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Zurich Herald, 1955-02-24, Page 2Richest Womari lin Hollywood Some time ago, Sonja Henie was lounging in the living room of her suite at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas chatting with a reporter. It was 2:00 a.m. and having just finished her second show, the pert, apple-cheeked ice-skater was mildly annoyed. "The stage here," she remark- ed, "is too small for my best skating. "Besides," she added, "all I'm getting is $25,000 a week. By the time I pay everyone off, there's not much left." This obsession with her career and the monetary fruits thereof is responsible for making Sonja Henle today the richest and naost fabulous woman in show business. At 42, after 18 years of pro- fessional figure skating, she is still the biggest name in the world of ice. Possessor of a personal for- tune estimated somewhere be- tween $10,000,000 and $15,000,- 000, Sonja continues to barn- storm the world 12 months a year setting new attendance records wherever she performs and amazing a new generation of spectators with the incredible perfection of her skating wiz- ardry. In 1953 she toured the United States and Scandinavia. In Oslo she made 33 appearances in 32 days before 360,000 fans. She grossed $521,000, of which she netted approximately $208,400— not bad for a long month's work. In 1952, appearing in New York's Madison Square Garden, she grossed $92,000 in a single Saturday. This year, touring small and anedium-sized cities in the Mid- west, she has already grossed $300,000. Ever since she turned profes- sional rofessional in 1936, Sonja Henie has been minting these astronomical amounts of money. Moreover, her ice revues and motion pica tures have been seen by more than 250,000,000 fans, bringing her the following material rich- es: a tremendous mansion in Landoya, Norway, which, in the words of her estranged husband Winthrop Gardiner, "makes the Norwegian King's Palace look like a shanty; another ram- bling $500,000 mansion in Bev- erly Hills, California, equipped with swimrning pool, tennis court, boxer dog and paintings by Rubens, Reynolds and Gains- borough; an undisclosed num- ber of apartment ' houses and ether real estate holdings in Chicago; a liquor distributor- ship, Judge & Rolph, in the same city; a $1,500,000 collection of jewels referred to by mem- bers of her troupe as "the rock pile"; a novelty company; two Cadillacs; stock in several arenas, and 1,700 acres of prop- erty in Oceanside, Calif. One would think that with all this wealth, Sonja Henie might now be content to call it quits, to rest on her laurels and loving eups, to settle down and live the good and peaceful life. But Sonja insists she is constitution- ally incapable of retirement or inactivity. "I've been skating since I was sight," she points out, "and I still love it. I know it's hard to serplain to people but I would lather skate than do anything. 1 just can't give it up. It's as much a part of me as my right arm." How does a woman of her age keep up so killing an athletic pace night after night? How come at 42 she looks 10 years younger, maintains an ap- parently inexhaustible supply of stamina, weighs 108 pounds, and boasts the provocative fig- ure of a girl of 20? The secrets of Sonja Henie's near -perpetual youth are these: She lives on raw meat and raw eggs. She takes daily vitamin shots. She sleeps 10 hours a night. She avoids hard liquor. She is per- ennially enthusiastic. She em- ploys a masseuse to massage her body and face. She practices her ice-skating at least two hours per day. Occasionally she re- sorts to such stimulants as oxy- gen and champagne. Whenever she strains a muscle she takes immediate injections to' deaden the pain and goes right on skat- ing. Hardly ever does she per- mit herself the luxury of a va- cation. She is more interested in work than in men. Conse- quently, her worries are fewer. 0 a 9 The secrets of her lasting suc- cess, however, may be attribut- ed to another set of virtues: tal- ent, thrift, acumen, showman- ship, industry. Sonja, as every sports fan knows, was born in Oslo, Nor- way. At eight she was given her first pair of skates. At nine she won the junior competition of the Oslo Skating Club. At 11 she won the Norwegian Na- tional Championship and con- fided to her father that one day she planned' to become "the greatest figure -skater in the =world" Admiring his daughter's am- bition, Wilhelm Henie decided to further her career. He hired the best skating instructors in Oslo to teach her. At 14, Sonja Henie won her first world championship. In the ensuing 12 years, she captured nine additional world titles plus the Olympic championships of 1928, 1932 and 1936. No other figure skater has ever equaled this phenomenal record, and it is unlikely that any ever will. During her formative years Sonja was so busy winning championships that her formal education was taken over by a group of private tutors. When she was 18, she expressed an interest in ballet and her par- ents quickly sent her to London to study' under the famous Ma- dame Karsevina. It was this interest in danc- ing that gave Sonja the idea of putting ballet on ice skates, an idea, incidentally, which is now the basis for practically every ice revue in existence. To Arthur Wirtz, however, a brilliant Chicago real estate operator, goes the credit for in- ducing Sonja to turn profes- sional. In 1935, Wirtz found himself the owner of three hockey teams and four midwestern arenas, "After the hockey season is over," he asked him-, self, "how am I going to fill those stadiums in Omaha, De- troit, Chicago and Indianapol- is?" One night, after watching a skating exhibition at Chicago's Hotel Sherman, Wirtz got an idea. He hired a group of pro- fessional ice-skaters for $3,500 , 4c,AS S %4 SIG ORUSH,OFF—Pan Micharison and Gregg Nash go into toction with a Paul Bunyon-size collapsible metal tube o tooth- paste and toothbrush to stir up interest In Children's Dental Health Week. 1 TABLE TALI(S :4 a .' dam Ar\.d ews. BONNIE Although finnan haddie is now a world-famous food,' its origin in, Scotland came about quite by accident many years ago. A large quantity of haddock had been stored' in a building in Fin- don, Scotland. Some wood in the building caught fire and when the flames haddied away, the haddock had taken on a rich, golden hue. Those fortun- ate enough to taste it pronounc- ed it "bonnie." As a result, this smoked haddock became known as Findon Haddock, and was a big boost to the fishing trade. You don't have to make a trip to the Land 0' the Heather to enjoy this delectable and econ- omical fish, for finnan haddie from Canadian haddock is avail- ADDOCK able in most parts of the coun- try all year 'round. The Scots know a good buy, and this bone- less, wasteless fish, with its mild, smoky flavor, is one of the best. It requires very little cooking, is ideal for dinner -in -a - hurry. You can bake finnan had - die in milk in a very hot oven (500°F, for 15 mins.) or you may steam it to moist perfection as directed below. Instead of the lemon butter sauce, a perfect foil for finnan haddie, you might wish to serve a cream sauce to which you have added sliced hard cooked eggs and chopped parsley, chili sauce, or zesty dry mustard. Steamed Finnan Haddie Place one pound of finnan * haddie on a square of aluminum foil or in a colander. Bring up corners of foil and pinch to- gether, leaving no openings, and place foil -wrapped fish or fish in colander, over boiling water. Cover and let fish steam about 15 minutes until tender but still flaky. Sprinkle with pepper and serve with lemon butter sauce. Serves 3 to 4. If whole finnan haddie is used, remove bones and skin after steaming. To make Lemon Butter Sauce: Melt 3 tablespoons of butter and add the juice of half a lemon. (Consumer tested recipe cour- tesy Fisheries Council of Can- ada. Photo courtesy Fisheries Council of Canada). and staged a two -night figure - skating exhibition. It drew $33,- 000, and Wirtz knew he had dis- covered a good thing. All he needed, he decided, was "a big name" to carry -the show. 7 In those days there was only one such name: Sonja Henie. Following the 1936 Olympic Games, Wirtz cabled Sonja: "Will you turn professional for three thousand dollars a night?" Sonja cabled right back:. "For three thousand dollars a night anyone will turn professional." A few weeks later Miss Henie was skating in Chicago Sta- dium, earning $12,000 for four performances. More important, she began an association with Wirtz that lasted until 1952. To- gether, on a 50-50 basis, they organized the Sonja Henie Ice Revue, bought various proper- ties, took over the Center The- ater in New York's Radio City, installed another fabulously profitable ice show there, and ran it for .a decade during which time Sonja made only token appearances. In 16 years under the Arthur Wirtz aegis, the various Henie. ice revues achieved internation- al fame and grossed an estimat- ed $50,000,000. Just why Wirtz and Sonja severed their mut- ually profitable relationship, the little blond ice-skater refuses to divulge. "Itwas just one of those things" is all she will say. Although half of the ice re- vue money went to Wirtz from 1936 to 1952, Sonja retained 100 per cent of ther Hollywood earnings in this same period. Nothing is more indicative, of this show -woman's great shrew- ness than the way in which she first crashed motion pictures. In 1936 she and her parents came ,out to the movie capital, rented the Polar Palace, the only rink in town, hired a good orchestra, a competent lighting staff and the flashiest ice skat- ers available. "I was 6'determined," Sonja. says, "to make Hollywood ice - conscious and to get the best movie contract 1 could." It cost the Henies $7,500 to stage their daughter's California skat- ing debut, but the investment reaped the desired rewards. The revue not only returned a ter- rific profit, but in Sonja's words, "Hollywood offers fell into aur lap like ripe fruit. I took the one I wanted most— with 20th Century -Fox." Darryl Zanuck, the studio pro- duction chief, surprised at Miss Henie's bargaining acumen, agreed to a., long-term deal at $100,000 a picture. Sonja also demanded plenty of free time to tour with her ice revue. She got it, The bigger a man's head gets, the easier it is to All his shoes. Here's a Newspaper Written By Ghosts The little town of Camerino is known as the smallest uni- versity town in Italy. Now it has another distinction, For that is where 'L'Aurora' is pub- lished — the only newspaper in the world written by ghosts. 'L'Aurora' is issued by a spirittiblist society of seven. Its inspiration was Professor Gius- eppe Stoppoloni, the head of the faculty of veterinary ana- tomy at the university, and an ardent spiritualist for many years. When Stoppoloni found- ed the Camerino society its meetings were so popular that they were uncomfortably crowd- ed, until he sifted the sensation - seekers from those really inter- ested, and reduced the number to seven. These seven meet twice a week; on. Thursdays and Satur- days, in the house of the local bank manager. A red lamp, the only illumination, glows in the darkness; in a corner stands a tape recorder. Then the seance begins with the medium, Raone Bocci, going into a trance. The results are claimed to be extraordinary. The spirit of Dante has made regular and re- markable appearances; so, too, have the ghosts of other great literary figures, such as the poets Leopardi and Pascoli, not to mention St. Bernard of Siena. It as this accumulation of liter- ary talent which decided the group upon publishing `L'Aur- ora.' Although its production is naturally in the hands of mor- tals, it has not a single earthly contributor. One of itc .ns• tinguished writers is "Alessan- dro," who has not, apparent ky, divulged his surname but is as- sumed to be the novelist Ales- sandro Manzoni, It is from Dante, however, that most is expected. He, or his spirit, has told them that he is working on a long narrative poem called "From Earth To Heaven," a poem to take its place with his "Paradise" and "Inferno." What is more, he is dictating the poem to the tape recorder. Alas, for the group, they have incurred se v ere displeasure from the Church. The local clerical authorities took a poor view of their activities' from the first, and warned them to desist. The warning was unheeded, and the result has been that all sev- en members have been excom- municated. Not even this has deterred them,. however. The seances continue, 'L'Aurora' is still regularly published, and in due course they will give tel the world Dante's new poem. Meanwhile, the critics wait. Smart Bards: Mr. T. E. Elwell has reason to think seagulls are among the most intelligent of birds. He has proved that two he knows pos- ses reasoning power and acting ability! For some time Mr. Elwell, of Ramsay, Isle of Man, has been in the habit of feeding seagulls from his window. Recently he noticed a one -legged gull at - tempting to get its share of the crumbs and fish scraps he left on the window - sill. But its handicap put it at a disadven- ture, and even when it managed to get to the food the other birds pushed it out of their way. Then it was noticed that the cripple did not come during the day when other birds were around. It came instead at dusk, and Mr. Elwell watched out for it and gave it a good meal on its own. On one occasion, however, he realised that the cripple was ac- tually another seagull which was acting a part alighting on one leg and keeping the other tucked beneath it! Now Mr. Elwell has to look closely to see whether the soli- tary seagull which arrives for its evening meal is really the one -legged bird or a clever masquerader. How Can I By ROBERTA LEE Q. How can 1 retire a print from cloth such as flour or sugar bags? A. Cover with kerosene and allow to stand 24 hours. Cover with cold water, naphtha soap cut up fine, and allow to boil for 'twenty minutes, then wash. If there is still some color, put in cold water, naphtha soap and a little kerosene, and boil again. Q. How can I deaden the noise of a typewriter when one wishes to be as quiet as pos- sible? A. Place the typewriter over thick folds of newspaper and it will deaden much of the noise. Q. How can I remove rust from iron and steel articles? A. Soak small objects in kero- sene, for several days if it is necessary, and smooth with steel wool or emery paper. Q. How can 1 keep washable articles from fading.? A. It will not fade, when new, if dipped into a solution made of two tablespoons salt, one tablespoon of ammonia, one tablespoon of turpentine, and a gallon of warm water. Dry without rinsing. Q. Should milk be hot when drinking it for tired nerves? A. Yes; heat it to the scalding point, add a little salt and drink it as hot as possible. This is also a sleep producer. Q. How can I remove white water marks from highly pol- ished wood? A. Rub with a cloth moisten- ed with kerosene, or equal parts of .linseed oil and alcohol. After rubbing vigorously wipe dry, apply furniture oil and pol- ish with a damp chamois. n� clecdsgiue strajd to Cfe, onij morution jives it carnL, J-touse can Pau(Rid ter of Seagram. Alen who Minh o, f ` i'omorroio practice moderata"o'Y today m -s ii f ii