next year, primarily for experience, and took third place in the free skating competition. Another measure of her worth is that in 1940 her legs were insured by Lloyds of London for $5,000 per week. She was 57. 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. "Tonya-no! It was an open secret that, in spite of the strict amateurism requirements of the time, Wilhelm Henie demanded "expense money" for his daughter's skating appearances. was a frequent exclaimatory utterance by Tom and Ray Magliozzi on the National Public Radio show Car Talk. In Paris yesterday her condition worsened, and it was decided to fly her home. Through her live ice shows and a series of Hollywood movies, Henie enlarged the audience for figure skating and transformed it into a thrilling entertainment. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. At the age of eighty-two, Hulten still had plenty of venom for Henie. At the height of her fame, Henie brought as much as $2 million per year from her shows and touring activities. OSLO, Oct. 12 (AP)--Sonja Henie, ice-skating queen and film star, died tonight on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo. 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. Henie died in her sleep on an ambulance plane that was taking her from Paris to Oslo to see a specialist. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. 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. Miss Henie had been suffering from leukemia for the last nine months. afforded her greater ease of movement, and she performed some moves that were downright shocking for the time, including a jump into a sit spin. During the twentieth century no competitor was able to match Henie's three consecutive Olympic gold medals in women's figure skating. 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. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. 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. I don't think she ever really learned to enjoy life. She also lit the entire performance with a dazzling, dimpled smile. Henie kept her Hollywood home in Holmby Hills and enjoyed her Grundholtet villa in Norway and apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland. 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]. 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). Death. In 1937, she made her motion picture debut in One in a Million, followed by Thin Ice, My Lucky Star and Sun Valley Serenade.. 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). She starred in a string of hits including [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 Sports Illustrated (February 14, 1994): 18. After she complained to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, the guard was summoned to apologize for the incident. Henie tried to break the musical comedy mould with the anti-Nazi film Everything Happens at Night (1939) and It's a Pleasure (1945), a skating variation of the often-told A Star Is Born tale about alcoholic-star-in-decline-helps-newcomer-up. 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. Later in 1927 Henie saw the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova dance in London. Henie was diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the mid-1960s. 1968 Sonja was diagnosed with 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. Her autobiography Mitt livs eventyr was published in 1938. Not long after the center's lavish opening celebration, Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. 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. In 1940 the pair offered the ballet-on-ice Les Sylphides, which was so successful that they began to produce reviews throughout the year at the Center Theatre in New York City. 10 time World Champion Women's Figure Skating according to A&E Henie did not appear in these shows, but rather was an advisor and financial partner. She competed in the 1924 Winter Ice-T appeared on the music scene in 1987 with a new style: gangster rap, which offers rhymes about crimea, ice skating, gliding along an ice surface on keellike runners known as ice skates. 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. She managed to tie together the elements in her routine in way that had not been done before. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sonja-Henie, Sonja Henie - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). 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. During World War 2 her connections to the Nazis caused a The tour did not, however, result in the film contract Henie desired. The 1936 European Figure Skating Championships also took place in Berlin and neither Henie, Colledge, nor Megan Taylor paid obeisance to Hitler. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold."). Copy. Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja Time (July 17, 1939): 51-54. 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. 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. (April 27, 2023).
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