For the die hard 70's fans, I was up late the one night, and saw them do an ad for the Sonny and Cher show, which I loved, and it has all the great celebrities from the 70's on their shows. It was so funny, and they were really cool, because they seemed so happy as a family then, it was nice to see that on tv. I just bought the DVD collection, at www.sonnyandcher.com Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
Yeah I watched a biography show about them. They were a happy family, and when they got divorced they were best friends. To me that's awesome. I don't know many divorced couples that can stand eachother, let alone become best friends!
Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
I know it is a bummer how people that once loved each other then treat each other like crap. I mean if you really ever cared about a person, you would still respect them, and to be so mean and hateful to someone you once loved, is beyond me. They probably never were really in love then to begin with. I liked how they got along on the show, and picked on each other, it was cute. It mad for great comedy, because you tell they really weren't being deliberately mean to each other.
Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
Didn't she give the euology at his funeral? I heard she got along with his wife also. It's good that they stayed friends after they divorced. That takes alot. Maybe you're right. Maybe they never were really IN love, and knew they'd be better off as friends. Too bad his life was taken so tragically too.
Posted by StevenHW (Member # 509) on :
I was never a big fan of Sonny & Cher, or even Cher as a solo act.
But a lot of people don't realize what a driving force Sonny was for Cher's career.
I remember watching a VH-1 retrospective in 1997, shortly after Sonny's tragic death (ski accident). They showed how Sonny was such a hard worker behind the scenes. Yes, he didn't have much onstage talent: wasn't that good a singer, couldn't act, couldn't dance, wasn't all that funny. But his real talent was in writing songs, and producing records. He had very good instincts and knew what song worked and what didn't. (TRIVIA: The hit song "Needles And Pins" by the Searchers during the mid-60's was written by Sonny.)
Sonny was also a very underrated businessman. Shortly after he left show biz, he went into the restaurant business, and went on to become Mayor of Palm Springs in 1987. He eventually got elected to U.S. Congress.
In short, Sonny had a knack for taking what limited talent he had, and making the most of it.
Some people will say that Sonny became famous only because he was married to Cher. But I totally disagree.
I think that if it wasn't for Sonny, you never would've heard of Cher. More than anyone else, Sonny helped make her the star that she is today.
To Ali: Yes, Cher did give a touching (and tearful) eulogy at his funeral. Even though they had long since divorced, Cher knew that he was a major part of her life, and she had to pay respects to him.
I am going to try to find out if there is a transcript to what Cher said at the eulogy. If I find one, I'll post it up here.
Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
Thanks Steven. There was never a doubt in my mind that Sonny played a big part in Cher's career. I just thought that them staying friends after divorce was a rare and welcome sight.
Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
I saw Cher give the Eulogy, it was pretty sad. I am sure his death was a shocker, it was a freak accident. I saw the Letterman reunion too, where they sand together for the 1st time in 10 years and last time together ever.
Cher herself, isn't one of the greatest actresses..it is just that I liked the Sonny N Cher show, because of her clothes, and how much goofing around they did, and threw stuff together, and had fun. Plus it's the time period, and when you watch it, it really takes you back to that time in life.
They ahd alot of great guests on there too. I can't wait to watch the actual shows again.
Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
SANG together..is what I meant to write in the above post.
Posted by Ali_with_an_i (Member # 27) on :
I think Cher has a beautiful voice and I loved her in Moonstruck. That was the only film I really liked Nic Cage in too. There are so many good quotes in that movie. I need to watch it again. Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
I love the song Heart of Stone by Cher, after my Aunt died, I listen to that song over and over, listen to the words, it would rip me apart, and it was like torture. But, it is such a great song.
Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
I got the DVDs, and we watch the first Volume, and some of the stuff they did..didn't make any sense at all..but I guess that was the whole point. I love when they sing though, and he was always taking the hair out of her mouth, it was very kind of touching/romantic, they seemed like they really were happy together.
Posted by HipsterMom27 (Member # 2161) on :
I've seen every stage of Cher's career...she never did anything for me, with Sonny or otherwise, as a singer or as an actress. My personal opinion of her is that she's a big phony.
I was quite surprised that she delivered his eulogy, for there were definitely periods of their relationship where she bad-mouthed him in interviews. I think they got closer in the end...after all, time wounds all heels and perhaps they reached a better understanding of the past.
OTOH I love "Moonstruck"...there are certain scenes I absolutely love, especially the ending. I think it's the Italian familia thing that tugs at my heart, especially when the camera pans out at the end into the hallway and ends on the photo of the two elderly people. Hits me very close to home.
Posted by StevenHW (Member # 509) on :
As promised from last year(!), here is (finally!) an article about Cher and her eulogy at Sonny's funeral. It is not a transcript, but it has many of the quotes that Cher mentioned in her tribute to Sonny.
Many of the quotes are very heartfelt, and you can just imagine her sobbing and her voice cracking throughout the speech. And it must have been an extremely hard and emotional time for her to deliver that eulogy.
I read somewhere that Cher wasn't even aware that her eulogy was being videotaped. And when Cher made a guest appearance on Oprah Winfrey's talk-show, they played part of that video. But Cher did not know in advance that Oprah's staff was going to replay that video, and Cher broke down and cried. And reportedly, Cher was upset at Oprah because she felt it was like invading her privacy during such a sad and difficult occasion.
* * * * * * * * January 10th, 1998 NEW YORK POST By DENISE BUFFA and TRACY CONNOR
Sobbing uncontrollably but smiling through her tears, Cher bid farewell yesterday to her "unforgettable" first love and ex-husband - flower-power singer turned conservative Congressman Sonny Bono.
"He was the greatest," the sexy superstar said from the pulpit at St. Theresa's Church in Palm Springs - adding she'd spent 48 hours working on a eulogy for Bono, killed in a skiing accident this week.
"This is probably the most important thing I've ever done in my life," she said. "And I also know that he is someplace loving this."
Wearing a form-fitting black suit and eyeglasses, Cher brought the crowd of 1,100 mourners to tears and laughter as she recalled the first time she saw Sonny.
"I had never seen anything like him before in my life. He walked into this room and I swear to God, I saw him and everyone else in the room was just washed away in this soft focus filter," she said.
"He had this kind of weird hairdo between Caesar and Napoleon," she said.
"In fact, one of the first things he ever told me was he was a descendant of Napoleon and that his father had shortened the name Bonaparte to Bono when they came to this country.
"You have to realize, at this time he was talking to a girl who thought Mount Rushmore was a natural phenomenon - so we were a match made in heaven."
Outside the church, 2,500 fans stood under umbrellas, listening to the Mass over speakers.
Inside, entertainers such as singer Tony Orlando and actor Jack Scalia joined with scores of politicians in paying tribute to the 62-year-old Bono before a tradition-steeped burial at Desert Memorial Park.
California Gov. Pete Wilson and House Speaker Newt Gingrich also delivered eulogies before the two-term Republican's flag-draped coffin.
Noting that dozens of Congress members had flown in from Washington, Gingrich quipped: "It was the sort of group Sonny would have liked - a lot of people, important, early in the morning, being inconvenienced...for him."
Bono's four children from three marriages - including Cher's daughter Chastity - attended the funeral.
Cher, bawling uncontrollably at times, sat next to Bono's current wife, Mary, and warmly embraced her after her tear-jerking eulogy.
The more glamorous half of the Sonny and Cher singing sensation talked about the early days with Bono - how she lied to him about her age, how she lied to her mother about living with him, how he put them on the road to stardom.
"Some people thought that Son wasn't very bright, but he was smart enough to take a 16-year-old introverted girl and a scrappy little Italian guy with a bad voice and turn them into the most successful and beloved couple of this generation," she said.
"Certain people thought that Son wasn't to be taken seriously because he allowed himself to be the butt of the jokes on the "Sonny and Cher" show. But what people don't realize is that he created Sonny and Cher and he knew what was right for us and he wanted to make people laugh so much that he had the confidence to be the butt of the joke because he created the joke."
Bono had an improbable hold on people, she said.
"Some people were under the misconception that Son was a short man, but he was heads and tails taller than anyone else. He had a vision of the future and just how he was going to build it. His enthusiasm was so great he just swept everyone along with him - not that we know where he was going, but we just wanted to be there."
Cher was barely able to finish the eulogy.
Her voice cracking, she recalled a 'Reader's Digest' feature she enjoyed.
"It was called 'the most unforgettable character I've ever met', and for me that person is Sonny Bono - and no matter how long I live or who I meet in my life, that person will always be Son for me."
Gov. Wilson called Bono - who launched a life in politics after his showbiz career faltered - "a dreamer and a doer."
"A lot of us will remember a man who beat the odds because he refused to let the odds beat him," the governor said. "Sonny took some hard punches in life, he suffered some knockdowns, but he never stayed down.
"Where life presented a challenge, Sonny Bono always responded and, in the end, prevailed. I can just hear him greeting St. Peter: "Hey, you got me, babe!'" * * * * * * *
Posted by isis9968 (Member # 1780) on :
I actually saw her somewhere on t.v when she did the speech, and I totally believe she was very sincere. You can tell in episodes of Sonny & Cher that even after they were divorced and still doing the show together that they had to have had tremendous respect for each other, I mean how hard could that be, if you have to work with your ex every day, in front of millions of people, and part of your job is to pick on each other, or even make others laugh-that is a hard job, so you got to give them a ton of credit, and I feel like in the beginning of their marriage they probably were very happy, but living in that whole life of fame, that would takes it's toll on the most stable of relationships. I loved their show, it was funny, and I liked the skits, they don't have anything like it on t.v anymore. I have seen clips of the whole Jessica and Nick variety show things they did-never saw one of them, because they make me gag-they try way to hard on everything, nothing they say or do seems natural.
Like with Sonny & Cher...if they goofed their lines, it was thrown in, because it was just as funny- same thing with Donny & Marie-they had so much talent, and you could tell they put the time and effort in to giving people a good show to watch, that is the last thing on their minds in the new group of people out there.
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