She died on October 12, 1969 at (April 27, 2023). Memorial ID. Rap singer decided to become a US citizen and supported the USO in their efforts. Three years later she married socialite Winthrop Gardner Jr., who divorced her in 1956. back to Norway and opened a museum to showcase their art collection. . The couple moved [13], Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics. Retrieved April 27, 2023 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja. Skating, a feat she would repeat in 1932 and 1936. The highly-publicized shows were well attended by film stars and filmmakers, including Darryl F. Zanuck of Twentieth Century-Fox. . 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. 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). Henie was also successful in Hollywood. Her death in Los Angeles, California on October 12, 1969, robbed the skating world of one of its brightest stars. Miss Henie was an exacting star. 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. 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. Dressed in a white velvet, bell-skirted dress designed by her mother, Henie won over Austria's Herma Planck-Szabo. 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. She also had numerous lucrative endorsement contracts, and deals to market skates, clothing, jewelry, dolls, and other merchandise branded with her name. She had high profile romances with Tyrone Power, boxer Joe As a child, Henie enjoyed advantages that greatly contributed to her success as a skater. Griffin saw Henie as person intent on reaching her professional goals and little else. In 1940 she married millionaire-sportsman Dan Topping, from whom she was divorced in 1946. An obituary is in the New York Times (13 Oct. 1969). Although critics complained about her acting skills and thick 20th Century-Fox and debuted in, - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tony Fontana . deals. During World War 2 her connections to the Nazis caused a While also working as an ice show star and producer, she became a multi-millionaire. Henie won her first major figure skating competition, the senior Norwegian championships, at the age of 10. Encyclopedia.com. 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. After placing last in a field of eight, she increased her practice time to some seven hours a day. 1956- Sonja Henie Death Fact Check, Birthday & Date of Death - Dead or Kicking Henie died in her sleep on an ambulance plane that was taking her from Paris to Oslo to see a specialist. Until shortly before her death, Miss Henie had remained socially active and continued to direct the activities of the $3.5 million art museum she and her husband had presented to Norway. Complaints by Austrian skaters would result in new rules allowing only one judge per country for each event. Miss Henie had been suffering from leukemia for the last nine months. 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. 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. "Henie skates with speed, grace, and eye-boggling abandon through four big numbers," he noted in Entertainment Weekly. Her union with American sports investor (and later owner of the New York Yankees) Daniel Reid Topping lasted from 1940 to 1946, likely a victim to her grueling film production and touring schedules. 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. 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. The result of her first entry into the national championship at Frogner, in 1922, was to win second place. 1948- However, she made a triumphant return to Norway with the Holiday on Ice tour in 1953 and 1955. 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. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. She therefore made the best of it and won her third Olympic medal. By this time her movie career was over. Her mother was willing to travel all across Europe with her to find coaches and outdoor ice rinks. At the same time, Henie studied ballet in Oslo. Sonja Henie Biography, Life, Interesting Facts - Famous Birthdays By ." Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. With Sonja Henie, Jack Oakie, Cesar Romero, Carole Landis. Encyclopedia.com. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary. She appeared on several television shows in the next few years, including a one- hour special of her own. skating even more. Wintertime: Directed by John Brahm. 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 Other stories echo these allegations, although in a milder fashion. The year after they were married she became a U.S. citizen. Already exposed to Norway's favorite sport, skiing, Henie preferred figure skating; she loved the "whirling" sensation of ice-skating and the resulting "sense of power" over distance and gravity. She managed to tie together the elements in her routine in way that had not been done before. 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 1936, following a successful ice show in Los Angeles orchestrated by her father to launch her film career, Hollywood studio chief Darryl Zanuck signed her to a long-term contract at Twentieth Century Fox, which made her one of the highest-paid actresses of the time. won her first ice-skating competition. 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. After her marriage to Mr. Onstad, a childhood sweetheart, in 1956, she became interested in modern art. We had been flying for only an hour and she just slipped away.. 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. She had become an American citizen in 1941. Henie wed American business executive Winthrop Gardiner Jr. in 1949; he divorced her in 1956 for "desertion and mental cruelty." 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. Won 3 olympic gold medals between 1928 and 1936. This answer is: Study guides. All of her films He died of Tularmia (Rabbit . Her jumps and spins seem ridiculously easy compared to the athletic feats of contemporary figure skaters. Skater Sonja Henie 'Put A Dollar Sign' Behind The Gold In the fall of 1968 Henie was diagnosed with leukemia. 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. Sonja Henie - Wikipedia 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. She was 57. 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. ." 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). 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-yes!" When live television began to cut into the film industry, Henie stopped making movies and returned to traveling ice shows. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in She also planned to become a Hollywood actress and to accomplish on screen for ice-skating what Fred Astaire had done for dancing. . "I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing," she said. The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million. A stand of bleacher seats collapsed at a Baltimore armory, injuring more than 250 people. Sonja Henie - Turner Classic Movies As a result, the image of the figure skater was linked to "the image of the glamorous movie star",[15] within the conventions of film and stage musicals of the 1930s. Her name and appearance was shown in episode 285 of MASH 4077. His daughter began studying ballet at age five and would be active in skiing, swimming, and horseback riding. 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. After Henie won the world championship one last time in 1936, she prepared to retire from amateur sports and enter professional skating. 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 young Norwegian was profoundly influenced by Pavlova's artistry, and she tried to incorporate ballet-style choreography into her skating routines. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912 in Oslo, Norway. Her father was a wealthy fur salesman and a former amateur cycling champion who encouraged his children to compete. -- Sonja Henie OSLO, Norway -- She was the first to spin, the first to jump, the first to be crowned a figure skating ice queen. Henie died in her sleep on an ambulance plane that was taking her from Paris to Oslo to see a specialist. After retiring 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). Hemming, Roy. She competed in the 1924 Winter Knisley, Michael. She also lit the entire performance with a dazzling, dimpled smile. 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. 1932 The daughter of a fur wholesaler in Norway, Sonja Henie received her first pair of ice skates when she was six. 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. That 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. Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 - 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She had no children. It featured spectacular costumes and included waltz and hula dances. "Sonja Henie's tutu!" Less than a month later, she was married to a childhood friend, Niels Onstad, who had become a shipping magnate and art collector. Wilhelm Henie had been a one-time World Cycling Champion and the Henie children were encouraged to take up a variety of sports at a young age. At the age of ten she Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. The Norwegian Royal Family attended both events and indeed attended her funeral in 1969. Modern figure skating is deeply indebted to Sonja Henie (1912-1969), one of the greatest athletes of this century. During sixteen years of touring she earned something in the range of $10 million and her movies probably netted her more than $25 million. [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. Frogner Stadium was the site of the 1927 Women's World Figure Skating Championship. . Her animated counterpart appeared in the Disney short, The Autograph Hound when Donald asked for her autograph. At the time, figure skating and ice shows were not yet an established form of entertainment in the United States. Sonja Henie | Encyclopedia.com Although later cleared of any responsibility for the accident, she did not stage any more arena- type shows. She was the first skater to incorporate the principles of ballet into her routines and the first woman to perform spins and jumps. Where did sonja henie live in the us? - Answers [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. 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. Moreover, her skating numbers were fantastic. The Onstads gave Norway an art museum and 250 of their paintings in August 1968. After that Henie could be seen in other ice shows and on television specials. 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. from competitive skating Sonja wanted to pursue an acting career. Sonja Henie - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family | Sticky Facts Colledge, Cecilia. Now I arrive at the Garden at 6:45 and I never stop until 11:10. By 1939 she was one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. Thin Ice, My Lucky Star, and and Sun Valley Serenade. The skater turned professional later that same year, after having won her tenth world championship. In 1936 she would 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. She was 57 years old. Her skating built on the innovative styles of Jackson Haines and Hilda Holowsky. In 1941 Henie, who was twice married to U.S. citizens, herself became a citizen of the United States. 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. A bubbly, smiling figure in her performances, she was in fact a fierce competitor who wanted nothing to do with her rivals. Her illness had been a well-kept secret. The film soon grossed $2 million and made Henie a household name. 27 Apr. Plain Dealer (January 16, 2002). Another measure of her worth is that in 1940 her legs were insured by Lloyds of London for $5,000 per week. She became a millionaire by 1940, an accomplishment that outstrips even the male athletes of her generation. About Sonja Henie. This adaptation formed the basis for Henie's free-skating program at the 1928 Olympics at St. Moritz, where the blonde-haired, five-foot, two-inch Henie, at 104 pounds, presented flawless figures and a free-skating program that included a combination of double "Axel Paulsens" (as the double axel was then called) and nineteen spins, twirls, and jumps. Entertainment Weekly (February 11, 1994): 62. Sonia Henie, as controversial as she was legendary Globetrotting by 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. (Getty Images) I saw a tweet this week from Kiira Korpi, the Finnish figure skater who won medals three times at the European Championships . Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Thematic Series: Sports Figures. While her ice show numbers were still worth watching, the film received few distributors and poor reviews, ending her film career. 1974); James Robert Parish, The Fox Girls (1971); and James Vinson, ed., The International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, vol. (Read Scott Hamiltons Britannica essay on "Training for Olympic Gold."). "Even on the podium after the Olympics, there were no kisses, no handshakes, not even a word." 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). accent audiences loved her. 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. 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. Sonja HENIE Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age Sonja Henie died from leukemia on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo on October 13, 1969. [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 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. OSLO, Oct. 12 (AP)--Sonja Henie, ice-skating queen and film star, died tonight on an ambulance plane flying from Paris to Oslo. Michael Weatherly is mourning the loss of his brother. Throughout the 1940s, Henie and Wirtz produced lavish musical ice skating extravaganzas at Rockefeller Center's Center Theatre attracting millions of ticket buyers. 2023 . 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). It would later house all of Henie's skating memorabilia. She remembered in the Sporting News how Henie had screamed at her after the 1933 World Championship competition, saying she was an unworthy opponent. https://www.encyclopedia.com/sports/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/henie-sonja, Scott, Paula Pyzik "Henie, Sonja When Geoffrey and Ken track Norden to a small village in the Swiss Alps, they soon find themselves competing over the affections of beautiful Louise (Henie), who has a deeper connection to the missing Nobel laureate than the reporters realize. Her first film, One In A Million with Adolphe Menjou, was a huge "Henie, Sonja The next year, she began training for the national championship of Norway. In the summer of 1927 Henie had the thrill of seeing her idol, Russian dancer Anna Pavlova, on stage in London, which inspired her to adapt Pavlova's Dying Swan to figure skating. ." Did Sonja Henie marry? 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.

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