Sonny Bono

Mary Bono (his widow and successor in Congress) had been one of the original sponsors of the legislation, commonly known as the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.

Sonny Bono studied at Inglewood High School. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are pop. Places of work recorded in the authority are Washington, D.C. Positions recorded include United States representative and mayor of Palm Springs.

• Name — Sonny Bono • State — California • Term Start — January 3, 1995 • Term End — January 5, 1998 • Predecessor — Al McCandless • Successor — Mary Bono • Order1 — 16th • Office1 — Mayor of Palm Springs • Term Start1 — April 1988 • Term End1 — April 1992 • Predecessor1 — Frank Bogert • Successor1 — Lloyd Maryanov • Birth Name — Salvatore Phillip Bono • Born — 16 February 1935 • Birthplace — Detroit, Michigan, U.S. • Died — 5 January 1998 • Place of death — South Lake Tahoe, California, U.S. • Death Cause — Blunt trauma as a result of a skiing accident • Resting Place — Desert Memorial Park, Cathedral City, California, U.S. • Party — Republican • Children — 4, including Chaz • Occupation — * Singer • songwriter • record producer • actor • politician

Bono was born in Detroit, the son of Zena "Jean" (DiMercurio) and Santo Bono. His father was born in Montelepre, Palermo, Italy; his mother was also of Italian descent. His mother called him "Sono" as a term of endearment, which evolved over time into "Sonny". Sonny was the youngest of three siblings; he had two sisters, Fran and Betty. The family moved to Inglewood, California, when he was seven, and his parents divorced soon afterwards. Bono decided early in life to become part of the music business, and began writing songs as a teenager. "Koko Joe", a song he wrote when he was 16, was recorded by Don and Dewey in 1958, and later covered by several other artists, including the Righteous Brothers. Bono attended Inglewood High School, but did not graduate, opting to drop out so he could begin to pursue a career as a songwriter and performer. He worked at a variety of jobs while trying to break into the music business, including waiter, truck driver, construction laborer, and butcher's helper.

• Illustration — Sonny & Cher, 1966 Bono began his music career as a songwriter at Specialty Records, where his song "Things You Do to Me" was recorded by Sam Cooke; he went on to work for record producer Phil Spector in the early 1960s as a promotion man, percussionist and "gofer". One of his earliest songwriting efforts, "Needles and Pins", was co-written with Jack Nitzsche, another member of Spector's production team. In 1965, he achieved commercial success with his wife Cher in the singing duo Sonny & Cher. Bono wrote, arranged and produced a number of hit records for the duo, including the singles "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes On", although Cher received more attention as a performer. He played a major part in Cher's early solo recording career, writing and producing singles including "Bang Bang" and "You Better Sit Down Kids". Under a pseudonym, Bono co-wrote "She Said Yeah", covered by the Rolling Stones on their 1965 LP Out of Our Heads. His lone hit single as a solo artist, "Laugh at Me", was released in 1965 and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. In live concerts, Bono introduced the song by saying "I'd like to sing a medley of my hit". "Laugh at Me" was also covered by Mott The Hoople on their first album, released in 1969. His only other single as a solo artist, "The Revolution Kind", reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot 100 later that year. His solo album, Inner Views, was released in 1967. • Illustration — Sonny Bono in 1966 during a performance Bono continued to work with Cher through the early and mid-1970s, starring in a popular television variety show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which ran on CBS from 1971 to 1974. Around the time that The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour was in development, Bono grew his now famous mustache, which he would continue to wear for the rest of his life. In 1974, his solo variety show, The Sonny Comedy Revue, ran on ABC for one season. From 1976 to 1977, the duo, since divorced, returned to perform together on The Sonny and Cher Show. Their last appearance together was on Late Night with David Letterman on November 13, 1987, on which they sang "I Got You Babe". In 2011, Sonny Bono was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

• Illustration — President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan are greeted by Sonny Bono and Mary Bono on their arrival via Air Force One in Palm Springs, California, December 29, 1988. Bono entered politics after experiencing frustration with local government bureaucracy while trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California. He made a successful bid for mayor and served from 1988 to 1992. As mayor, Bono spearheaded the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is held each year in his memory. Bono ran for the Republican nomination for United States Senate in 1992, but lost to the more conservative Bruce Herschensohn, who lost the general election to Democrat Barbara Boxer. Bono and Herschensohn became close friends after the campaign. In 1994, Bono planned to run for Lieutenant Governor, but decided to run for Congress when Republican Al McCandless announced his retirement. Bono won the Republican nomination and the general election to represent California's 44th congressional district. He was reelected in 1996 and served from January 1995 until his death in January 1998. In the House, Bono was one of 12 co-sponsors of a House bill extending the length of terms for copyright protection. Although that bill was never voted on in the Senate, a similar Senate bill was passed after his death and named the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in his memory. It is also known (derisively) as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. He championed the restoration of the Salton Sea, bringing the giant lake's plight to national attention. In 1998, then 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 he was not making allowances for that change: You're a celebrity now... 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. Bono remains the only member of Congress to have scored a number-one pop single on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Bono was a godparent of Anthony Kiedis of the band Red Hot Chili Peppers; he was a close friend of Kiedis's father, Blackie Dammett.

Bono was married four times. He married his first wife, Donna Rankin, on November 3, 1954. Their daughter Christine ("Christy") was born on June 24, 1958. They divorced in 1962. In 1964, Bono and Cheryl Sarkisian, later known as singer and actress Cher, had an unofficial wedding. The couple legally married in 1969 after the birth of their child, who later, as a trans man legally changed his name to Chaz Salvatore Bono. Bono and Cher ended their romantic relationship in 1972 but remained married to maintain their public image. Their marriage had deteriorated due to Sonny's infidelity and controlling behavior. By 1973, they were still sharing a home but were dating other people. After competing legal filings in 1974 and a bitter custody battle, they finalized their divorce in 1975. Despite the turmoil, they eventually co-parented amicably, and Bono later apologized to Cher for how he treated her. On New Year's Eve 1981, Bono married actress-model Susie Coelho. They divorced in 1984. In 1986, he married Mary Whitaker. The couple had two children: son Chesare Elan in 1988 and daughter Chianna Maria in 1991. Mary was widowed by Sonny's death.

Bono was a champion of the Salton Sea in southeastern California, where a park was named in his honor. The 2005 documentary film Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea (narrated by John Waters) features Bono and documented the lives of the inhabitants of Bombay Beach, Niland and Salton City, as well as the ecological issues associated with the Sea.

He became interested in Scientology and took Scientology courses partly because of the influence of Mimi Rogers, but stated that he was a Roman Catholic on all official documents, campaign materials and websites. His wife Mary also took Scientology courses. However, after his death, Mary Bono stated that "Sonny did try to break away [from the Church of Scientology] at one point, and they made it very difficult for him." The Church of Scientology said there was no estrangement from Bono.

• Illustration — Sonny Bono's headstone at Desert Memorial Park On the afternoon of January 5, 1998, Bono crashed into a tree and died at the age of 62 while skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort in South Lake Tahoe, California. His body was discovered later that day in the section of the resort over the Nevada state line; it was concluded that he died immediately upon impact. Sonny's funeral was held on January 10, 1998, at St. Theresa's Church in Palm Springs. Attendees included Cher, Governor Pete Wilson, former president Gerald Ford, Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, and Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, as the representative of the White House. He was buried at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City, California. His headstone reads "AND THE BEAT GOES ON". Mary Bono was elected to fill the remainder of her husband's congressional term. She was elected in her own right seven subsequent times before being defeated in the 2012 election.