[2][15] She is buried with Onstad in Oslo on the hilltop overlooking the Henie Onstad Art Centre. Photo: Chris Meech. Hun var datter af Selma Lochmann-Nielsen ( 1888 - 1961) og Wilhelm Henie ( 1872 - 1937 ). As she said, Zanuck had a reputation for looking for cutting-edge people. I want to do with skates what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing, Sonja told The New York Times on March 18, 1936, about a month after the closing ceremonies of the Olympics. At 15 she would win the Olympic gold medal in Skating, a feat she would repeat in 1932 and 1936. Search our local business directories for 303 N. Indian Canyon Drive, Palm Springs California 92262. 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. Sonjas biggest project of the 60s was the one she shared with her husband. Henie initially showed talent at skiing, then followed her older brother, Leif, to take up figure skating. and Oslo. [citation needed][11]. When Sonja was four years old, the Henie family moved to Frogner and an apartment in Thomas Heftyes gate 52. But her initial reluctance before the US entered the war was never to be forgotten. Miss Henie had been suffering from leukemia for the last nine months. 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. She was called the Nasturtium of the North, the Ice Queen of Norway, the White Swan, and, less flatteringly, Little Miss Moneybags. Her surname rhymes with penny, so perhaps its no surprise that she counted every last one. Sister of Leif Henie. This was the residence of Sonja Henie, the Norwegian figure skater and film star. Together, she and Onstad built a superb collection of modern artPicasso, Matisse, Bonnard, Mir, Villon, Rouault. Sonja (Henie) Onstad. Sonja Henie was born on April 8, 1912, in Oslo (then called Christiania), Norway. It was so cold, says Don Watson, she was doing her hula number with one of those Norwegian sweaters on.. Since Wirtz controlled the best arenas and dates, Henie was left playing smaller venues and markets already saturated by other touring ice shows such as Ice Capades. Now It Can Be Yours for $3.8 Million. The first thing she remembers wanting was to skate. And yet, Sonja risked further enmity from Norway when she chose not to donate funds to the Norwegian underground during World War II. Plus, get the exclusive Robb Report tote bag FREE. Check out the Sonja Henie house below. In the . When Geoffrey and Ken get so distracted by romance that they begin to neglect their assignments, it almost leads to disaster as the Gestapo sets out to silence Norden once and for all. And Sonja still loved speed. . 2022 UrbanSplatter.com, All Rights Reserved. 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. Sonja Henie The Goldkorn Variations: a trilorgy, Leslie Epstein, November 9th, from Un-Gyve Press Shared by Un-Gyve Limited "I yi-yi-yi-yi-yi, I like you very much. One can see why chief among her legion of fans was Adolf Hitler. This magnificent Paul Williams estate, originally built for Sonja Henie in 1939, has been the home of iconic actress/entertainer, business woman and philanthropist, Connie Stevens, for the past 34 years. He started boxing when he was twelve. Recently I learned that she and her two daughters, Joely and Tricia Fisher, lived in a mansion haunted by the spirt of the famous Norwegian Olympic Figure Skating Champion Sonja Henie. In The Pavlova of the Ice, film footage shot in 1928 (and available on YouTube), she is skating outdoors, her slow-motion leaps and spins set against snow-dusted mountains that are nothing short of Wagnerian. 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. "I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing," she said. Furthermore, aside from her career as a figure skater, Henie also had a successful film career. He liked Sonja, admired her, and though he knew himself to be shrewd, he once said, Sonja is shrewder.. She was 57 years old. In her first Olympics1924, Chamonix, aged 11she wore a baggy outfit, the black skate boots of the day, and finished last in a field of eight competitors. For this, she was condemned by many Norwegians and Norwegian-Americans. Her first picture, One in a Million, was a hit that premiered in December 1936 at New Yorks Roxy Theatre, where Sonja arrived on the arm of the beauteous Fox actor Tyrone Power, thought to be the love of her life. ullstein bild via Getty Images Henie, the Norwegian national. These shows, the "Hollywood Ice Revues," were major attractions at Madison Square Garden for many years, up to 1952. Henie with actor and love-interest Tyrone Power in a scene from the film *Thin Ice,*1937., 20th Century Fox/courtesy of Getty Images. Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics.[5]. The majority of the pieces integrated throughout the rooms from the Henie era include lamps, tables, and Asian-influenced artifacts. Seven thousand people standing.. 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. The couple spent the summer of 1969 in Europe, and in Paris, the night before their planned return to California, Sonja tired. If comment does not pertain to post it will not be published. 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. She recently paid $2.036 million for a. Like what you're reading? 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. Wife of Daniel Reid Topping married 4 Jul 1940 (to 1946) in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States. And she built an elegant estate just outside of Oslo. Henie's popularity as a film actress attracted many new fans and instituted skating shows as a popular new entertainment. The results of 1927 World Championships, where Henie won in 32 decision (or 7 vs. 8 ordinal points) over the defending Olympic and World Champion Herma Szabo of Austria, was controversial, as three of the five judges that gave Henie first-place ordinals were Norwegian (1 + 1 + 1 + 2 + 2 = 7 points) while Szabo received first-place ordinals from an Austrian and a German Judge (1 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 8 points). Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 12 October 1969) was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. Born and raised in Oslo, Sonja Henie rose to fame as a three-time Olympic Champion (1928 at age 15, 1932, 1936) in Ladies' Singles, a 10-time World Champion (1927-1936) and a six-time European Champion (1931-1936). Nonetheless, Sonja had one last hurrah ahead of her. Without missing a beat, Henie stepped off the gold-medal podium and into the Twentieth Century-Fox studio system, where she proved to be a monster at the box office, reportedly earning more than $500,000 within a year. Years later, a fairer, staggered draw was adopted to counteract this situation".[3]. Because balletic line was a key facet in Sonjas developing Jackson Haines-like skating style, she spent time in London studying classical dance with the Russian ballerina Tamara Karsavina. When she had her hair done by a new svengali of the scissors named Jon Peters (later to be a major Hollywood producer), the two hit it off, and for fun, with her in the back, theyd go flying through the Santa Monica mountains on his motorcycle. After the war, Henie was mindful that many of her countrymen considered her to be a quisling. Outside, the exterior is clad in hand-honed granite with custom gutters and bronze windows trimmed in limestone. The median sale price for the area in March was $1.11 million, based on 40 combined single-family home and condo sales, according to CoreLogic. Henie receiving the gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid, New York, 1932., From AP Images. Sonja had to borrow from, yes, Wirtz to meet her payroll. And Sonja was going through that. was a frequent exclaimatory utterance by Tom and Ray Magliozzi on the National Public Radio show Car Talk. 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. She did eight numbers. Additionally, it includes hardwood floors, with a magnificent spiral staircase. Now the question was, whats next? 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. He signed her to a touring contract and within weeks tested the waters by presenting Sonja Henie Night at Madison Square Gardena smashing success. Sonja set an Olympic record that has been nearly impossible to match. To get Zanucks attention, Sonja and her father, with the help of Wirtz, brought an ice show to Hollywoods Polar Palace ice rink. Alfred Hitchcock Filmed One of His Classics at This Historic French Villa. The 77-year-old Stevens gained fame as the character Cricket in the 1960s television series Hawaiian Eye. Among her other TV credits are 77 Sunset Strip, Wendy and Me and Loves Savage Fury., What to know about the real estate market in Beverly Hills, Former Twins slugger Jason Kubel catches a buyer in Calabasas, Home of the Day: Life on a grand scale in Pacific Palisades. Furthermore, she was a three-time Olympic champion in the womens singles. Ghostwriting Gloria Swanson: The Strange, Sexually Charged Genesis of a Legendary Autobiography. Joan couldnt even walk on ice.. The true story of Sonja Henie, one of the world's greatest athletes and the inventor of modern figure skating, who decides to go to Hollywood in 1936 to become a movie star. Stone floors and oak cabinets anchor the space. Most of the strange activity that occurs is centered in the attic room, where Henies rink was. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Vintage Madame Alexander 14" Sonja Henie Composition Doll at the best online prices at eBay! With her well-to-do father's backing, she studied ballet in London, and began applying choreography to her routines. The house has seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms over 13,000 square feet of space. She produced her own show at New York's Roxy Theatre in January 1956. For the next ten years, the theater found success with ice skating shows, made popular by Olympic skater and actress Sonja Henie. Seen on the Queen Mary with Monty Banks. She was an opportunist . The Paranormal Forum is a place to share your experiences, thoughts, questions, and to learn about things that are considered supernatural such as ghosts, hauntings, Ouija board, UFOs, psychic phenomena, and much more. It didnt matter. Photo: Carlos Marques, Marcott Studios, The wine room At 14 she was the Norwegian Sonja loved playing tennis and she excelled at ice-skating. Some of the Norwegians had to come back twice. and delighted. Sonja was visionary in that she saw what the audience for figure skating could be, says Edward Z. Epstein, an author and playwright who worked with Universal Pictures for many years and was a competitive skater in his teens. She skated in her first Winter Olympic Games in 1924 at the young age of eleven. Furthermore, please leave your thoughts and comments below. Leif would later paint his sister as promiscuous, but as one male skater of the era says, she was a lusty, healthy, happy woman. In the skating world, it was common knowledge that Sonjas skating partners often partnered her in bed. with her constantly, as she did throughout Miss Henie's career. Sonja Henie was a figure skater. As a girl Henie also was a nationally ranked tennis player, and a skilled swimmer and equestrienne. Photo: Carlos Marques, Marcott Studios, The formal dining room [25]. Sonja Henie was the worlds first figure skating superstar. 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 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 enjoyed champagne, and she enjoyed parties . Muhammad Ali House: Former Los Angeles Home. olimpiai, vilg- s Eurpa-bajnok norvg mkorcsolyz, sznszn. Sonja Henie Sonja Henie *08.04..1969+ Athlete, figure skater, Norway at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix - 1924 - Vintage property of ullstein. 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. One of my favorite actresses to watch growing up was the gorgeous Connie Stevens. [7] She did not make the final list however. Henie in her first Hollywood film, One in a Million, 1936., 20th Century Fox/courtesy of Everett Collection. Her animated counterpart appeared in the Disney short, The Autograph Hound when Donald asked for her autograph. This fourteen-year-old girl from Romania received a judges' mark of 10.00. The fact is, Sonja could be extremely generous and often was, though quietly. She kept Fox alive, says Connie Wald, the widow of producer Jerry Wald. Her husband, Neils Onstad, a Norwegian shipowner, said she "just slept away" halfway through the two-hour flight. Never a drinker, she started hitting the scotch which, according to her brother, accentuated the black-and-white sides of her personality. He was a man of his word who honored a handshake. Actress and singer Connie Stevens, who earlier this year sold her longtime estate on the Westside for $17 million, has found a new home in Studio City. Muhammad Ali was a professional boxer. Sonja went on to not one but two Social Register marriages: the first, in 1940, to Dan Topping, an heir to millions and part owner of the New York Yankees (his brother Bob was married to Lana Turner), and the second, in 1949, to Winthrop Gardiner Jr., who had inherited Gardiners Island. She was very good to everybody., Boots Beyer: I will never say anything bad about Sonja. Norwegian Skater Sonja Henie was born on 8th April, 1912 in Kristiania (now Oslo), Norway and passed away on 12th Oct 1969 Oslo, Norway (during a flight from Paris to Oslo) aged 57. The birth name of the boxer was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, and he was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 17, 1942. . As a wealthy celebrity, she moved in the same social circles as royalty and heads of state and made Hitler's acquaintance as a matter of course. Miss Henie was an exacting star. Additionally, the backyard features a pool that is surrounded by a patio with lounge chairs. Finally, I hope you enjoyed reading about, 's home. Ad Choices. During her amateur skating career, she performed often in Germany and was a favorite of German audiences and of Hitler personally. She paid only $250,000, which was a low-price for this elegant Hollywood mansion. The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million. . Discover Sonja Henie famous and rare quotes. A Sonja Henie party was still a big dealsparkling with stars like Joan Crawford, Cyd Charisse, Cesar Romero, Cary Grant, Liberace. Renowned skater and actress Sonja Henie rehearses at the Chicago Stadium in 1942. . Stevens stated that the lights turn on in the attic whenever someone new is in the home. Musks master plan for Tesla is built around sustainable energy economy, What to expect from Elon Musks third master Tesla plan, Drugmaker Eli Lilly to slash insulin prices, Stocks slip as stubborn inflation raises rate expectations. . (Jon Peters thinks she knew the truth: She knew every dime, she knew every jewel, she knew every wig, she knew every painting. This is from a Vanity Fair article about Sonja: In 1985, about 16 years after Sonja's death, a biography co-written by Raymond Strait and Leif Henie (who died in 1984) was published: Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows: The Unsuspected Life of Sonja Henie. Lastly, read some other articles like this one on our frontpage. 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. If there is a link within comment it will not be published. And in March of 1952, when a section of bleachers collapsed on her opening night in Baltimore because the construction crew hired to build them was still working minutes before the show, it was the beginning of a downward spiral. It sits on 5 acres and has a sweeping circular drive, grand staircase, swimming pool, and tennis courts. At 15, she would win the gold medal in Skating at the 1928 Olympics, thus becoming the youngest Olympic skating champion - a . Three A-list actresses, two of the most volatile men in Hollywood, and the awards campaign that defined the 2000sand it all got overshadowed by the nose., Walter Mirisch, Oscar-Winning Producer of, 18 Must-See Documentaries That Will Entertain and Enlighten You, The greatest nonfiction films cinema has to offer, from, Her Favorite Things: Julie Andrewss (Not Always) Loverly Life. [14] She died of the disease at age 57 in 1969 in an ambulance plane flight from Paris to Oslo. 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. Skilled swimmer and equestrienne this situation ''. [ 3 ] Henie at. 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