Sonny Bono dies in skiing accident

Sonny Bono, a 1960s pop star-turned-politician, was killed when he struck a tree while skiing Monday. He was 62.

Bono, an avid skier, was alone on an intermediate slope at the Heavenly Ski Resort when he crossed beneath a chairlift and struck a tree, said Stan Miller, Heavenly's main lodge manager.

Bono had been reported missing about two hours before his body was found. A ski patrol found the body after a search of the Nevada side of the mountain, said his spokesperson, Frank Cullen Jr.

Bono and his then-wife, Cher, gained fame in the 1960s with hits "I Got You, Babe" and "The Beat Goes On."

The two moved to television with "The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour," which ran on CBS from 1971-74, and then again during the 1976-77 season, after they divorced.

AP PHOTO Rep. Sonny Bono (R-Calif.), 62, is survived by four children and his third wife.

This is the second high-profile skiing death on Western slopes in less than a week.

On New Year's Eve, Michael Kennedy, the 39-year-old son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, died when he skied into a tree in Aspen, Colo., while playing football on skis.

Heavenly, 55 miles southwest of Reno at the California-Nevada state line, is one of the region's premier ski resorts.

Bono was on a vacation with his wife, Mary Whitaker, and their two children, 6-year-old Chianna and 9-year-old Chesare, when the accident happened.

"They were enjoying a family vacation," Cullen said yesterday. "He was a very proficient skier. He skied frequently with his family and, yes, he was an athletic guy - he skied and played tennis."

Bono was first elected to Congress in 1994 as a Republican from Palm Springs, where he served as mayor from 1988-1992. At one point, he was the second-most requested draw at House members' events behind Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Bono, who divorced Cher in 1974, married Whitaker in 1986. He had one child with Cher - lesbian activist Chastity Bono - and two children with Whitaker. Bono had one child, Christy, with his first wife.

He was a restaurant owner and management consultant from 1982 to 1995. He first entered politics in 1988, when he became mayor of Palm Springs, a small desert community 111 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Bono regaled audiences at political fund-raisers with the same type of self-deprecating anecdotes he used in his days as an entertainer. He supported the Republican "Contract with America"

AP PHOTO Bono and ex-wife Cher perform in 1979 on "The Mike Douglas Show." Bono retired from music and started a career in politics in 1988.

01-07-98