Biography

[b]An Inborn Desire[/b][br /]
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A life on ice may not seem very special to some people, but for a little Norwegian girl, Sonja Henie, it was everything. To her friends, touching the ice, sliding on it and playing with the snowballs was no more than fun. But for this little girl, it was an excitement of almost ecstasy. Sonja’s friends often teased her saying : “You’re crazy. You’d rather skate than eat.” Indeed the girl would skate on ice for hours, forgetting her lunch and dinner. One day she turned into the world’s topmost ice skater, passing hundred miles of ice under her blades.[br /]
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She wanted to run over ice throughout her life, and she did.[br /]
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[b]Roots[/b][br /]
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Born in a wealthy family of Kristiania (now Oslo) in Norway on April 8, 1912, Sonja was the youngest child of Wilhelm Henie and Selma Nielson Henie. Sonja had an elder brother, Leif, five years senior to her. Sonja was born during a blizzard. [br /]
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Sonja’s parents had inherited ancestral riches. They had a beautiful house surrounded by a large courtyard. Looking from the courtyard, the snow-capped mountains looked like snow-white swans with wings spread out under the sapphire sky. Sonja grew up surrounded by these icy high hills. The capital of Norway, Oslo was a colorful city and
the inhabitants were fond of every sport starting from ice-skating, skiing, to child’s play like making snowman. Children would sometime imitate the Eskimos by making an igloo – a small toy house. In spring, when April buds blossomed into flowers and birds filled the atmosphere with their sweet chirping, half of the town could be seen sliding on blades near the icy hills and grounds.[br /]
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Sonja felt fascinated with ice, as she grew older. She saw hills melting by the end of winters. Ice gradually became an inevitable part of her existence. Her fascination for ice, unknowingly, turned into a goal she wanted to pursue in life.[br /]
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Later she wrote in her autobiography, Wings on My Feet, “Good breaks began for me at the beginning. Family, home, circumstances, the country I lived in and the weather I was born in all conspired to make a skater of me.”[br /]
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Sonja was born when the motor car had replaced the horse-drawn sleighs. Wilhelm Henie, Sonja’s father, was the first person to buy a motorcar in Oslo. As Henie family was a wealthy one, Sonja was given every facility to develop her talent, everything ranging from private rinks to private tuitions in skating and lessons in ballet.[br /]
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Sonja was fond of dancing from a very early age. She had a natural liking for skating besides dancing. Her father arranged for a dance teacher for her when Sonja was about two years old; beginning of Sonja’s rudimental training that was going to lead her a long way.[br /]
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Sonja’s father was a fur wholesaler. He was also a renowned athlete and had made his name among the world-level sports personalities. Winner of the World Bicycling Championship twice, winner of medals for speed skating, ski jumping and cross-country skiing, Wilhelm Henie was an enthusiastic father too. He could read her daughter’s passion for ice, while she would watch the skiers and skaters, jumping or sliding like an unbarred wind. Wilhelm proved to be a true guide, who tried his best to shape the natural athletic power within her. Both Wilhelm and Selma encouraged their kids to do something worth in life.[br /]
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Wilhelm used to go on frequent trips to Europe. In his absence, Selma looked after the children, apart from supervising the workers. She was very strong, shrewd and balanced lady, who remained Sonja’s closest counselor and adviser forever.[br /]
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[b]Geilo – Her Dreamland
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The Henie family had a hunting-lodge at Geilo, a mountain village famous for winter sports. When Sonja was four, she visited the beautiful place with her parents and her brother. She was very excited at the first view of Geilo : no one walked there, feet out of home were feet on skies ! Sonja became so crazy about Geilo that even on hearing about a future visit to the place, she would immediately put on her sweater and shoes ![br /]
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Sonja spent many weekends and holidays at Geilo after the first snowfall of the year. Sonja’s father, ‘the pleasantest person ever seen in life’ and her mother, a ‘firm pillar of the family’, as described by Sonja, would walk around the city along with her two children – all covered in big rugs, winter caps and whole-shoes.[br /]
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Sonja had skis from the first winter at Geilo. She felt amused at getting an opportunity to chase his elder brother, wherever he went, but she could hardly keep up with him. The siblings would wander in Geilo on skis. Initially, Sonja could not catch up with Leif but as days passed by, she could make it with Leif’s help. Sonja recalled the first skiing experience, “…I loved the speed; I felt I never could get enough of it. Brilliant winter days always went to my head, anyway, and when I could add speed that I made myself to the natural whip of the wind, I wanted never to go indoors.”[br /]
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Many a times, the siblings would stay out for hours in chilled icy atmosphere. When they realized that a blizzard was coming up, they would rush home passing the downhill slopes and reach the doorstep of their lodge safely, beating the storm. It was more than fun for Sonja and out of this early skiing practice, she gained a good lesson of balance and rhythm in movement. This helped her a great deal in her skating career. When she would ski, many acquaintances predicted that she would become a graceful skier. At that time, Sonja was not old enough to think about her future. She knew only one thing, that she loved skiing and she would do it; as she described : “What I do know is that Geilo meant skiing, and skiing was like flying and this flying made me winter-drunk, an affliction I have never got over.”[br /]
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In fact, this ‘affliction’ for flying never got over but transformed later in other way, as she would turn six. Her type of ‘flying’ changed from wooden runners to steel blades, but the state of excitement remained the same. While skiing on long, smooth surfaces, she had acquired great confidence and this confidence itself became her torah that guided her in every passage of life. [br /]
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[b]The Little Dancer
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Once Sonja admitted that if her parents had not been understanding and helpful, she might not have built dancing or skating as a career in life. Her parents could sense the potential in her and they nourished it.[br /]
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Soon afterwards crossing four, Sonja’s interest in dancing seemed to start afresh. During the following two years, what she called her ‘pre-skate period’; Sonja showed an immense interest in ‘theatrical’ learning. She liked her mother’s soft formal dresses. One day, finding her mother’s cupboard unlocked, the little girl peeped into it, picked up some dress and wore it. It was, obviously, quite big for her. Sonja lifted it up off the floor and took a step giving a ‘dancing performance’. During that short span of joy and dance, she accidentally stepped onto the dress.[br /]
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When her mother saw her dress in shreds, she became furious. But then gave her daughter some of her old dresses and scarves to save her own wardrobe. Sonja was very happy to share her mother’s ‘treasure’. It was the beginning of her dancing career.[br /]
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Sonja was fond of music. She liked different sorts of music according to her moods, sometimes fast and jerky and sometimes slow and smooth. She had absorbed much from her dancing lessons. When she would hear music, her legs automatically began tapping.[br /]
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Sometimes she would indulge into child-like play. She would arrange the living-room chairs into ‘boxes’, number them, make tickets and then would dance on the gramophone tunes. Her parents would applaud loudly, but Leif would escape many a times, as he was least interested in theatre. Sonja continued such ‘plays’ for a year, so her parents came to the conclusion that their daughter had, undoubtedly, the seed of a performing artist and what she needed was proper guidance.[br /]
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At the age of five, Sonja was sent to Love Krohn, an internationally renowned ballet master of Oslo. Among his students was famous Russian dancer Anna Pavlova. She was a ballerina, whose dancing was considered unparalleled. Sonja later remarked in her diary : “At one time I think I decided it would be nice to be the best dancer in the world.” But she was not cutout to be a dancer only, she was going to co-ordinate two skills at the same time – dancing and skating.[br /]
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[b]Skating – The First Love
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It was Leif, her dear brother, who had introduced Sonja to ice skating, when she was just a toddler. Indeed, Sonja learnt skating, holding Leif’s finger. The older boys and girls from the town went for skating at Frogner Stadium, a big open-air rink in Oslo. Leif, in Sonja’s words, “…for the first half-dozen years of my life was simultaneously my hero and my object of burning envy… He did everything better than I. He was allowed to do all the things I was ‘too young for’ “.[br /]
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As she reached six, she complained that her brother had a good pair of skates and she did not have any. Leif, a tall young boy with slow-waving blond hair, could go anywhere with his skates and enjoyed himself at Frogner Stadium. Sonja thought she was quite capable of balancing on skis, so why not skate ? She literally begged her parents for skates. They found her too young for this yet. Finally, they gave in and Sonja got a pair of skates, an ice-going one that she had longed for.[br /]
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Now it was Leif’s turn. Sonja would chase him wherever he went skating. Sometimes, he would tell her that he was not going and then would try to sneak out secretly. But his plan would fail, as the little girl was ready with her skates every time.[br /]
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One day, when Leif went up in his room to dress up for skating, Sonja rushed upstairs, donned her sweater and skates in seconds and came downstairs again. Then she calmly sat on a sofa, reading a newspaper.[br /]
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Leif growled : “What’s all the rush, Sonja?”[br /]
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She answered : “I thought you were going skating.”[br /]
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Leif furiously ordered : “Well I’m not, and mother wants you upstairs to help her plan lunch.”[br /]
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Sonja immediately understood that Leif did not want to take her with him. But she was clever, quickly grabbing his skates, she ran away. Leif was angry, but eventually surrendered to his darling sister’s desire and both went skating together! This was her first skating experience at Frogner Stadium.[br /]
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At Frogner, Sonja was a bit depressed, watching the skaters storming down the stadium. But Leif, both passionate and patient with her sister, taught her the fundamental rules of skating. Leif became a friend, brother and coach for Sonja. He taught her one of the most inevitable basic of all skating – how to relax in falling. Sonja recalled his words, “If you are going to skate, you are going to fall…Who do you think you are, to think you can learn to skate without falling ? Ten years from now you’ll still be falling, may be less often.”[br /]
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[b]The First Victory
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Thus, Sonja started her ‘life on skates’ at six. Everyone, her father, mother and brother continued encouraging her and in one year, she became a good, balanced and artistic skater. For the next two years, she had never been off the ice longer than three weeks at a stretch ![br /]
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For further training, her father sent her to Hjordis Olsen, a lady instructor. She was, in Sonja’s words, ‘one of the most alive, friendly, and patient souls’. She was a strict coach too. When Sonja turned seven, she got a new pair of skates with boots attached to it. Olsen, satisfied with Sonja’s progress, suggested to her father that it was the right time for her to participate in the children’s yearly skating competition. Both agreed, and Sonja took part in her first ever competition at the age of seven. Among applauds and cheers, she won the skating competition for juniors. As a token of her victory, she received a small silver paper cutter with a pearl handle. Sonja remained affectionate for her first prize forever : “…The pearl had lovely soft colors in it; it seemed to me the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.” [br /]
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[b]Preparation Period[/b][br /]
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Throughout her life, Sonja felt obliged to her coach. She once said that if Hjordis Olsen had not guided her, she might never have entered the competition. The next year, she won the Junior Class ‘C’ competition. Gradually, winning all further higher level events, she entered the National Skating Championship to be held in her homeland the next winter.[br /]
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For Sonja, it was a tough time to prove her mettle. But in this pre-event period, she was not alone. Her father appointed Oscar Holte, Oslo’s leading skating coach to train her. A regular practice schedule was arranged for Sonja. Under watchful care of her parents and coach, she practiced for three hours in the morning and two in the afternoon. Besides, a proper diet was also planned to maintain her stamina. According to her diet plan, Sonja should not eat two hours before skating; the rule she followed throughout her career.[br /]
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In spring, Sonja was once again sent to Love Krohn for further ballet lessons. After these lessons, Sonja went to London with her mother. There she took training under Madame Karsavina, once associated with Pavlova in ballet for many years. These lessons helped her to gain more flexibility and rhythmic balance while skating.[br /]
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During all this time, she studied at home from private tutors. Most of the time, she was traveling with her mother to get the benefits of foreign instructors. She wrote regarding her studies : “If my family had not the means to give me my schooling on a flexible tutors’ time schedule, I would have had no schooling or else no championship career.”[br /]
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[b]A National Champion
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The year 1921 marked the first milestone in her career. On the day of Norwegian National Amateur Skating Championship, the Frogner Stadium was full of enthusiastic crowd. When Sonja’s name was announced as one of the participants of the championship, the nine-year-old girl became nervous. As she remarked, “I felt as though all Oslo had risen to swallow me up, but when I reached the allotted part of the ice there was only the ice and I and my skates…”[br /]
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Sonja’s hard work paid at last. With her artistic style, she broke all her previous records and triumphed over all other participants.[br /]
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When results were announced, the Henie family rushed out from the gallery reserved for contestants and their families.[br /]
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Sonja Henie was the new ice-skating champion of Norway.[br /]
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[b]A Valuable Defeat
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After winning the Norwegian National Amateur Skating Championship, international horizons opened up for Sonja. Her parents consulted coaches and decided that she should be sent to the Continent for advanced lessons. Sonja was ready for it.[br /]
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Going abroad, Sonja realized the real international sports life. She met many personalities and learned the international etiquette. With her parents, first she went to St Moritz, a place ideal for skating. There she was introduced to the great Swedish skater, Gillis Grafström, who gave her many worthy suggestions regarding her skating style. Under that care of her parents, Sonja became more efficient in three years’ training.[br /]
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In 1924, the Winter Olympic Games were held at Chamonix, a ski resort at the foot of Mont Blanc, in Eastern France. In this prestigious and popular event, Fru Szabo-Jaros retained her Olympic title, and Sonja stood eighth, the last place. Sonja liked the style of Fru Szabo-Jaros, but her father was disappointed because a judge had ranked her first in free skating. For Sonja, it was just an experience, about which she wrote later : “…if I had become Olympic Champion at the age of 10…It would have gone to my head, and surely would have robbed me of the fun and fine training of four years’ work towards that goal.”[br /]
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[b]Crowned World Champion
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In winter 1927, the world championship was held in Oslo. Before it, Sonja had prepared herself to be a champion, undergoing tough training. When the paper of nomination was filled, she was only 12 and the authorities opposed to it, as children weren’t entering world championships. But then, as she was a national champion, she was allowed to participate.[br /]
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Now, Sonja had a big responsibility on her shoulders, to perform at her best. At that time, she felt that “…Possibly father, mother and Leif had a deep-down determination that the Henie’s name should not be blotted on Oslo ice, of all places.”[br /]
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In those days, skaters generally put on clumsy dress that was awkward in movements but unfortunately it was in vogue. Sonja did not like such dresses. She felt uncomfortable. To solve the problem, her mother designed a costume that was a trim white velvet dress with bell skirt. The dress was tight in fitting that brought a revolution in the dressing code in skating. Now, Sonja felt confident to set her feet on ice with grace and glory.[br /]
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The inauguration of the World Championship at Frogner Stadium was attended by King Haakon and Queen Maud. Sitting in the royal box were the representatives from a number of countries, and thousands of spectators filled the stadium. Sonja had just crossed 13 – the youngest skater who had ever entered a World Championship. On the eve of the competition, Sonja was scared of falling in the rink and she hoped if she fell, she would break a leg to avoid disgrace skate ! She kept the memento of her first victory, the pearl-handled paper cutter, under her pillow and went to bed. It was an unending night.[br /]
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Sonja did not believe in superstitions, but when she won the 1927 World Championship in Oslo, she remarked, “Perhaps it was the paper-cutter that brought me through the world championship…” It was a memorable moment for her. She had become the youngest world champion, which was a record in the world of skating. The moment she was declared a world champion, the King and the Queen congratulated her for putting Norway on top of fame. That moment, teenager Sonja felt a wave of patriotism passing through her.[br /]
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It was a grand beginning on the path of victory that was going to lead her towards 10 consecutive World Championship titles from 1927 to 1936.[br /]
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[b]Glitter of Olympic Gold
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The 1927 victory at the, Oslo World Championship led her straight for the Olympic Games held the next winter at St Moritz. This time, Sonja was trained at hometown because the ice was excellent in the early fall. During the summer, between her first World Championship and the snowfall, she visited London. There, she had an opportunity to see Anna Pavlova, her inspirational figure, perform on stage. Anna was all she had hoped she would be. Sonja was so impressed by her that she adored her more than ever.[br /]
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In 1928 Olympics, the previous Olympic Champion Szabo-Jaros did not participate. Sonja had to compete with new competitors. When the event ended, the Norwegian players had stolen the show. Sonja was on the top. She became the youngest Olympic Gold-medallist.[br /]
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The next evening, she was given the honor of inaugurating the Olympic Ball at the Palace Hotel at Grottumsbräten. She attended the ceremony wearing some of the pink carnations, gifted by the royal couple of Norway on the eve of her victory at the World Championship. It was a memorable evening for her. She poured her feelings in her diary : “Sometimes I wake up in the morning feeling like a lottery winner. No postman stands at the door telling me. I hold a winning ticket, yet everything around me seems to shine, and when I think of the day to come, the hours ahead glint with excitement just as they do for children on Christmas morning”.[br /]
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[b]The Sonja Decade
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Throughout her career, Sonja was supported by her parents, both financially and morally. Her mother never got tired of encouraging her. Sometimes, Sonja and her father were charged for having profited from her athletic success, revealing the tensions between the code of amateur athleticism and the realities of international sport. With skill and foresight, Sonja’s father managed to spend thousands of dollars required for her daily expenses, preparation and training.[br /]
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It was a golden period of her career; and during the entire decade, the ‘30s, she concentrated on sustaining her first rank in skating. Her father, as supportive as ever, was known as ‘Papa Henie’. He felt proud saying, “I am Sonja’s father.”[br /]
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After winning the 1928 Olympic Gold, she never looked back. In the following three Olympics held in 1928, 1932 and 1936, she proved that she was the best ‘ballerina skater’ in the world. Sonja’s abilities were not restricted to only skating field. She had also shown her natural skills in tennis, swimming, ballet dancing, and horse riding.[br /]
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Meanwhile Sonja traveled extensively. She had become world famous. The winter of 1929-30 took Sonja to the United States. It was her first encounter with America. New York, the city of razzle-dazzle, the enthusiastic crowds, warm hospitality and friendly people impressed her.[br /]
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The same year, Sonja won her fourth World Championship. She had studied English, French and German languages that helped her to feel the warm reviews that came from the audience and from the media. New York City had become a city of joy for the 16-year girl. She had caught the attention of the world, becoming a celebrity overnight. As her brother wrote, “Since 1924, she had captured five more Norwegian singles crowns, the Norwegian doubles title three times with Arne Lie, and all-Scandinavian championships, four world skating championships, and the 1928 Olympics. She had also taken the time to become the third-ranking woman tennis-player in Norway, an excellent swimmer, a daring equestrienne, and a capable ballet dancer. These accomplishments brought her the first medal ever bestowed on a woman by the Norwegian government for versatility and achievement in sport”.[br /]
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[b]‘Swan’ Performances
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In winter of 1932, there was an amateur automobile race in Stockholm. Sonja took part in the event, which required bravery. She stood second. The same year, she toured through Milan. There she performed a number of Swan shows.[br /]
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Sonja’s dancing style was directly influenced by Anna Pavlova. She had prepared her ice version of Pavlova’s transcendent solo, practicing for months. In The Dying Swan, her superb debut was appreciated by the Italian audience. Sonja began to be called ‘the Pavlova of the Ice’ because of her excellent combination of ballet dance with figure skating in her exhibitions known as Sonja’s Swan Number.[br /]
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The next year, in December, she exhibited her Swan Numbers in Paris, the fashion capital. Her performance was greeted by a chorus of whistles and applauds from the top gallery.[br /]
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Later, she traveled to Canada followed by an invitation at the five-week carnival in the United States. New York welcomed her warmly and thousands of people appreciated her Swan Numbers with applauds. Americans had become fond of Sonja’s art and beauty.[br /]
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In the early days during the tour, ‘Sonja Henie Junior Olympics Club’ was started and within few weeks, around 40,000 members were enlisted. The interesting thing was that all of them were children.[br /]
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[b]Talk of the Town
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Sonja was now in limelight. The rivalry lobbies in media were trying to disparage her anyway. People began making up stories of her romantic involvement. Some coupled her name with Jackie Dunn. For an amateur skater, it was embarrassing. Jackie was England’s young, promising skater, who stood second in the World Championship. Sonja and Jackie were good friends, but their friendship never turned into marriage.[br /]
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Sonja was 23 when rumors about her first romance started buzzing. No longer a teenager, she was aware of such things. She had remarked : “My skating no longer belonged to me; it was a public thing. I should have to watch, not only my skating, but my step.”[br /]
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The gossips about Sonja and Jackie’s relationship reached at height and the rumors spread that they were engaged. At once, Sonja lost her patience and growled at a reporter : “If you are determined to print something about marriage and me, you may be interested to know that I receive offers of marriage from all sorts of people. I get them by letters from people I’ve never seen. Furthermore, I have had a few from people I really like. Now make what you can of that, but at least do me and my friends the grace of keeping general”.[br /]
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[b]Turned Professional
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Returning to Oslo, she decided that the coming Olympic season of 1935-36 should be her last competition. In March 1936, Sonja signed with Arthur Wirtz. According to this contract, she was to take part in four events in New York and the same number in Chicago. It was a signal for the world on ice that Sonja Henie had turned a professional skater. Before turning professional, added to her fame was her third Olympic Gold. After joining the professional circuit, Sonja began a new chapter of her career with a benefit performance at Madison Square Garden. Sonja’s father and Jackie, who also had signed with Wirtz, accompanied her during the tour.[br /]
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[b]In the Tinsel Town
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During the US tour, Sonja and other unit members were surprised that Hollywood, the glamour-world of movies, too had an ice rink named ‘Polar Ice Palace’. They stayed for two nights at the Palace. Sonja’s father arranged to rent the rink for some period. All things were properly planned by ‘Papa Henie’, so as to ensure that almost all celebrities from Hollywood showed up. Sonja gave a superb performance and at the end of the tour, she had a five-year contract with 20th Century Fox, a Hollywood movies production company.[br /]
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She said once : “My luck was my father. His shrewdness took me safely through the writing of my contract, the making of my first picture.”[br /]
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Initially, she was given a cold shoulder by the producer, Darryl Zanuck. Sonja wanted the title role on the silver screen, but Zanuck was not confident. On her insistence, he laughed and said, “Miss Henie, not that !”
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But Sonja retorted confidently, “I want to have a real chance at it…I’ll sink or swim; and if you don’t want to take the chance with me, I’ll go elsewhere.” [br /]
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Sonja got the contract.[br /]
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When Sonja decided to enter the glamorous world of Hollywood, she wrote in her autobiography : “Recently, I have been very absorbed trying to turn a skater into an actress. Acting has been my job these last few years, along with skating, and if audiences are going to see me act as well as skate I don’t want them to shut their eyes when I’m not skating. There’s enough of that sort of thing at the opera.”[br /]
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A new career, acting with figure skating, began. Every morning of her first working year in Hollywood, she would wake up at five. By eight, she would reach the studio. On this new path, her parents were still with her. Sonja felt that most of the Hollywood people woke up early and went to bed early. She liked it very much and wrote, “It’s necessary; the studios want people who are awake. An actress like Greta Garbo, whom we seldom see, works extremely hard and takes rest she needs. That’s why she is good.”[br /]
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Sonja would enjoy Saturday night parties at Hollywood. She did not drink or smoke because she felt they would mar her performance. Her sincere efforts bore fruits when her first film One in a Million was released. Her co-star was Jean Hersholt. The movie did very well and was ranked eighth at the box office polls in 1937. The next year, this movie broke her previous polls, ranking second ! It earned a handsome amount, more than $2 million.[br /]
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The producer of the movie, Zanuck admitted that it was a big gamble to cast a new face in Hollywood, but his gamble has paid off. It was Sonja’s performance that put the movie on fire on box office : “I have signed Miss Henie and her skates. Even if she couldn’t skate, I’d have signed her anyway, but not for so much money.”[br /]
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[b]Under the Shadow
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By the time the world was getting divided into virtual armies, Sonja was a household name in many European countries, including Germany. Her victories at the World Championships in Berlin and the subsequent Olympic Winter Games at Garmisch had made her a familiar face in the close circle of Adolf Hitler, the German dictator. This association, later, lead many to suspect that she had tacitly cooperated with the German regime, undermining her status as a Norwegian and American heroine.[br /]
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She was also accused of not doing much in World War II to lessen down the pain of the Norwegian people. Furthermore, she could not provide any financial support to the underground opposition to Nazi rule. Another reason behind the accusation was that the Nazi troops occupying Norway took care to spare her home and possessions. These feelings of betrayal on part of the people of Norway and vulnerability on part of Sonja could be seen as a reason behind her acceptance of US citizenship in 1941.[br /]
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[b]Setting Her Feet
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Soon after the success, she began to realize the sour truth that surviving in Hollywood was difficult. Her next six movies in the late ‘30s and early ‘40s with 20th Century Fox were good but not blockbusters. Her seventh film with the same production, Sun Valley Serenade was a super-duper hit.[br /]
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Her contract with the 20th Century Fox was going to end in 1941, but the film resulted in the renewal of the contract. She also worked with International Pictures and Universal-International. Her last movies were quite successful. Her popularity scaled all heights; she was competing with highly rated Hollywood stars like Shirley Temple and Clark Gable. Heywood Broun, an American journalist remarked in his article : “I think it is safe to say that right now Sonja Henie is the greatest single box-office draw in America.”[br /]
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Meanwhile, Sonja’s relationship with Hollywood celebrities like Dick Merrill became the talk of the town. But soon the rumors came to an end with wedding of Sonja and Dan Topping, a wealthy sportsman. The marriage did not last long. In January 1946, Sonja filed a divorce petition and they separated.[br /]
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[b]Hollywood Ice Revue
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In later half of ‘40s, Sonja again concentrated on skating. The result was the Hollywood Ice Revue. It became world famous and was considered a big box office hit. The popularity of her revues was immense. People of New York would rush to secure the tickets three weeks before the show ![br /]
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By 1947, it set records. More than 15 million people had paid more than $25 million to watch Sonja and her troupe perform on ice ! These shows made her one of the wealthiest lady in the world. Sonja became the ‘First Lady of the Ice’.[br /]
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According to Lucidcafé by Kenny Lamb, one of the skaters of her troupe during her shows in the United States in the 1950s, Sonja was a very sensitive and caring person. He narrated a wonderful story revealing her true persona.[br /]
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Once, while the show was playing at The Baltimore Armory in 1952, suddenly, just before the curtain call a part of the stadium collapsed, filled with people, crashing 18 feet to the floor ! People were given immediate first aid by National Guard personnel and those who were badly injured, were taken to the hospital. All this while, Sonja had the orchestra play quietly.[br /]
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At about 9:30 the stage manager came up to Sonja and said, ‘shall we start the show now?’...Sonja just looked at him and said two words, ‘YOU’RE FIRED!’ She then stayed up all night visiting the injured victims that were hospitalized over night, about 50 in all. There were about 200 injured but thankfully no deaths. She delayed starting the show for three days, doing everything possible to help the victims. She was like that, and we loved her for it.[br /]
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Later she refused to perform in an arena-like stadium and turned to television shows. One of the shows televised her life and career in an hour-long show.[br /]
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But this lady was lonely, what was needed was a good companion. On September 15, 1949, she married Winthrop Gardiner, another wealthy American. This marriage again did not seem to bring her desired happiness. Gardiner was an alcoholic, and life with him was again an ordeal after some time.[br /]
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[b]Crisis[/b][br /]
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Till 1950, she had a contract with Arthur Wirtz. She started her own production in 1951. She did not perform in her own production. The first three years of her Hollywood Ice Revues were somehow difficult. Sonja had to compete with her Godfather, Wirtz, who had introduced a promising skater, Barbara Ann Scott in Sonja’s place. Arthur was an established organizer and he had a monopoly over every major stadium all over the US. Sonja had to pay for her adventure. She could not get proper facilities or good managers. This phase was a financial disaster for Sonja.[br /]
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By 1953, she had lost her hopes for her shows. But in troubled times, Sonja got backing from Morris Chalfen. She signed a contract with him and concentrated on European countries instead. The people of Europe, still loving their ‘wonder girl’, welcomed her exhibitions. It was a successful tour. But the following year a tour to South America was a financial disaster that almost finished her.[br /]
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Eventually, Sonja wisely decided to retire from the world of ice and completely withdrew in 1960.[br /]
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[b]The Ice Melts
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Sonja divorced Winthrop Gardiner in April 1956. She married Niels Onstad, a Norwegian ship owner, on June 6, 1956. During the ’60s, Sonja and Niels worked on the project of founding an art center. Henie Onstad Art Center is a museum of modern art with her own collection of impressionist and postimpressionist art as its core.
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Meanwhile, Sonja tried to return on silver screen. She signed a movie called Hello London, which was picturized in 1958–59 but unfortunately, never got released.[br /]
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The thunder struck when Sonja was diagnosed with leukemia. In her last years, her parents, brother and husband constantly looked after her. She suffered from the deadly disease for nine months. Her illness was kept a secret from the public. She was in Paris when her condition worsened, and it was decided to shift her to her homeland. Her husband said she ‘just slept away’ halfway through the two-hour flight.[br /]
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On October 12, 1969, Sonja Henie died at the age of 57.[br /]
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She had no children. She was survived by her ever-supporting parents, ever-guiding brother and ever-loving husband.[br /]
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Her estate was retained well in the form of Henie Onstad Art Center as per Sonja’s will. The dream of the Henie couple still stands just outside Oslo, near Sonja’s tomb, in Norway. In this art center, most of her mementos, trophies, medals and art collections are on display.[br /]
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Sonja Henie, ‘the Queen of Ice’ still lives in the pages of the history of ice-skating.[br /]
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