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Jerry Colonna

Italian-American comedian, singer and songwriter. Born September 17, 1904, Boston, Massachusetts - Died November 21, 1986, Woodland Hills, California One of the most prominent US entertainers of the inter-WW2 years, Colonna became famous for his role as [a=Bob Hope]'s side kick in his popular radio shows of the 1940s, and for appearing in "The Road To..." films, again with Hope and [a=Bing Crosby]. He was distinguished by his imposing frame, bug-eyes, huge moustache and nasal singing voice. His recordings are generally characterised by big band music with Colonna singing humourous songs in a deliberately grating and tuneless way for comic effect. One of his most notable releases was the 1954 [l=Decca (2)] release "Music For Screaming". Starting his career as a trombinist in dance bands around Boston. He can be heard with Joe Herlihy's orchestra on discs recorded for [l=Edison Records] in the late 1920s. During the 1930s, Colonna played with the [l=CBS] house orchestra, the [a=Columbia Symphony Orchestra]. During this time he became notorious for clowning and practical jokes, which almost got him fired on more than one occasion. This brought him to the attention of veteran comedian [a=Fred Allen (2)], who gave Colonna periodic guest slots on his CBS show, and a decade later he joined the John Scott Trotter band on Bing Crosby's Kraft Music Hall, alongside other acts such as [a=Victor Borge (2)] and [a=Spike Jones].