LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Sonny Bono: Palm Springs
built 656 days ago
In 1982, Bono opened his first "BONO" restaurant in West Hollywood, California. An instant hit, the restaurant soon opened a second location in Houston, Texas. Bono's "hands-on" management approach ensured their success in the competitive dining industry. He eventually sold both restaurants to open his popular "BONO" restaurant in Palm Springs, which has received critical acclaim for Sicilian-style Italian cuisine based on many original Bono family recipes. In 1986, Sonny married Mary Whitaker of South Pasadena, an alumnae of the University of Southern California. Mary played an active role as the First Lady of Palm Springs and was an integral part of his restaurant management team.
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Never one to be idle, Bono sought a new career. In 1983, he opened a restaurant called "Bono" in West Hollywood. There he met a recent University of Southern California graduate, Mary Whitaker, about 25 years his junior. They were married in 1986 and had two children, Chesare and Chianna. After moving to Palm Springs, Bono decided to open another restaurant. According to the New York Times, when he encountered frustrating red tape over his attempt to change the sign on the building, the consummate showman decided on another new career-politics.
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Sonny Bono died last night in a skiing accident in Nevada. He first became famous when he was half of the duo, Sonny and Cher. Later in his career he was mayor of Palm Springs and then became a U.S. congressman.
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By 1959, Sonny was moonlighting as a talent scout. Because of this, he was fired and his marriage was ... spiraling down. His first daughter was born during this time. Despite this, Sonny moved into his own apartment and met his next wife, Cher. They moved in together and the rest is history between the two of them with the rise and fall of their music career and marriage. They were divorced in 1974 and Sonny then went into the restaurant business with his new girlfriend, model Susie Coelho in Palm Springs, California.
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Across the country, those Bono left behind began the process of mourning. The day after his death, a long, black limo pulled up outside the family home in Palm Springs, bringing Cher, straight off the plane from London. Bono's third wife, Susie Coelho, was ... en route. Already inside were Bono's daughters Chastity and Christy. "Cher walked in and went straight to Mary and Chastity and the family," says Bono's close friend Denis Pregnolato. "Everybody hugged and cried."
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Bono entered politics after experiencing great frustration with local government bureaucracy in trying to open a restaurant in Palm Springs, California. With conservative talk radio host Marshall Gilbert as his campaign manager (and later as the godfather of his two children by his wife, Mary), Bono placed a successful bid to become the new mayor of Palm Springs. He was instrumental in making the city more business-friendly and in spearheading the creation of the Palm Springs International Film Festival, now held each year in Bono's memory. He ... attempted to have Marines banned from the city.
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