Cher (53 page)

On January 6, 1998, Cher flew to London, where she was recording her next album. She was scheduled to make a public appearance at the department store Harrod’s. For its annual storewide January sale, the store had a tradition of featuring a huge star to kick off the event. The big star that year was someone who was a pro when it came to the sport of shopping—Cher. Little did she know at the time, but following a relatively low-keyed twelve months, she was about to become one of the most seen and most talked about stars of 1998 and 1999. Her life was about to leap back in the fast lane and take several unexpected turns, one after another.

16

FAREWELL TO SONNY

Ever since Sonny Bono had been elected to Congress in 1994, he was a welcomed addition to the Washington, D.C., scene, not only as a legislator, but as the brunt of an endless barrage of jokes and jibes in the press. If anyone had the image of this half of the 1960s duo of Sonny & Cher as a dyed-in-the-wool radically liberal post-hippie singer/songwriter, their preconceptions were quickly dispelled.

Always a conservative thinker when it came to laws and government, he was still against drugs and generally too far along the right-wing path on any issue. He was also very vocal with regard to upholding laws that prevented gay couples from marrying. This was to drive a wedge between him and his daughter Chastity. It also gave his ex-wife Cher more ammunition when she wanted to publicly put him down for his politics.

Known for his sense of humor by television audiences who had grown up with his image on the screen, Sonny the politician had it all in perspective. Commenting on his latest career path, Bono laughed, “The last thing I thought I would be is a congressman, given all the bobcat vests I used to wear” (154).

Among the things that drew voters to him was this sense of humor, and his ability to see politics for what they were. When he was making his unsuccessful 1992 attempt at running for a seat in the U.S. Senate, he was asked of his qualifications. In the April 22, 1992, issue of the
Los Angeles Times
, Sonny stated, “What is qualified? What have I been qualified for in my life? I haven’t been qualified to be a mayor. I’m not qualified
to be a songwriter. I’m not qualified to be a TV producer. I’m not qualified to be a successful businessman. And so, I don’t know what ‘qualified’ means. And I think people get too hung up on that in a way you know” (203).

What he was qualified for was getting people’s attention and speaking his mind in a way that made sense. When Sonny won the election in 1994, he headed off to Washington, D.C., to make his voice and opinions heard. According to the December 12, 1994, issue of
U.S. News & World Report
, when he was presented his congressional ID badge, he was quoted as saying, “That’s cool” (203).

As he became more and more interested in politics, he and his wife, Mary, attended a function where Senator Phil Gramm, Republican from Texas, spoke. Recalled Sonny, “I wanted to be a Senator and went to one of his affairs and he said something like, ‘You can’t eat corn if you ain’t a pig.’ I said to my wife, ‘What the hell does that mean’ ” (203).

One of the first things he wanted to do in Congress was to attempt to cut through a lot of the legal jargon and “mumbo jumbo” that lawyers-turned-congressmen loved to hurl about, simply to make it sound like they knew what they were talking about. Sonny had the distinction of being one of two non-lawyers on the House Judiciary Committee. In the middle of the Judiciary Committee’s debate about a crime bill, Bono interrupted the proceedings to announce that he had enough of the “legalese” he had heard that day. “Boy, it’s flying in this room like I can’t believe today. Now certainly everyone has demonstrated their ability in legal knowledge, so wouldn’t it be nice if we vote on this thing and just pass this thing” (204).

He said, from his perspective on both politics and show business, “I don’t know if politicians have the grip on reality that entertainers do. [Entertainers] know if they disregard a message from the people they could lose their careers” (204). According to him at the time, he was familiar with life on both sides of the streets. “I was with Sam Cooke the night he was killed. That’s the streets. You get a strong perception of the dues that have been paid” (204).

From the time he arrived in Washington, everyone seemed to know who he was, and they were all curious to see him in action. Obviously, this wasn’t the first time that a Hollywood actor changed jobs and went into politics. But this was certainly the first time a rock and roll star from the 1960s had been elected to Congress. Whether his fellow congressmen and congresswomen agreed with his politics or not, he soon found
himself beloved by everyone for his warmth and honesty. One of his first really high-profile functions was a Press Club Foundation dinner, held in January of 1995.

According to several sources, his address at this particular dinner was key in winning a favorable reputation in the Capitol city. One of his main issues in Washington was his dislike of bureaucracy and red tape. Explaining the evolution of how he got into politics in the first place, in his address, Bono said,

I wanted to get a license to put a sign on my restaurant. I couldn’t get back in show business, so I thought I would cook pasta for the rest of my life. I was fortunate enough to get married again and marry a beautiful woman, so I didn’t care. I’ve got a great-looking wife, way better looking than Cher. She’s taller, and she’s 33. Anyway, we bought a restaurant, moved down to Palm Springs, and I was going to retire and kick back. And I wanted to get a sign, and I went to the city and said I would like to get a sign. They said, “You would?” I said, “Yeah.” “You would?” I said, “Yeah.” “What do you want exactly?” I said, “I want to get a sign.” “Do you realize what you’re asking for?” I said, “I think so. I would like to get a sign that says ‘Bono Restaurant.’ ” And he said, “You don’t just get a sign. This is city government.” I said, “I’m sorry.” He said, “Fill this out and bring it back tomorrow.” So I brought it back tomorrow. And he said, “Come back in three more weeks.” Then he said, “Don’t come back for a while.” So, I started not to like this guy. We bought the restaurant, so I was making payments now, but I couldn’t open it because I couldn’t get a sign. So that’s when I became fascinated with politics. . . . I never saw anything so confusing in my life, and illogical. So finally I went there and said, “Listen, I worked out our problem.” And he said, “You can’t have worked out our problem.” I said, “I have,” and he said, “You can’t.” I said, “I have.” He said, “We have to work out your problem.” I said “No, I worked it out. I’m going to run for mayor and fire you.” I ran for mayor and I fired him. But, I’m not totally heartless. He’s my gardener now (203).

Regarding that particular speech, Representative Joe Scarborough, Republican from Florida, stated, “Sonny had a sort of reputation as somebody that wasn’t exceptionally bright. Then the guy turned around and delivered what I thought was 30 minutes of just brilliant humor. And my opinion of him changed in a second” (205).

Sonny was so popular in his own California district, and in Washington, that in 1996, he ran again to stay in his congressional post, and again won. Since he had claimed credit for eliminating a reported $2.5-million
deficit in Palm Springs while he was the mayor, his voting base was very impressed with the job that he was doing.

However, not everyone who loved him agreed with his political stance. One of the most defining issues that he addressed in Congress was the introduction of what was called the Defense of Marriage Act, in 1996. It gives the individual fifty states the right to deny same-sex marriages, regardless of what other states subsequently vote to recognize.

In the
New York Times
(July 9, 1997), his daughter Chastity aired her own views on this subject.

I would have a lot more respect for him if he really was anti-gay and voted this way, as opposed to being so great about it, which he was when I came out. He said stuff to me like, “Sometimes you have to go according to the people who got you there,” the constituent thing, that old excuse. And when I told him that job discrimination against gays is legal in 41 states, he actually said to me that that was unconstitutional—while he was a Congressman. Frightening (191).

“The problem with my father is that he is hypocritical,” Chastity said to the British publication
OK!
(206). As 1997 came to a close, Chastity and her father were at odds with each other.

Cher was also very critical of her ex-husband’s politics. She stated publicly that she couldn’t believe that Sonny had actually become a Republican, let alone a congressman. Although she disliked his politics, she had to admit that there would always be a lifelong bond. Cher said on CNN in 1997, “No one is ever going to understand our relationship but Sonny and Cher. I have a bond that’s close to Sonny, nothing will ever break it. Sonny and I could sit down in a room and in two seconds be making jokes. It was a bond before we knew each other, and it’s going to be a bond when we’re both dead” (207).

As December of 1997 rolled around, everyone’s attention was taken by the Christmas and New Year’s season. Cher was planning her next album. Chastity was working as a consultant on the controversial ABC-TV sitcom
Ellen
, whose star, Ellen DeGeneres, had just recently announced that she—and her fictional TV character—was a lesbian. And Sonny Bono, Mary, and their two young children were looking forward to a post-Christmas ski holiday.

Sonny had been skiing in the Lake Tahoe area for over two decades, and he loved the peace and relaxation that came from sailing down the beautiful tree-lined snow-covered mountains of California and Nevada.
In addition to the great skiing, there is also a breathtaking view of the huge freshwater lake from the top.

According to Anne Bego, who was skiing at Heavenly resort the first week in January of 1998,

I was standing in line to get on the chair, and I heard a familiar voice from behind me. It sounded just like Sonny Bono. I turned around, and there he was, talking to someone. There were no bodyguards, no fans, nothing that would draw anyone’s attention to him other than the sound of his voice. He appeared to be there just to ski and have a great time, like the rest of us. He was obviously enjoying the skiing and the serenity of the mountains, and no one seemed to be bothering him or trying to get his attention (208).

On Monday, January 5, 1998, Sonny, Mary, and their two children got up, put on their ski gear, and headed for Heavenly Ski Resort. As was often their pattern, Sonny would ski off onto more difficult turf at the top of the mountain, and Mary and their two children would take their time on more child-friendly slopes. This was the case on that particular day. Sonny was last seen alive by his family at 1:30 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time), taking the ski lift ahead of his wife, nine-year-old son Chesare, and six-year-old daughter Chianna. As was their habit, if they got separated, they would all meet at the bottom of the hill later in the afternoon.

Experienced skiers have a habit of going off the packed-down snow of the official trails. Lured by fresh snow, they will ski off past the warning signs and into the danger of the trees. Only minutes after getting off the chair lift at the top of Upper Orion slope, Sonny took such a turn off of the beaten track, where other skiers stayed. That particular turn was to end in tragedy.

According to Mary Bono, they all got to the top of Upper Orion, and got separated. “Sonny took off,” she explained, “and he skied so beautifully. He hadn’t fallen all week, and his form was unreal. Chesy took off after him and then, the strangest thing—Chesare caught an edge and started to fall” (209). Her attention was diverted by her son losing his balance. And then Sonny was gone from sight.

When she didn’t see Sonny, Mary just figured that he had skied ahead of them. Sonny turned off into the trees near the top of the slope, apparently lost control, and struck a tree with such downhill velocity that the force of his head against the tree stripped bark from it. Unbeknownst to his wife and children, they had skied right past him and were unaware there was a problem. At first, Mary was concerned, but not worried.