Jerry Colonna
Born: 1904-09-17 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Died: 1986-11-21
Known For: Acting
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
2017
- This Is Bob Hope... as Self (archive footage)
2002
- Entertaining the Troops: Bob Hope & the USO as Self (archive footage)
1996
- Bob Hope: Laughing With the Presidents as Self (archive footage)
1988
- Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1977
1976
- Joys as Self
- Bob Hope's World of Comedy as Self (archive footage)
1974
- Dinah! as Self
1966
- The Monkees as Dr. Mann
1962
- The Road to Hong Kong as Man Looking For a Match (uncredited)
1958
- Andy Hardy Comes Home as Doc
1957
- Pinocchio as Ringmaster
1956
- The Rosemary Clooney Show as Self
- Meet Me in Las Vegas as Jerry Colonna
1955
- Music Land as Narrator (archive footage)
1954
- Climax! as Stan
1952
- Ellis in Freedomland as The Waste-away (voice)
1951
- Alice in Wonderland as March Hare (voice)
- Kentucky Jubilee as Jerry Harris
- Operation Wonderland as Self
1950
- The Colgate Comedy Hour as Self
- What's My Line? as Self
- The Brave Engineer as Narrator
1946
- Make Mine Music as Narrator (segment "Casey at the Bat") (voice)
- Road to Utopia as Man on boat to Alaska (uncredited)
- Casey at the Bat as Narrator
1945
- It's in the Bag! as Dr. Greengrass
1944
- Musical Movieland as The Texas Tornado
- Atlantic City as The Professor
- G.I. Journal as Self
1943
1942
- Star Spangled Rhythm as Jerry Colonna
- Ice Capades Revue as Theophilus J. Twitchell
- Priorities on Parade as Jeep Jackson
- True to the Army as Pvt. 'Pinky' Fothergill
1941
- Ice-Capades as Colonna
- Sis Hopkins as Professor
- Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 as Self (uncredited)
- You're the One as Dr. Colonna
1940
- Road to Singapore as Achilles Bombanassa
- Comin' Round the Mountain as Argyle Phifft
- Melody and Moonlight as Abner Kellogg
1939
- Naughty But Nice as Allie Gray
- Sweepstakes Winner as Nick, the Chef
1938
- Valley of the Giants as Saloon Singer
- Swingtime in the Movies as The Texas Tornado
- Little Miss Broadway as Band Member
- Garden of the Moon as Musician
- Port of Seven Seas as Arab Rug Dealer
- The Star Reporter as Singer-Freddie Rich Orchestra
1937
- Rosalie as Joseph