Jerry Colonna
Gerardo Luigi Colonna (September 17, 1904 – November 21, 1986), better known as Jerry Colonna, was an American musician, actor, comedian, singer, songwriter and trombonist who played the zaniest of Bob Hope's sidekicks in Hope's popular radio shows and films of the 1940s and 1950s. He also voiced the March Hare in Disney's 1951 animated film Alice in Wonderland. With his pop-eyed facial expressions and large handlebar moustache, Colonna was known for singing loudly in what Gerald Nachman called a "comic caterwaul", and for his catchphrase, "Who's Yehudi?", uttered after many an old joke, though it usually had nothing to do with the joke itself. The line was believed to be named for violin virtuoso Yehudi Menuhin, and "the search for Yehudi" became a running gag on Hope's show. Colonna played a range of nitwitted characters, the best-remembered of which was a moronic professor, of which Nachman wrote:
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Birth and Death Data: Born September 17, 1904 (Boston), Died November 21, 1986 (Woodland Hills)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1931 - 1954
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, speaker, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | W151422 | 10-in. | 3/13/1931 | At dusk | Kate Smith | Female vocal solo | songwriter | |
Decca | L 7032 | 1/29/1953 | Down by the old mill stream | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7033 | 1/29/1953 | You're the flower of my heart, sweet Adeline | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7295 | 7/24/1953 | I'm a-love you | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7296 | 7/24/1953 | Hey, barmaid! | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7338 | 8/29/1953 | Sleigh bells in the sky | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7339 | 8/29/1953 | Too fat for the chimney | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7456 | 11/6/1953 | The velvet glove | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7457 | 11/6/1953 | Ebb tide | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7458 | 11/6/1953 | Porn-porn-porn-a-diddle | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7533 | 1/18/1954 | You're my everything | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7534 | 1/18/1954 | Apple on a pear tree | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7535 | 1/18/1954 | Waltz me around once again | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7536 | 1/18/1954 | Snerling through the flowers | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7537 | 1/18/1954 | Ja-da | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7644 | 4/26/1954 | On the road to Mandalay | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7645 | 4/26/1954 | Can't you hear me callin', Caroline | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7646 | 4/26/1954 | It might as well be Spring | Jerry Colonna | vocalist | |||
Decca | L 7647 | 4/26/1954 | Ja-da-1 | Jerry Colonna | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Colonna, Jerry," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/108969.
Colonna, Jerry. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/108969.
"Colonna, Jerry." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Jerry Colonna
Discogs: Jerry Colonna
Allmusic: Jerry Colonna
IMDb: Jerry Colonna
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Colonna, Jerry, 1904-1986 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no90007305
Wikidata: Jerry Colonna - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q923250
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/66028828
MusicBrainz: Jerry Colonna - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/877bbc76-bcb5-489b-a211-0328bc149e7d
ISNI: 0000 0000 3922 5259 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000039225259
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