Sonny Bono Killed in Skiing Accident…
January 5, 1998…
Singer Sonny Bono is killed when he hits a tree while skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. After Bono’s death, his wife Mary Bono said that Sonny had been addicted to Vicodin and Valium and that she believed her husband’s drug use caused the accident. However no drugs or alcohol were found in his body on autopsy. The epitaph on Bono’s headstone reads “AND THE BEAT GOES ON”. Bono became famous as part of Sonny and Cher, and served as mayor of Palm Springs (1988-92) and U.S. Representative (California, 1995-98). Music: I Got You Babe (1965, #1). TV: The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971-74) and The Sonny and Cher Show (1976-77).