Jerry Colonna Collection

Jerry Colonna
(1904 – 1986)

Once you see Jerry Colonna's face you are not likely to forget it. It is hard to say what catches your attention first. It could have been that mustache, Jerry sported a legendary soup strainer. His eyes were the stuff of legend, bugging out with a life of their own. Then there was the mouth and the nearly operatic voice that came booming out of it. Like many great faces, no single element defines it, all of the elements come together to define the one and only Jerry Colonna. Perhaps what made Colonna's face so special was the way we can see exactly what expression he is wearing when we hear him on the radio.

Jerry Colonna won his greatest fame as Bob Hope's sidekick, but he was an accomplished comic on his own. However, he did not start out trying to make people laugh, he wanted to make them dance! Born to Italian immigrant parents in Boston in 1904, at one time Colonna was listed among the top five Jazz trombonists in the country. He was with Joe Herlihy's outfit when they recorded for Edison Records in the 1920s. During the 1930's, Colonna was part of the CBS House orchestra. The Raymond Scott Quintette cut a number of sides with Jerry ad-libbing nonsense syllables over the music.

Jerry's biggest problem as a Jazz musician may have been staying out of trouble when the orchestra wasn't playing. He was notorious around the CBS Studios for his pranks, to the point of nearly getting fired on more than one occasion. The vaudevillians working at the network gained an appreciation for Colonna's antics, and Fred Allen used him on his show a few times. He also got to move out of the orchestra pit a few times as part of John Scott Trotter's orchestra on the Bing Crosby hosted Kraft Music Hall.

One of Jerry's first Hollywood efforts was a bit part (Prof. Yascha Koloski) in the Raoul Walsh directed College Swing (1938). The film was a vehicle for Gracie Allen and Bob Hope (it was just Bob's second feature-length picture) and featured Martha Raye, Betty Grable and Jackie Coogan. Bob also saw Jerry with Trotter's Orchestra at Bing's Del Mar Turf Club. In the best showbiz tradition, Bob "stole" Jerry from Bing and Kraft Music Hall by promising him a spot on his The Pepsodent Program.

The persona that Bob's writers created for Jerry has been described as Looney Toons meets Salvador Dali. Colonna enjoyed spoofing opera, and one of his musical trademarks was to hold a note, especially the opening note, of a number for a ridiculously long time (OooooooooooOOOOoooooooooOooooh Sweeet AAAaadeline). Hope and Colonna worked the bit into The Road To Rio (1947) when Jerry made a cameo as leader of the cavalry who is to ride the rescue. Colonna calls on his troopers to "Chaaaaaaaaarrge!" The film cuts away to other action and laughs, cutting back to the galloping horses on occasion. At the end of the film, when all the conflict is resolved before the cavalry can actually arrive to save the day, Jerry mugs "Whaddaya know? We never quite made it. Exciting, though… wasn't it?!"

Naturally, Bob made Jerry an important part of his USO tours. When they were at an Army post, Jerry was a cut up in an ill-fitting Army uniform. At a Navy base, he would be in a baggy sailor-suit and a baggy flight-suit at airfields. He also made regular appearances on AFRS programs, both with and without Hope. Not all of Colonna's gags worked, however. During one Christmas broadcast, he played an obnoxious Santa. The gag ended with Bob shooting Santa Claus just moments before the end of the show. Telegrams and letters flooded the network from parents who didn't see the humor, and Lever Brothers even considered ending Pepsodent's association with Old Ski Nose, but the furor died down when "Professor Colonna" appeared in his regular role the next week.

After ten years as Bob's sidekick on the radio, Jerry was let go and replaced by Doris Day. Colonna understood that it was a business decision on Bob's part, and was always one of the first to get a call whenever Hope planned a USO tour. Bob considered Jerry to be part of the USO company until the Vietnam era.

A Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1645 Vine Street honors Jerry Colonna's contributions to Radio. The location is shared by stars honoring Joan Fontaine, Rita Hayworth, Frankie Laine, Walter Winchell and others.