The Sonny King Centennial

Born appropriately of an April Fool’s Day, singer Sonny King (Luigi Antonio Schiavone, 1922-2006) — not to be confused with Sonny Tufts!

The Brooklyn native studied opera in his youth, came up through vaudeville, and is credited with introducing Jerry Lewis to Dean Martin, who was his roommate at the time. Starting around 1950 he made Las Vegas his home base and became a frequent sidekick to Jimmy Durante in performance. On television he could be seen on The Colgate Comedy Hour,The Ed Sullivan Show,Perry Como’s Kraft Music Hall, The Tonight Show with both Jack Paar and Johnny Carson, among other programs. He had bit parts in the Rat Pack movies Sergeants 3 (1962) and Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964). His 1959 LP For Losers Only, included musical arrangements by none other than John Williams!

For more on show biz history, consultNo Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous,And please stay tuned for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety