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 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 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 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 Edison Records in the late 1920s. During the 1930s, Colonna played with the CBS house orchestra, the 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 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 Victor Borge (2) and Spike Jones.