Willy Bogner

Willy Bogner came from a ski family, as his father Willy Bogner, Sr. represented Germany at the 1936 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing and Nordic combined. In 1960 Willy Jr. won the prestigious Lauberhorn downhill at Wengen, when he was only 17-years-old. He placed ninth in downhill at the Squaw Valley Olympics, but did not finish the giant slalom or slalom, despite leading the slalom after the first run. In 1962 Bogner won the slalom and Alpine combined at the Winter Universiade. After competing at the 1964 Winter Olympics he skied in the 1966 World Championships, placing fourth in the slalom and fifth in the combined.

Retiring after the 1966 ski season, Bogner began a film-making career, which has been quite successful. He was a filmmaker for several James Bond movies, notably A View to a Kill for which he won the 1985 Bambi Award, and the Bavarian Film Award Special Prize in 1986. In 1971 he launched a ski clothing line, Formula W, which expanded into golf and tennis in the 1970s. His father had started his own ski collection and after his death in 1977, Willy, Jr. took over the family company, adding sunglasses to the collection in 1983. Many top skiers have worn the Bogner line over the years. In 1999, Bogner, Jr. was awarded the Goldene Seudenschleife (Golden Silk Ribbon) to recognize excellence in the fashion industry. He continues to work as a film-maker, helping film many of the scenes used by the Sochi 2014 bid committee in their presentation. A long-time member of the German National Olympic Committee, in November 2009, Bogner was named to head the bid committee for München 2018 but retired in 2010 for health reasons.

Despite all his success, Bogner has suffered thru two tragedies in his life. After the 1964 Winter Olympics, his fiancé, German ski team member Barbi Henneberger was filming a ski movie, Skifaszinationen, with American Olympic skier, Buddy Werner, when they were caught in an avalanche, killing them both. Bogner was filming the movie and was indicted for homicidal negligence in their deaths, and was eventually sentenced to probation. The second tragedy occurred in 2005, when his adopted son, Bernard, committed suicide at the age of 17-years-old.