Mourners pay respects to Sonny Bono

'He was such a nice man'

January 8, 1998
Web posted at: 11:10 p.m. EST (0410 GMT)

PALM SPRINGS, California (CNN) -- Hundreds of people from celebrities to fans waited as long as two hours to pay their respects Thursday to U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono, the entertainer-
turned-politician whose trademark was never taking himself too seriously.

"He was such a nice man," said Jeannie Stone, who drove 100 miles from Los Angeles to view Bono's mahogany casket at St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church. "I grew up with his music, and I've watched him grow as a person."

Bono, 62, who first gained fame as part of the 1960s pop duo Sonny and Cher and was later elected mayor of Palm Springs and a U.S. congressman, died Monday at a South Lake Tahoe ski resort after crashing into a tree.

His funeral will begin at 11 a.m. (2 p.m. EST) Friday. It will be televised live by CNN. House Speaker Newt Gingrich is scheduled to speak at the Mass.

Mourner liked Bono's 'sense of humor'

At Thursday's prayer vigil, mourner Donna Berry brought her Sonny and Cher dolls. She said she used to enjoy watching the 1970s TV variety show that featured Bono and Cher, now his ex-wife.

"It was her glamour, his sense of humor, the way they worked together," Berry said.

The crowd began lining up outside the church more than two hours before the vigil began at 4 p.m. (7 p.m. EST). Bono's coffin was draped with an American flag. Behind it was a large picture of him, with his customary smile.

Bouquets of flowers were placed at the front of the church, and organ music softly played as mourners approached. Many crossed themselves or knelt to pray; some took snapshots.

Bono's widow, Mary, made an unscheduled visit to pray in front of her husband's coffin during the vigil, then spent about 10 minutes sitting in the church.

As she left, she embraced, kissed and shook hands with some of the mourners waiting outside.

Tourists and Palm Springs residents also continued to visit a small shrine of candles and mementos set up near Bono's star embedded on Palm Canyon Drive, the main street through the desert resort community where Bono began his political career when he was elected mayor in 1988. He served until 1992.

"I was so sorry to hear about this," said Sylvia Waters, a Germantown, Tennessee, native who has owned a condominium in the Palm Springs area for 15 years. "After he took office, there was such a change. Things have picked up so much."

Air Force jet bringing congressmen to funeral

After his career in show business tapered off in the mid-1970s, Bono retreated to Palm Springs, where he owned a successful restaurant. Upset at the city bureaucracy, he ran for mayor and, to the surprise of many skeptics, won.

Bono was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1994 and re-elected in 1996. With his self-deprecating humor and celebrity, he quickly become one of the GOP's top fund-raising attractions and was well-liked.

An Air Force plane will fly more than 40 members of Congress from Washington to Palm Springs for the funeral. Other lawmakers are expected to travel their on their own, because Congress is out of session and many are in their home districts.

Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt will be President Clinton's official stand-in, and Gov. Pete Wilson also is sending a representative.

About three-quarters of St. Theresa's, which can seat up to 1,100, will be reserved for family, friends and associates. Outdoor speakers are being set up so the expected crowd outside can hear the service.

Bono will be buried at Desert Memorial Park in nearby Cathedral City.

Related stories:

• City expects full house for Bono's farewell - January 8, 1998
• Mourners gather in town Bono helped promote - January 7, 1998
• Sonny Bono -- from TV to D.C. - January 6, 1998
• Bono ski death called accidental - January 6, 1998
• Reaction to Bono's death - January 6, 1998
• Sonny Bono: A politician with sense of humor - January 6, 1998

Related sites:

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• City of Palm Springs, California - official site
• Rep. Sonny Bono from the House of Representatives server
• The Sonny and Cher Show
• Heavenly Ski Resort

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

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