Sonny King (singer)

Sonny King (April 1, 1922 – February 3, 2006) was an American lounge singer of Italian descent.

Sonny King
Birth nameLuigi Antonio Schiavone
Born(1922-04-01)April 1, 1922[1]
Brooklyn, New York
DiedFebruary 3, 2006(2006-02-03) (aged 83)
Las Vegas, Nevada
Occupation(s)Lounge Singer, Actor
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1952-2006
Associated actsJimmy Durante, Dean Martin

He was born as Luigi Antonio Schiavone on April 1, 1922 in Brooklyn, New York. He was the sidekick of Jimmy Durante for 28 years until Durante's death in 1980.[2] They appeared together on The Ed Sullivan Show five times in the 1960s. King shared a New York apartment with Dean Martin when the two were struggling entertainers, and is credited with introducing Martin to a young comedian Jerry Lewis.[3][4]

Although not an official Rat Pack member, he was close friends with many Rat Pack entertainers and appeared in movies such as Robin and the Seven Hoods and Sergeants 3. He recorded an album "For Losers Only" and shared the stage with jazz greats such as Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Joe Williams and many more. King moved to Las Vegas in the early 1950s and was a fixture on the strip and local clubs until his death on February 3, 2006 from cancer. He was 83 years old.

Being brought up in vaudeville and trained in operatic vocals and comedy, all these elements composed the foundation of what became the quintessential "Vegas lounge singer" persona.

Sonny has seven children; Thomas Stephens, Michael Stephens, Craig Unger, Shannon Ward, Antoinette Schiavone, Louis Schiavone II and Christopher Schiavone.

Discography
Year Title Label Format notes
1951 If You Were Mine/ No More London 78 RPM Recorded in November 1950.[5] King had been performing in London for much of 1950 after being scouted while performing at Leon and Eddie's Sunday celebrity night. [6]
1953 Crazily/She's Just an Old Memr'y Now Nocturne 78 RPM Nocturne's first release; Songs written by Jimmy Krondes, the label co-founder.[7][8]
1955 So Doggone Lonely/You Shouldn't Nocturne 45 RPM Nocturne 1003; Songs written by Jimmy Krondes.[9][10]
1959 For Losers Only Colpix LP CP 402; Arrangements by Johnny Williams (aka John WiIliams) [11][12]
1959 You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You/ Masquerade Colpix 45 RPM CP 107; Single from "For Losers Only"[13]
1959 Am I Blue/ (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade is Over Pye 45 RPM PP-013; Australian single from "For Loser's Only" [14]
1961 Jimmy Durante "At the Copacabana" Roulette LP R-25123; Live album recorded at the Copacabana. Sonny sang in Durante's live act on this album sang medleys of: My Loving Melody Man/Ragtime Daddy/I Love You, I Do and We're Going Home/Who Will Be With You/Don't Talk About Us When We Are Gone/You Made Me Love You.[15][16]

Filmography[17]
Year Title Role Notes
1962Sergeants 3Corporal
1964Robin and the Seven HoodsRobbo's Hood #2
1991Mission: KillfastMurak(final film role)
gollark: I've heard good things about approval voting and score voting, which have the advantage of being very simple.
gollark: Yes, that is a problem.
gollark: Also, you can't actually convey much information through voting; there are probably, what, four choices at most, two of which are remotely serious. That's *one bit*.
gollark: Another issue with voting as a system for dealing with politicians doing stupid things is that it's very slow.
gollark: As a vegetarian, I disagree.

References
  1. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0455283/
  2. "Las Vegas Review-Journal Obituary". Las Vegas Review-Journal.
  3. "Sonny King appearing on the Colgate Comedy Hour with Martin and Lewis". 1955-06-05. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  4. "NPR excerpt of "Dean and Me: A Love Story" a book by Jerry Lewis". NPR.
  5. "Chatter: London", Variety magazine Vol. 180, Iss. 11,  (Nov 22, 1950) page 60.
  6. "Guild' Nix of Celebrity Nights May Stymie Showcasing of Talent", Variety, Jun 14, 1950, page 66
  7. "Billboard Magazine 1953-09-12 p. 20". Billboard Magazine archive on American Radio History. 1953-09-12. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  8. "Cashbox Magazine 1953-10-17 p. 10" (PDF). American Radio History's archive of Cashbox Magazine. 1953-10-19. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  9. "The Billboard Magazine 5/29/1955 p.54". Billboard Magazine Archive on American Radio History website. 1955-05-29. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  10. "Cash Box magazine June 4, 1955 p. 10". American Radio History's web archive of Cashbox Magazine. June 4, 1955. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  11. "Sonny King (2) - For Losers Only". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  12. "The Billboard Magazine 3/23/1959 p. 36". Google books listing of The Billboard magazine's 3/23/1959 issue, review on p. 36. 1959-03-23. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  13. "Sonny King (2) - Masquerade / You're Nobody Till Somebody Loves You". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  14. "Sonny King (2) - Am I Blue". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-24.
  15. "Jimmy Durante - Jimmy Durante At The Copacabana". Discogs. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  16. Bakish, David (2007-03-07). Jimmy Durante: His Show Business Career, with an Annotated Filmography and Discography. McFarland. ISBN 9780786430222.
  17. "Sonny King". IMDb. Retrieved 2019-06-24.


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