Eva Pawlik

Eva Pawlik (4 October 1927 – 31 July 1983) was an Austrian figure skater, show star, actress and commentator. She was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist, the 1948 World silver medalist, and the 1949 European champion.

Early life Born in 1927, Pawlik was regarded as a child prodigy, able to jump a single Axel and do a large number of spins at the age of four. Before World War II, she was considered an "exceptionally promising 9-year-old Viennese" figure skater in the United States. In Europe, she starred in "The Fairy Tale Of The Steady Tin Soldier" together with World champion Felix Kaspar. This legendary vaudeville number was internationally highly successful, being performed in Vienna, Prague, Budapest, Munich, Bern, Amsterdam, Brussels, Lyon, Paris and London. Pawlik was called the "Shirley Temple on ice". In her teens she would get up at 4 a.m. daily to run to the Vienna ice rink (Wiener Eislaufverein), for practice before going to school. Austrian skaters were impeded in the 1930s and 40s by the fact that there were no indoor skating halls and they were restricted to practicing in winter.

Competitive career Pawlik's coaches included the 1914 World silver medalist Angela Hanka, World champion Gustav Hügel, Rudolf Kutzer and Edi Scholdan.

Pawlik was due to compete (aged 11) in the 1940 Winter Olympics. However, following Nazi Germany's absorption of Austria in 1938 and the onset of World War II, she and her pairs partner, Rudi Seeliger, could only take part in domestic competitions. They became German youth champions, both individually and as a pair team. In addition to that, they became the 1942 Austrian pairs champions (called Ostmark champions at that time due to the fact that Austria did not exist from 1938 to 1945). Drafted into the German Army, Seeliger was captured by the Red Army and returned to Austria in 1949.

1948 season

Beginning in 1948, Austrians were again allowed to compete internationally.

In 1948, Pawlik performed in exhibition skating in the United States. She appeared together with U.S. Champion Gretchen Merrill in the Broadmoor Ice Revue, produced by Edi Scholdan in Colorado Springs. She was also asked to appear in a movie starring Gene Kelly. He wanted to combine his dancing with her skating. She declined, as turning professional would have excluded her from the 1949 championships. Pawlik was lying a close second behind Zanova when one of the heels on her skates broke. Sabotage was suspected, but never proven. The judges did not allow her to continue with borrowed skates and Zanova went on to win. Though she had a good chance to win the World title one year later, Pawlik decided to turn professional because her parents needed financial support.

Professional career

Pawlik joined the Vienna Ice Revue, and she also played major parts in the productions of two movies featuring the Revue, Spring On The Ice (Frühling auf dem Eis), 1950, and Revue Of Dreams (Traumrevue), 1959.

In 1952, Robert Stolz dedicated his first ice operetta, Eternal Eve (Die ewige Eva), to Eva Pawlik. Morris Chalfen, the boss of the competitor enterprise Holiday On Ice, considered Pawlik Europe's best show star on the ice since the thrice Olympic champion Sonja Henie. Additionally, Pawlik and Seeliger had become one of the world's best professional pair teams. They left the Vienna Ice Revue in 1954 and starred in Hanns Thelen's Scala Eisrevue for some years. In 1958, they returned to the Vienna Ice Revue. Their performances in ice shows were important in stimulating interest in figure skating at a time when it was still uncommon for European audiences to see it on television. She commentated all European and World Championships in figure skating and the 1964, 1968 and 1972 Olympic Games for the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

In 1973, she began her third profession as a teacher of German and English at a Viennese secondary school (pupils from 10 to 18). In 1954, she earned her doctorate in German and English at the University of Vienna. In 1979, Pawlik became severely ill and died in 1983, four months after her husband.

Legacy

The exhibition "The Vienna Ice Revue. Austria's ambassador of the past" took place at the Bezirksmuseum Wien-Meidling from January to March 2008.

Results Ladies' singles International Event 1946 1947 1948 1949 Winter Olympics 2nd World Championships 2nd WD European Championships 2nd 1st National Austrian Championships 1st 1st 1st 1st WD = Withdrew

Pairs with Seeliger National Event 1942 Austrian Championships 1st

Filmography