Sonny Bono

He may not have elicited the same reception as his flamboyant and bedazzled partner, but that was just how Sonny Bono had planned it. Best known as the straight man to his wife, singer-actress Cher, on "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" (CBS, 1971-74), Bono was a singer, songwriter and television star with a career that spanned decades in Hollywood, including learning music production under the tutelage of Phil Spector during his "wall of sound" heyday. Later, after his marriage to Cher dissolved in the mid-1970s, he refocused his considerable energies less on entertainment and more on politics. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives representing California. The showbiz icon's life was cut short during a tragic skiing accident in 1998, yet he was forever remembered for his generosity of spirit and for giving the world the classic pop song "I Got You Babe."