Actors - Sonny Bono

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	Actors - Sonny Bono

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono (February 16, 1935 – January 5, 1998) was an American record producer, singer, actor, and politician whose career spanned over three decades.

Entertainment career

Born in Detroit, Michigan, Bono began his music career working for the legendary record producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s. Later in the same decade, he achieved commercial success, along with his then-wife Cher, as part of the singing duo Sonny and Cher. Bono wrote, arranged, and produced a number of hit records with singles like "I Got You, Babe" and "The Beat Goes On," though Cher received more attention as the musical talent. Sonny and Cher starred in a popular television variety show, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1974.

Bono and Cher had a daughter, Chastity Bono, but they divorced in 1975. Bono continued his acting career, doing bit roles in such shows as Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. He played the part of a mad bomber in Airplane II: The Sequel
and the part of Franklin von Tussle in John Waters's "Hairspray." In the film "Men In Black," Bono is one of several oddball celebrities seen on a wall of video screens that monitor extra-terrestrials living among us (others include politician Newt Gingrich and self-help guru Anthony Robbins). Bono married Susie Coelho, but divorced her in 1984; he married again in 1986 to the much younger Mary Whitaker. He became a Scientologist, but he claimed to still be Roman Catholic on all official documents, campaign materials, websites, etcetera, perhaps because of the negative connotations of Scientology. The couple had two children, Chesare Elan Bono and Chianna Marie Bono.

Political career

Bono entered politics after experiencing great frustration with local government bureaucracy in trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California. With conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert as his campaign manager (and later as the godfather of his two children by his wife, Mary), Bono placed a successful bid to become the new mayor of Palm Springs. He was instrumental in making the city more business-friendly and in spearheading the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, now held each year in Bono's memory.

After unsuccessfully running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 1992, Bono was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1994 to represent California's 44th District. He introduced the controversial Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act during his tenure to benefit the music industry and also championed the restoration of the Salton Sea, bringing the giant lake's plight to national attention. Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich made a public appearance and speech at the shore of the lake on Bono's behalf.

In their book "Tell Newt to Shut Up", David Maraniss and Michael Weisskopf credit Bono with being the first person to recognize Gingrich's public relations problems in 1995. Drawing on his long experience as a celebrity and entertainment producer, Bono (according to Maraniss and Weisskopf) recognized that Gingrich's status had changed from politician to celebrity, and that Gingrich was not making allowances for that change:

"You're a celebrity now," he told Gingrich. "The rules are different for celebrities. I know it. I've been there. I've been a celebrity. I used to be a bigger celebrity. But let me tell you, you're not being handled right. This is not political news coverage. This is celebrity status. You need handlers. You need to understand what you're doing. You need to understand the attitude of the media toward celebrities."

Maraniss and Weisskopf go on to say that Gingrich did not heed Bono's advice.

Death

On January 5, 1998, Bono died suddenly of injuries from hitting a tree while skiing at the Heavenly Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. He was 62 years old. (The accident came just days after Michael Kennedy died in a skiing accident on December 31, 1997, in Colorado.) Bono's widow, Mary, was elected to fill his unexpired Congressional term, and she has since been re-elected as a moderate Republican in 1998 and later elections in her own right. She continues to champion many of her late husband's causes, including the ongoing fight as how to best save the Salton Sea.

Cher, surprisingly distraught, gave a tearful eulogy at Bono's funeral, after which the attendees sang the song "The Beat Goes On." His final resting place is Desert Memorial Park in nearby Cathedral City, California, the same cemetery in which Frank Sinatra was laid to rest later that same year. The epitaph on Bono's headstone reads:

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sonny Bono ]

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Actors - Sonny Bono

Entertainment career

Political career

Death

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