Bono, an avid skier, was reported missing about 4:30 p.m. at
Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe, California. The resort
is about 55 miles (88 km) southwest of Reno, Nevada, on the
California-Nevada state line. A ski patrol searched the Nevada
side of the mountain and found the body some two hours later.
Lt. Ross Chichester said the preliminary investigation indicates that
it was an accident. He added that the cause of death has not been
determined, pending an autopsy.
The main lodge manager at Heavenly Ski Resort, Stan Miller, told
The Associated Press that Bono was skiing alone at the top of the
Orion slope when he crossed beneath a chairlift and hit a tree.
The resort said that Bono had been
a frequent skier at the slope for
more than 20 years.
Bono was on a vacation with his
wife, Mary Whitaker, and their two
children, 6-year-old Chianna and
9-year-old Chesare, when the
accident happened.
"They were enjoying a family vacation," his spokesman Frank
Cullen Jr. said Tuesday. "He was a very proficient skier. He skied
frequently with his family and, yes, he was an athletic guy -- he
skied and played tennis."
Bono was first elected to
Congress in 1994 as a
Republican from Palm
Springs, where he was mayor
from 1988-92. At one point
after taking office, he was the
second-most requested draw
at members' events behind House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
"People have said to me, 'You can't write songs. You can't play an
instrument.' But I've got 10 gold records. I can do this job," Bono
once said of his political duties.
|
from 1957 to 1982. He was perhaps best known as the straight man to Cher on "The Sonny and Cher Show" on CBS-TV in the early 1970s. Their first big pop tune, "I Got You Babe," was a number one hit in 1965. |
 |
Beneath his squeaky voice and sheepish grin, Bono possessed an
atypically candid style. When asked to talk about illegal
immigration, he once replied, "What's to talk about? It's illegal."
Bono worked to get federal aid to preserve the habitats of various
endangered species in Riverside County, California. But when the
Endangered Species Act required millions from local government
and property owners to protect Stephens' Kangaroo rat in
Riverside, he said, "We all love the environment, but we have
placed creatures above people. A rat is a rat."
Bono was born February 16, 1935, in Detroit, Michigan, to a first
generation Sicilian-American family and moved to the Los Angeles
area when he was 7 years old.
Bono married Cher in 1963. They divorced in 1974. He married
Whitaker in 1986 and is survived by four children including
Chastity Bono, whose mother is Cher.
United States Congressman Sonny Bono represents California' 44th Congressional
District. The district includes the
communities of Palm Springs, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Hemet, Cathedral
City, Temecula, Blythe, Rancho Mirage,
Banning, Indio, Indian Wells, Beaumont, Perris, La Quinta, Desert Hot
Springs, Cabazon, Thermal, Anza, Idyllwild, Coachella,
and other unincorporated areas of Riverside County.
Congressman Bono serves on the House Committee on the Judiciary, and
the National Security Committee. His subcommittee
assignments include : Courts and Intellectual Properties, Immigration
and Claims (Judiciary). In addition, Bono serves as
Chairman of the Entertainment Task Force.
Bono is a conservative Republican who believes in reducing federal bureaucracy,
cutting taxes and returning power to the local
and state governments. He is strongly opposed to the unfunded federal
mandates that have placed an unfair financial burden on
the taxpayers.
Born February 16, 1935 in Detroit to a first generation Sicilian-American
family, he moved to the Los Angeles area when he
was seven years old. Bono attended Inglewood High School, and although
his parents encouraged him to become a doctor, his
heart was in show business. Following high school, Bono took a job
driving a meat delivery truck along Sunset Boulevard.
Between deliveries, he would leave songs with the record companies
on his route then continue his day's work.
His professional music career began as a song writer and singer at Dig
Records, which was owned by rhythm and blues legend
Johnny Otis. Sonny's first big hit was the classic "Needles and Pins".
In 1964 Bono and his girlfriend Cherilyn Sarkisian
recorded "Baby Don't Go" which shot to the top of the charts and was
followed by a string of major hits, including "I Got You
Babe". Sonny and Cher were among the first pop singers to speak out
against drugs, which hurt their popularity with the "hip"
set during the acid rock era. So Bono retooled their act for nightclubs,
where he and Cher developed their famous stage
repartee, with Sonny playing the straight man to Cher's "put downs".
The act was so successful that it was picked up by CBS as
a summer replacement show, gaining huge popularity. The "Sonny and
Cher show" then became a top rated show every season
from 1971 until the act ended in 1974.
In 1982, Bono opened his first "BONO" restaurant in West Hollywood,
California. An instant hit, the restaurant soon opened a
second location in Houston, Texas. Bono's "hands-on" management approach
ensured their success in the competitive dining
industry. He eventually sold both restaurants to open his popular "BONO"
restaurant in Palm Springs, which has received
critical acclaim for Sicilian-style Italian cuisine based on many original
Bono family recipes. In 1986, Sonny married Mary
Whitaker of South Pasadena, an alumnae of the University of Southern
California. Mary played an active role as the First Lady
of Palm Springs and was an integral part of his restaurant management
team. Together, they have two children, Chesare Elan,
who was born in 1988, and Chianna Maria, who was born in 1991.
Mayor of Palm Springs
Frustration with a "failure of leadership" and government bureaucracy
in Palm Springs inspired Bono to enter politics in 1988,
when he was elected Mayor by the largest margin in the city's history.
As Mayor, Bono instilled a new sense of civic pride and
brought new enthusiasm for economic rejuvenation to Palm Springs. He
annexed outlying areas to broaden the city's revenue
base, streamlined the permitting process to encourage new development
and launched an innovative special events program that
includes the internationally acclaimed "Palm Springs International
Film Festival". Bono also oversaw creation of a master plan
for urban renewal starting with the city's downtown village center,
secured federal assistance for expansion of the Palm Springs
Regional Airport, and reorganized city staff for greater productivity.
In 1991, Bono ran for the United States Senate. As a result of that
primary contest, Bono forged a deep and lasting friendship
with his opponent, conservative commentator and former White House
speech writer, Bruce Herschensohn. When the 44th
Congressional District became open in 1994, Bono entered the campaign.
Bono was elected to the 104th Congress with a 16
point margin of victory. As a freshman Congressman, Bono has successfully
passed legislation (H.R 1170) in the House that
would return fairness to the judicial review process for constitutional
challenges to voter approved state referendum and ballot
measures. In addition, the Speaker of the House appointed Bono as Chairman
of the Entertainment Industry Task force.
Bono is also a best selling author. His autobiography, The Beat Goes
On details his life from childhood through his term as
Mayor.
Copied from the 44th Congressional District web site
According to the National Ski Areas Association, there were 36
skiing-related deaths in the 1996-97 ski season. The majority of
the victims were in their late teens or 20s, and half were male.
Experts say ski accidents are more likely to happen at the end of
the day when the weather is colder, skies darker and skiers more
tired.
January 6, 1998
WASHINGTON (CNN) --
Sonny Bono was swept into the
House of Representatives as part
of the 1994 Republican wave, and
soon established himself as a
competent politician known for his
sense of humor and
approachability.
Bono was a politician who will likely be remembered for enjoying
making fun of himself, and as a man who clearly had fun in politics.
Since he was not a political novice, it didn't take him long to settle
in to his national security and judiciary committee assignments,
where he focused on immigration, trade and crime legislation.
Bono capitalized on his youthful stardom to launch a new phase of
his life by going into politics after he turned 50. But he could never
live down his colorful past.
Despite his best efforts as a
Republican lawmaker in the
House -- where he spent
much of his time dodging
autograph seekers -- the
mustachioed idol will also be
remembered as one-half of
Sonny and Cher.
The husband-and-wife duo parlayed a chart-topping singing career
in the 1960s into a highly rated television series in the 1970s,
before going their separate ways.
| Sonny's political career began in 1988 when he became mayor of
the upscale Southern California desert community of Palm Springs.
He was 53, and had become a registered voter for the first time just
the year before.
He ran for the U.S. Senate seat from California that became open in 1992. Although he lost in the Republican primary, he was taken more seriously as a politician after that campaign. |
 |
In 1994, he won the House seat representing Palm Springs and
won re-election in 1996. In June 1997, he ruled out plans for a
second run at the Senate.
As a conservative, Bono often spurned his Hollywood roots.
He was among the critics of the National Endowment for the Arts,
and also voted against same sex marriages -- to the chagrin of his
daughter, Chastity, a lesbian activist.
Following the death of
Princess Diana, he introduced
a bill to ban unacceptable
behavior by paparazzi.
He defended the television
industry against successful
efforts to introduce a
voluntary content-based ratings system.
He is possibly the only Republican politician ever to get a positive
mention in a gangsta rap song, courtesy of the Public Enemy tune
"Bring the Noise."
"The Republican Party has this reputation of being the stiffer side
and the more rigid side," Bono once said. "They're kind of glad
they have someone from my side of the tracks representing them."
Correspondent Bob Franken and Reuters contributed to this
report.
© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
During the mid-'60s, Sonny and Cher racked up a string of top 40 hits,
including "Baby Don't Go" and "The Beat Goes On" (the latter of which
was name-checked by Public Enemy in "Bring the Noise"). In the early
'70s, the duo scored again with "All I Ever Need Is You" and "A
Cowboy's Work is Never Done."
Before "I Got You Babe" sold a million copies in 1965, Bono already had
a promising career as a songwriter and producer. During the early '60s,
he worked with famed "Wall of Sound" producer Phil Spector, and Bono
can be heard as a back-up singer on tracks by the Ronettes and the
Crystals. Bono also wrote "Needles and Pins" with Jack Nitzsche,
which became a top 20 single for The Searchers and was later
recorded by both the Ramones and Tom Petty.
With Cher, Bono went on to host TV variety program "The Sonny and
Cher Comedy Hour" from 1971 to '74. The couple divorced soon after
the show ended. In subsequent years, Bono acted intermittently
(notably in John Waters' 1988 film Hairspray, where he played a
stressed-out husband opposite Blondie's Deborah Harry) before turning
to politics.
In 1988, Bono ran successfully for mayor of Palm Springs, Calif. Six
years later, he was elected to the House of Representatives, where as
a conservative Republican, the former singer opposed funding for the
National Endowment for the Arts. In 1996, he won re-election. -- Chris
Nelson
[Tues., Jan. 6, 1998, 9 a.m. PST]