Jerry Colonna

Jerry Colonna

  • Birthday: 1904-09-17
  • Deathday: 1986-11-21
  • Place of birth: Boston, Massachusetts, USA
  • Also know as: Gerardo Luigi 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

Make Mine Music

1946

As Narrator (segment "Casey at the Bat") (voice)

Alice in Wonderland

1951

As March Hare (voice)

Joys

1976

As Self

Rosalie

1937

As Joseph

The Brave Engineer

1950

As Narrator

Star Spangled Rhythm

1942

As Jerry Colonna

Casey at the Bat

1946

As Narrator

Sis Hopkins

1941

As Professor

Atlantic City

1944

As The Professor

Swingtime in the Movies

1938

As The Texas Tornado

Little Miss Broadway

1938

As Band Member

Kentucky Jubilee

1951

As Jerry Harris

Ice-Capades

1941

As Colonna

Garden of the Moon

1938

As Musician

Naughty But Nice

1939

As Allie Gray

Road to Singapore

1940

As Achilles Bombanassa

It's in the Bag!

1945

As Dr. Greengrass

Port of Seven Seas

1938

As Arab Rug Dealer

Ice Capades Revue

1942

As Theophilus J. Twitchell

Valley of the Giants

1938

As Saloon Singer

Melody and Moonlight

1940

As Abner Kellogg

Meet Me in Las Vegas

1956

As Jerry Colonna

Bob Hope: Laughing With the Presidents

1996

As Self (archive footage)

Priorities on Parade

1942

As Jeep Jackson

True to the Army

1942

As Pvt. 'Pinky' Fothergill

This Is Bob Hope...

2017

As Self (archive footage)

Sweepstakes Winner

1939

As Nick, the Chef

The Road to Hong Kong

1962

As Man Looking For a Match (uncredited)

Road to Utopia

1946

As Man on boat to Alaska (uncredited)

Music Land

1955

As Narrator (archive footage)

The Star Reporter

1938

As Singer-Freddie Rich Orchestra

Ellis in Freedomland

1952

As The Waste-away (voice)

Entertaining the Troops: Bob Hope & the USO

2002

As Self (archive footage)

Musical Movieland

1944

As The Texas Tornado

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