Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthdate
1904-09-17
Day of Death
1986-11-21
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Jerry Colonna
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Gerardo Luigi "Jerry" Colonna (September 17, 1904 – November 22, 1986) was an American musician, actor, comedian, singer, songwriter and trombonist best remembered as the zaniest of Bob Hope's sidekicks in Hope's popular radio shows and films of the 1940s and 1950s. With his pop-eyed facial expressions and walrus-sized handlebar moustache, Colonna was known for singing loudly "in a comic caterwaul," according to Raised on Radio author Gerald Nachman, and for his catchphrase, "Who's Yehudi?", uttered after many an old joke, although it usually had nothing to do with the joke. The line was believed to be named for violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, and the search for Yehudi became a running gag on the Hope show. Colonna featured in three of the popular Hope-Crosby Road films: Road to Singapore (1940) as Achilles Bombassa, Road to Rio (1947) as a Cavalry captain and The Road to Hong Kong (1962) in a cameo role. He can also be seen in the Fred Allen vehicle, It's in the Bag! (1945), as psychiatrist Dr. Greenglass, and he made a brief appearance with Hope in the "Wife, Husband and Wolf" sketch in Star Spangled Rhythm. In 1956 he performed the featured song "My Lucky Charm" in the film Meet Me in Las Vegas, starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. He provided the voice of the March Hare in the Walt Disney animated film version of Alice in Wonderland (1951) (another radio legend, Ed Wynn, voiced the Mad Hatter) and also lent his zany narration style to several Disney shorts, including Casey at the Bat (1946) and The Brave Engineer (1950).
Filmography (46)
This Is Bob Hope...
2017Entertaining the Troops: Bob Hope & the USO
2002Bob Hope: Laughing With the Presidents
1996
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
1988
Don't Push, I'll Charge When I'm Ready
1977Bob Hope's World of Comedy
1976
Joys
1976
The Road to Hong Kong
1962
Andy Hardy Comes Home
1958
Pinocchio
1957
Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956
Music Land
1955
Ellis in Freedomland
1952
Alice in Wonderland
1951
