1904-09-17 Boston, Massachusetts, USA
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).
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This Is Bob Hope... | Self (archive footage) | 2017-12-29 |
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Entertaining the Troops: Bob Hope & the USO | Self (archive footage) | 2002-01-01 |
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Bob Hope: Laughing With the Presidents | Self (archive footage) | 1996-11-23 |
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Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC | Self (archive footage) | 1988-05-16 |
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Don't Push, I'll Charge When I'm Ready | Self | 1977-12-18 |
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Joys | Self | 1976-03-05 |
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The Road to Hong Kong | Man Looking For a Match (uncredited) | 1962-03-29 |
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Andy Hardy Comes Home | Doc | 1958-12-22 |
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Pinocchio | Ringmaster | 1957-10-13 |
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Meet Me in Las Vegas | Jerry Colonna | 1956-03-09 |
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Music Land | Narrator (archive footage) | 1955-06-11 |
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Ellis in Freedomland | The Waste-away (voice) | 1952-06-15 |
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Alice in Wonderland | March Hare (voice) | 1951-07-28 |
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Operation Wonderland | Self | 1951-06-14 |
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Kentucky Jubilee | Jerry Harris | 1951-05-18 |
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The Brave Engineer | Narrator | 1950-03-03 |
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Make Mine Music | Narrator (segment "Casey at the Bat") (voice) | 1946-06-30 |
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Road to Utopia | Man on boat to Alaska (uncredited) | 1946-02-27 |
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Casey at the Bat | Narrator | 1946-08-15 |
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It's in the Bag! | Dr. Greengrass | 1945-04-21 |
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G.I. Journal | Self | 1944-11-03 |
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Atlantic City | The Professor | 1944-09-15 |
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Musical Movieland | The Texas Tornado | 1944-09-09 |
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Stars on Horseback | 1943-04-23 | |
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Priorities on Parade | Jeep Jackson | 1942-07-23 |
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True to the Army | Pvt. 'Pinky' Fothergill | 1942-03-21 |
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Star Spangled Rhythm | Jerry Colonna | 1942-03-05 |
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Ice Capades Revue | Theophilus J. Twitchell | 1942-12-24 |
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You're the One | Dr. Colonna | 1941-02-19 |
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Sis Hopkins | Professor | 1941-04-12 |
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 1 | Himself | 1941-10-02 |
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Ice-Capades | Colonna | 1941-08-19 |
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Melody and Moonlight | Abner Kellogg | 1940-10-10 |
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Road to Singapore | Achilles Bombanassa | 1940-03-22 |
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Comin' Round the Mountain | Argyle Phifft | 1940-08-16 |
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Naughty But Nice | Allie Gray | 1939-06-23 |
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Sweepstakes Winner | Nick, the Chef | 1939-05-20 |
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Port of Seven Seas | Arab Rug Dealer | 1938-07-01 |
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Swingtime in the Movies | The Texas Tornado | 1938-12-24 |
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The Star Reporter | Singer-Freddie Rich Orchestra | 1938-03-21 |
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Valley of the Giants | Saloon Singer | 1938-09-17 |
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Little Miss Broadway | Band Member | 1938-07-29 |
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Garden of the Moon | Musician | 1938-09-23 |
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Rosalie | Joseph | 1937-12-24 |
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Song Hits on Parade | 1936-01-01 |
