Sonny Bono

American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and politician who came to fame in the 1960s in partnership with his second wife Cher, as the popular singing duo Sonny & Cher. He was mayor of Palm Springs, California from 1988 to 1992, and the Republican congressman for California's 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998. Sonny & Cher's first smash hit came out in June 1965, "I Got You, Babe." They were the trend setters of the hippie culture in their cool bell-bottom pants and vests. In early 1968, they produced a film, "Chastity," a financial blunder in which they lost a half million dollars. Not only that, but the following year the IRS hit them with a bill for $200,000 in back taxes. To get their finances in order, they put together a nightclub routine and made their debut as Pat Boone's opening act at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. The public loved their act which featured biting repartee, mostly at Sonny's expense. When their daughter was born on 4 March 1969, they named her Chastity. When she became a young adult, Sonny had a difficult time with her announcement that she was lesbian. Their TV series, "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," was a great hit from its debut on 1 August 1971 until it closed with their separation in 1974. Their relationship had begun to unravel with the pressure of touring. In mid-November 1972, Cher told Sonny that she was in love with Bill Hamm, the guitarist in their band. For the sake of their careers, they maintained appearances. By August 1973, Connie Foreman, a cigarette girl at a nightclub, had moved in with Sonny. They were sharing the same roof but with different - and changing - lovers. Their divorce was final on 26 June 1975. The son of Italian immigrants, a truck driver dad and beautician mom, Bono tried to break into show business after graduating from high school in Inglewood, California in 1952. Working as a delivery man, he ducked into record-company offices between stops to peddle his songs. By 1962 he was working in promotion for an independent record distributor. He was 27 and separated from his first wife when 16-year-old Cheryl LaPierre caught his attention in 1963. She moved in with him but platonically as he thought she was gay. Cher assured him that she already had a history that included Warren Beatty and "some experimentation." Bono reported that they lived together for a month before their relationship became sexual, and he also admits that they never had a really good physical relationship. If they were lukewarm in bed, onstage they turned out to sizzle. Cher began to sing backup for various groups but when given a chance to sing solo on "Baby Don't Go," she was so shy that she insisted that Sonny sing with her, and a duo was born. They married after their daughter was born, at about the time that the movie of the same name, "Chastity," flopped. Their every cent had been invested in the film; Sonny had to pawn a ring to pay for the baby's delivery. Saddled with debt, they hit the lounge circuit, where they first developed their repartee. By the fall of 1971, they had a prime-time TV hit. After their divorce, Cher's star kept rising and Sonny had a tough time letting go of his 15 minutes of fame. He struggled through a bad marriage to model Susie Coelho, and opened a West Hollywood restaurant called Bono's in 1983. There he met Mary Whitaker, a 22-year-old USC graduate. Two years after their love-at-first-sight meeting, they married (the fourth time for Sonny) in 1986. They opened a restaurant in the resort town of Palm Springs, California and had two kids. He was elected Mayor of Palm Springs on 12 April 1988 and continued a political career that took him to Washington, D.C., in spite of his limp handshake and a tendency toward indiscretion. After four years experience as mayor of the resort town, on 1 October 1991, he announced his candidacy for the Republican seat in the U.S. Senate. When asked "What makes you think you're up to the task," he answered, "What makes me think I can write ten hit songs when I don't know three cords, or what makes me think I can produce a top-five TV show," neatly ticking off his accomplishments. At the same time, he shied away from offering specific positions on issues. He lost the Republican primary for a special 1992 election for the U.S. Senate, finishing a distinct third. However, in 1994 he successfully won a Congressional seat, and won re-election in 1996. His first hundred days in the House revealed that Bono might have been more savvy than his rube exterior. Without a law degree, indeed without a high school diploma, he introduced his first bill and spoke up to the Judiciary Committee before ordering up 15 cheese pizzas for a break. Considered a joke by some, he let the put-downs roll off him as he continued a remarkable career of excelling at whatever he did. He published his autobiography in 1991, "And The Beat Goes On." Bono was killed in a skiing accident on 5 January 1998 when he hit a tree in South Lake Tahoe, California. His wife and two young daughters had lagged behind after one of the girls stumbled. Bono, an experiences skier, was estimated to have been going between 20 and 30 miles per hour when he hit the tree and died instantly from blunt head trauma. The family waited for two hours at the foot of the run before the search began in the wooded area where his body was found. There was no evidence of substance or alcohol use, or of any other cause but accidental. His widow, Mary Bono, handily won his congressional seat in a special election on 7 April 1998. As Bono died without a will, his estate by law went to his widow, Mary, and his children. However, it was unclear just how many children he had. There is not only Christy (by his first wife), Chastity (by Cher), Chesare and Chianna (by Mary) but a California man, Sean Machu, who claims that he is Bono's natural son and is ready to take a DNA test to prove it. Machu was born in 1964 from an affair that Bono had with his mother, Mimi, and is listed as the father on Sean's birth certificate. Link to Wikipedia biography