Sonny Bono Biography | Sonny Bono Musician | Sonny Bono Pictures

Sonny Bono Bio

Sonny Bono

Salvatore Phillip Bono (also known as Sonny) was born on February 16, 1935 in Detroit, Michigan. By the early 1960s his career in the music industry began to take off after he began working for legendary producer Phil Spector in California.

Sonny then married singing partner, Cher and together they reached superstardom. Bono wrote, arranged and produced quite a few of their singles such as, “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” In 1969 they had their first child together, Chastity Bono. By the early 1970s Sonny and Cher had their own variety show called The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974). By 1975, the couple divorced.

Following his divorce, Bono decided to concentrate on his acting career. He made small appearances on shows like Fantasy Island as well as The Love Boat. He later made a cameo appearance in the film, Men in Black (1997) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.

Bono then married Susie Coelho, but divorced her in 1984. By 1986, he married his third wife Mary Whitaker, whom he was with until his death. The couple had two children together, named Chisare Elan and Chianna Marie. During this time both Sonny and Mary were introduced to Scientology through Mimi Rogers, and they began taking courses. Bono still identified himself as Roman Catholic though.

Sonny got into politics almost by accident in the early 1990s. At the time he was trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California but was having a difficult time doing it due to complications within the local government. So he decided to run for mayor of Palm Springs with the help of his campaign manager and talk radio host, Marshall Gilbert. His campaign was successful and during his term Bono made the city more business-friendly.

Following his stint as Mayor, Sonny ran for the U.S. Senate in 1992 but lost. By 1994, Bono was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to represent California. During his tenure, Sonny was responsible for the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in an effort to help the music industry.

Sonny died at the age of 62 on January 5, 1998 after he hit a tree while skiing at the Heavenly Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California. His wife, Mary was then elected to fill the remainder of his congressional term. Since then she has been reelected twice on her own. She continues to fight for causes that Sonny was passionate about.

Bono’s final resting place is Desert Memorial Park which is also where Frank Sinatra is buried. At his funeral, Cher gave the eulogy; this was followed up by singing “The Beat Goes On.” The epitaph on his headstone also reads, “And the Beat goes on.”

Many have taken it upon themselves to publicly remember Sonny Bono. There is a park dedicated to Bono in Washington D.C. which is sometimes known as the Sonny Bono Memorial Park. Britney Spears also recorded a cover of Bono’s song, “And the Beat goes on,” which was released on her debut album.