Instead of adapting the strong willed amazonic attitude of Red Sonja, Angelique added a unique twist by portraying Red Sonja as if she were Mae West. Complementing Red Sonja was the character of the wizard. (That’s right, Sonja has befriended and challenged many wizards through the course of comic theater history.) Sonja artist Frank Thorne brought to life Thenef for the very first time.

In November of that same year in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, Thenef (Thorne) conjured up a Red Sonja lookalike contest. There, the rest of the Original Hyborian players came together for the first time. Before Angelique and a panel of Sonja creators as judges, Wendy Pini, Diane Dekelb (Rittenhouse), Linda Berhle, and Wendy Snow paraded around the indoor pool of a Travelerlodge in steel (or at least something that resembled steel) bikinis. This was the main event at SonjaCon 1! Wendy Pini won the contest and was crowned, uhm…She-Devil with a Sword?

From there Thorne and his harem of Sonjas took their show on the road. Thorne appeared at cons all over the USA, each time with one or more “Sonjas” in attendance.

Linda Berhle

Linda Berhle was built to play the part of a half-naked barbarian beauty, no doubt about it. The exquisite Linda had already spent a fair amount of time on stage in New Jersey acting in comedies as well as dramas. It’s rumored that Kodak’s sales went up quite a bit during the years Linda portrayed Sonja.

For more on Linda go to http://www.njtheater.com/?B146 , and see more pictures of Ghita in the Frank Thorne section of the Creator Info page.

Dianne Dekelb

Dianne Dekelb entered the first SonjaCon contest in a two-piece costume which closely followed the design of Sonja’s famed chainmail bikini from the 1970s comics. However she later decided to be true to Red Sonja’s origin by capturing the spirit of Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonya of Rogatino, the swashbuckling crimson-haired privateer who first appeared in 1932 in Shadow of the Vulture! Diane’s portrayal of the Russian swordswoman was considered a must-see.

Wendy Snow

Wendy Snow, a Nordic fantasy artist and writer from Boston, brought Sonja to the stage in a revamped bikini of her own design (she later switched to the two-piece Sonja costume we all know and love).

While appearing as “Big Red” at the Boston Globe Book Festival in October 1977, several exhibitors complained about Snow’s attire (or rather the lack thereof). Although Festival goers loved Snow’s costume and begged for photos, the management at Globe decided to ban the costume from their convention and reluctantly Wendy Snow attended the rest of the expo in street clothes.

Wendy Pini (I am starting to think every woman named Wendy must have a steel bikini tucked away in their closet –Wendy Rnea Potter)

Two-time winner of the Red Sonja lookalike contest Wendy Pini dived sword first into the Sonjaqsue celebration, appearing solo with Thorne several times to do a skit where Sonja and the wizard battled a monster of mystical origin (actually, an animated slide show). Wendy Pini also wrote an issue of the Red Sonja She-Devil with a Sword comic book as well as a poem devoted to the character. It’s safe to say Wendy Pini’s fame now comes from her own comic Elfquest, which she created with her husband Richard Pini (who also manned the special effects on the original Red Sonja stage shows). For more on Wendy Pini go to www.elfquest.com

Angelique Trouvere

Angelique Trouvere was already famous for her convention costumes when she joined the ranks of Red Sonja players. A night club dancer by trade, this seemingly exotic beauty went on to join the Luna-C theatre group after her run in the Sonja shows. Pictures of Angelique during her days as Vampirella can be found in early 1970’s Warren magazines. Now Angie plays the goddess of love und milk und honey in the Xena the Warrior milkmaid shows. http://www.warriormilkmaid.com for more on Ms. Trouvere follow the link to the Xena warrior milkmaid site.