- Title: USA: SINGER TURNED POLITICIAN SONNY BONO DIES IN A SKIING ACCIDENT
- Date: 6th January 1998
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (FILE - JANUARY 4, 1995) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) BONO WALKING THROUGH HALLS OF CONGRESS ON DAY HE TOOK OFFICE AS REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN FROM CALIFORNIA WITH HIS WIFE MARY VARIOUS OF BONO WITH MARY AND THEIR TWO CHILDREN IN HIS OFFICE
- Embargoed: 21st January 1998 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: HEAVENLY MOUNTAIN, NEVADA; WASHINGTON, D.C. AND VARIOUS UNIDENTIFIED LOCATIONS, UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Accidents,Entertainment,Obituaries
- Reuters ID: LVABWD8GQYS3EYQY7FV6XRXBG7CG
- Story Text: - Pop star-turned-politician Sonny Bono has been killed while skiing in Nevada in the United States.
The sixties pop icon who shot to fame with his ex-wife Cher with the song "I got you babe", died instantly after slamming into a tree while skiing on Tuesday (January 6).
The 62-year old Californian Republican was the second celebrity to be killed on the slopes in a week. Michael Kennedy, son of the late Robet Kennedy was killed in a similar accident in Aspen, Colorado on New Year's Eve.
Bono was apparently taking his last run of the day and had gone missing for two hours before a ski patrol discovered his body at about 7 p.m. PST on Monday (0300 GMT on Tuesday).
Bono, a Republican Congressman from California since 1995, favoured the Lake Tahoe area and especially the resort which he frequented.
He was born Salvatore Bono to a poor family of Sicilian descent in Detroit on February 16, 1935. His musical career began in the 1960's when he and then girlifriend Cherilyn LaPiere Sarkisian formed the Sonny and Cher singing duo.
In 1964 they married and their first hit was "Baby Don't Go." A series of big hits followed including "I Got You Babe" and "The Beat Goes on." From 1971 to 1974, Sonny and Cher hosted their own top rated television programme "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour." Sonny played a simple straight man to Cher's caustic put-downs.
After their split, Sonny entered the political world by running for the mayoral seat of Palm Springs, California. He was 53 at the time and had only registered to vote the previous year.
In 1991, he ran for a California U.S. Senate seat. Though he lost the campaign, he gained ground in finally shedding his political lightweight image.
White House spokesman Mike McCurry said that President Bill Clinton was saddened by the news of Bono's untimely death on slopes.
Four years ago Bono successfully won the House of Representatives seat for the Palm Springs area. He was re-elected in 1996 and there had been some talk that he was again considering the race for the Senate seat in 1998. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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