The gay community’s vibe has resonated with many celebrities, but perhaps
no prominent straight couple has found its career as deeply intertwined with
gays and lesbians as Salvatore Bono and Cherilyn Sarkisian LaPierre—better
known as Sonny and Cher.
The story that the two met in a lesbian bar is
probably apocryphal, though Cher has acknowledged erotic relationships with
women in her youth, liaisons that, she later recalled, weren’t
“something that kept my interest.”
What did keep the lanky, deep-voiced singer’s
interest, though, was the short, charming, goofy crooner 11 years her senior
who was initially her roommate, but soon became her lover and, in 1964, her
husband. Sonny and Cher each had found limited solo success, and their first
attempt at working together (touring bowling alleys and skating rinks as
“Caesar and Cleo”) brought little acclaim.
But in 1965, Sonny wrote a simple tribute to
‘60s-style love, and with “I Got You Babe,” Sonny and Cher made it
big. For the next two years, they ruled the rock scene, with hits like
“Baby Don’t Go” and “The Beat Goes On.” But by the end of the
decade, their music had lost its audience, and two failed attempts at movie
making left them deeply in debt. There was one bright spot for the duo,
though—the birth of daughter Chastity in 1969.
Sonny and Cher began playing Las Vegas and
touring, though their romance frayed and their tensions played out onstage.
But the audience loved it, so Cher’s put-downs and Sonny’s bumbling
became trademarks. At the same time, Cher became something of an icon to the
burgeoning feminist movement because of her independence, forthrightness,
and shattering of the narrow sexist definition of female beauty.
Their act caught Hollywood’s attention, and in
January 1972 their own comedy-variety TV series debuted. The show was all
camp—from outrageous Bob Mackie costumes to banter filled with sexual
innuendo. Sonny and Cher began recording again, and their music career was
on the upswing just as their marriage could no longer hold itself together.
One cause of their breakup was Cher’s affairs,
including with record producer David Geffen (who came out as gay two decades
later) and southern rock guitarist Greg Allman (whom she married five days
after her 1975 split from Sonny).
Though divorced, Sonny and Cher nonetheless
found their television careers remained wedded. Cher’s solo variety show
(which had something of a gay sensibility—its debut featured Bette Midler
and Elton John) overwhelmed her, and having failed in his own solo show,
Sonny accepted his ex-wife’s invitation to create a new Sonny and Cher
series. That incarnation lasted for two seasons, including a very awkward
period in which Cher was pregnant with Allman’s baby.
Without abandoning entertainment (he played a
theme park owner in the 1988 campy cult film Hairspray), post-Sonny- and-Cher
Sonny made a bigger mark in the world of politics. A successful Palm Springs
restaurateur, he was elected mayor of that city in 1988.
Despite having campaigned as a friend of the
resort city’s visible gay community, the Republican was widely criticized
for slighting gays and lesbians personally and legislatively as mayor. In
the 1994 Republican landslide, he was elected to Congress, where he
consistently voted against the gay community’s interests. He died in a
skiing accident in 1998, and his wife, Mary, was elected to fill his seat.
Meanwhile, Cher pursued her acting career,
playing a lesbian in 1983’s Silkwood. She was nominated for an Oscar for
that performance, then went on to win an Academy Award for Best Actress in
Moonstruck (1987).
Despite the respectability bestowed by an Oscar
statuette, Cher’s personal and professional life fascinated gossip-
hounds. She had several well-publicized romances (including one with a bagel
seller two decades her junior), underwent numerous plastic surgeries, and
starred in infomercials and fitness videos.
Cher’s music career found new life with upbeat
tunes like “One By One” and “Believe” that were embraced by
audiences worldwide, but especially by gay men. Her icon status solidified
as a VH-1 “Diva,” Cher regularly recognizes the “fabulous gentlemen”
who flock to her concerts and have consistently boosted her career.
Perhaps the queerest product of the Sonny and
Cher partnership, though, was their lesbian daughter Chastity. She was
featured prominently on her parents’ TV show, dressed in outfits
resembling Cher’s, though the tomboyish Chastity eventually insisted that
some of her outfits resemble Sonny’s. While a teenager, she was seduced by
a lesbian friend of her mother’s, whom she considered a “great lover.”
Though finding out about her daughter’s sexuality initially took a toll on
Cher, the megastar soon was quite supportive.
In
1990, Chastity was outed by the tabloids, an experience she later said
deterred her from coming out publicly, which she eventually did in a 1995
Advocate cover story. She was quickly adopted by major national gay and
lesbian organizations, serving as a spokesperson for HRC and an activist for
GLAAD. She left the latter job under a storm of controversy over remarks she
made that implied that the Ellen show was becoming too gay.
Paula
Martinac is a Lambda Literary Award-winning author of seven books, including
The Queerest Places: A Guide to Gay and Lesbian Historic Sites. She can be
reached care of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth or at POcolumn@aol.com.
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