
Jerry Colonna
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Male
Birthday
1904-09-17
Day of Death
1986-11-21 (82 years old)
Place of Birth
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Jerry 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).
Known For
Acting
(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)
(1977)
(1976)
Joys
as Self
(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)
Meet Me in Las Vegas
as Jerry Colonna
(1955)
Music Land
as Narrator (archive footage)
(1952)
Ellis in Freedomland
as The Waste-away (voice)
(1951)
Alice in Wonderland
as March Hare (voice)
(1951)
Kentucky Jubilee
as Jerry Harris
(1951)
Operation Wonderland
as Self
(1950)
The Brave Engineer
as Narrator
(1946)
Make Mine Music
as Narrator (segment "Casey at the Bat") (voice)
(1946)
Road to Utopia
as Man on boat to Alaska (uncredited)
(1946)
Casey at the Bat
as Narrator
(1945)
It's in the Bag!
as Dr. Greengrass
(1944)
Atlantic City
as The Professor
(1944)
Musical Movieland
as The Texas Tornado
(1944)
(1943)
(1942)
Star Spangled Rhythm
as Jerry Colonna
(1942)
True to the Army
as Pvt. 'Pinky' Fothergill
(1942)
Priorities on Parade
as Jeep Jackson
(1942)
Ice Capades Revue
as Theophilus J. Twitchell
(1941)
Ice-Capades
as Colonna
(1941)
Sis Hopkins
as Professor
(1941)
You're the One
as Dr. Colonna
(1941)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1
as Himself
(1940)
Road to Singapore
as Achilles Bombanassa
(1940)
Melody and Moonlight
as Abner Kellogg
(1940)
Comin' Round the Mountain
as Argyle Phifft
(1939)
Naughty But Nice
as Allie Gray
(1939)
Sweepstakes Winner
as Nick, the Chef
(1938)
Little Miss Broadway
as Band Member
(1938)
Valley of the Giants
as Saloon Singer
(1938)
Garden of the Moon
as Musician
(1938)
Port of Seven Seas
as Arab Rug Dealer
(1938)
Swingtime in the Movies
as The Texas Tornado
(1938)
The Star Reporter
as Singer-Freddie Rich Orchestra
(1937)
Rosalie
as Joseph
(1936)