Sonja Henie

Sonja Henie and The Winter Olympics

I just love the Olympic Figure Skating events. The men’s competition last night was a great deal of fun. Johnny Weir is Very Fabulous. He gives the evening a nice touch of fun. I love the severe, Evgeni Plushenko with score of 90.85, the American favorite Evan Lysacek with a score of 90.30 right on his heels and the firecraker Daisuke Takahashi at 90.25 positioning for a medal. They are all such characters.
I’m enjoying it while it lasts. What are you going to do between tonite and Thursday when the finals are? You are going to watch Sonja Henie!

The film One in a Million (1936) is a bit after the pre-code era, but I’m going to let this pass because she was all kinds of scandal.

Henie is credited with being the first figure skater to adopt the short skirt costume in figure skating, and make use of dance choreography. Her innovative skating techniques and glamorous demeanor transformed the sport permanently and confirmed its acceptance as a legitimate sport in the Winter Olympics.

She was also a buddy of Hitler’s and seemed to have a bit of a drinking problem, so she had some controversial issues. But if you are in need of a figure skating fix. This should hold you over.

Here’s a little Sonja at the 1924 Olympics. She was 12. I thought this was fascinating.