Sonny Bono papers
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Scope and Contents
The Sonny Bono papers consist of television scripts, production records, film reels, photographs, memorabilia, and personal materials belonging to musician and politician Sonny Bono. Also included are scripts from television programs produced by George Schlatter and written by his collaborators Allan Blye and Chris Bearde. Many of these programs featured Sonny & Cher as guest stars.
The series Sonny and Cher records include scripts and reels from The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour (1971-1974), The Sonny & Cher Show (1976-1977), and The Sonny Comedy Revue (1974).
The series Blye Bearde Productions scripts is composed of materials from shows produced and written by Allan Blye and Chris Bearde including: The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show (1974-1975), The Ken Berry “Wow” Show (1972), and a selection of Osmand Brothers specials.
The series Other materials includes personal materials such as family photographs, home movies, political and show business memorabilia, a custom western saddle and bridle, and items from Bono’s office.
Dates
- Creation: 1966 - 1998
Conditions Governing Access
Advance notice required for access.
Rights Statement for Archival Description
Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Cinematic Arts Library at ctlibarc@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Cinematic Arts Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Biographical / Historical
Born Salvatore Bono in 1935, Sonny Bono was an American singer and actor who came to fame in partnership with his second wife Cher as the performing duo Sonny & Cher in the 1960s and 1970s and on their own television program The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1972-1974). The couple divorced in 1975 and began their respective solo short-lived television programs The Sonny Comedy Revue (1975) and Cher (1975-1976), but eventually returned to television together for The Sonny and Cher Show (1976-1977). Bono’s acting career continued with small parts as a guest performer in various television programs.
Bono ran for political office and served as the mayor of Palm Springs, CA from 1988 to 1992 and as a Republican congressman for California’s 44th district from 1995 until his death on a skiing trip in 1998. His widow, Mary Bono, was elected to fill the remainder of her husband's congressional term.
Extent
101.3 Linear Feet (85 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The Sonny Bono papers consist of television scripts, production records, film reels, photographs, memorabilia, and personal materials belonging to musician and politician Sonny Bono. Also included are scripts from television programs produced by George Schlatter and written by his collaborators Allan Blye and Chris Bearde. Many of these programs featured Sonny & Cher as guest stars.
Additional collection guides
Processing Information
Collection is unprocessed
- Title
- Finding aid for the Sonny Bono papers
- Status
- Unprocessed
- Author
- Sarah Jardini for History Associates Incorporated
- Date
- 2022 November
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the USC Libraries Cinematic Arts Library Repository
Doheny Memorial Library G4
3550 Trousdale Parkway
Los Angeles California 90089-0185 United States
ctlibarc@usc.edu