Chaz Bono

Last updated

Chaz Bono
Chaz Bono by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Bono in 2017
Born
Chastity Sun Bono

(1969-03-04) March 4, 1969 (age 55)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
  • Writer
  • musician
  • actor
Years active1972–present
Parent(s) Sonny Bono
Cher
Relatives Elijah Blue Allman (half-brother)
Georgia Holt (grandmother)

Chaz Salvatore Bono [1] (born Chastity Sun Bono; March 4, 1969) is an American writer, musician and actor. His parents are entertainers Sonny Bono and Cher, and he became widely known in appearances as a child on their television show, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour . [2] [3]

Contents

Bono is out as a trans man. In 1995, while then presenting as a woman, and several years after being outed as lesbian by the tabloid press, Bono publicly self-identified as a lesbian in a cover story in a leading American gay monthly magazine, The Advocate . Bono eventually went on to discuss the process of coming out to oneself and others in two books. Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) includes his coming-out account. The memoir The End of Innocence (2003) discusses his outing, music career, and partner Joan's death from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. [4]

Between 2008 and 2010, Bono sought out gender-affirming care, commonly called gender transition. A two-part Entertainment Tonight feature in June 2009 explained that his medical transition had started a year before. [5] In May 2010, he legally changed his ID to match his gender and name. [6] A documentary on Bono's experience, Becoming Chaz, was screened at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and later made its television debut on the Oprah Winfrey Network. [7] [8]

Early life

Chaz Bono with Sonny Bono in 1974 Sonny and Chastity Bono 1974.JPG
Chaz Bono with Sonny Bono in 1974

Bono was born in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Cher and Sonny Bono of the pop duo Sonny & Cher, stars of a TV variety show on which the young child often appeared. Bono was named after the film Chastity , which was produced by Sonny and in which Cher (in her first solo role in a feature film) played a bisexual woman. [9] Through his mother, Bono is of Armenian, Irish, English, and German ancestry. He is of Italian descent through his father. [10] [11]

Bono was enrolled at the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York City. [12] Bono came out to both parents as a lesbian at age 18. In Family Outing, Bono wrote that, "as a child, I always felt there was something different about me. I'd look at other girls my age and feel perplexed by their obvious interest in the latest fashion, which boy in class was the cutest, and who looked the most like cover girl Christie Brinkley. When I was 13, I finally found a name for exactly how I was different. I realized I was gay." [13]

Ceremony

Bono began a short music career in 1988 with the band Ceremony, [4] which released one album, Hang Out Your Poetry, in 1993. The band featured Bono on vocals, acoustic guitar, and percussion. Other members were Steve March Tormé (backup vocals), Heidi Shink a.k.a. Chance, Pete McRae, Steve Bauman, Louis Ruiz, and Bryn Mathieu. All but one of the band's songs were written or co-written by Bono, Shink, and Mark Hudson. They used no synthesizers or digital effects on the album; Shink noted, "We turned our back on technology. [ ... ] It's reminiscent of the 60s, but more a tip of the hat than emulating it. We took the music we love and rejuvenated it, made it 90s." [14] Critical reception of the album was lukewarm, with Roch Parisien of Allmusic describing Hang Out Your Poetry as a mildly psychedelic take on early 1990s pop, "pleasant, accessible, well-produced ear-candy that's ultimately toothless". [15]

The songs "Could've Been Love" and "Ready for Love" were released as singles from the album. Sonny and Cher also recorded backing vocals for the track "Livin' It Up" on the album.

LGBT activism

Bono at the 2012 GLAAD Awards Chaz Bono square photo 1.jpg
Bono at the 2012 GLAAD Awards

In April 1995, Bono came out as a lesbian in an interview with The Advocate, a national gay and lesbian magazine. [16] The 1998 book Family Outing detailed how Bono's coming out "catapulted me into a political role that has transformed my life, providing me with affirmation as a lesbian, as a woman, and as an individual." [17] In the same book, Bono reported that Cher, who was both a gay icon and an ally of LGBT communities, was quite uncomfortable with the news at first and "went ballistic" [18] before coming to terms with it: "By August 1996, one year after I came out publicly, my mother had progressed so far that she agreed to 'come out' herself on the cover of The Advocate as the proud mother of a lesbian daughter." [17] Cher has since become an outspoken LGBT rights activist.

Bono's paternal relationship became strained after his father became a Republican Congressman from California. The differences in their political views separated them, and the two had not spoken for more than a year at the time of Sonny's fatal skiing accident in January 1998. [16]

Bono worked as a writer at large for The Advocate. [4] As a social activist, Bono became a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, promoted National Coming Out Day, campaigned for the reelection of Bill Clinton for US president, campaigned against the Defense of Marriage Act, and served as Entertainment Media Director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). [4] Bono was a team captain for Celebrity Fit Club 3 (2006) and was supported by girlfriend Jennifer Elia, who orchestrated exercise and training sessions. [5]

In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the Orlando nightclub shooting; in the video, Bono and others told the stories of the people killed there. [19] [20]

Transition

In mid-2008, Bono began undergoing a physical and social transition from female to male. This was confirmed in June 2009 by his publicist, [5] who identified Bono's name as Chaz Bono and said, "It is Chaz's hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his coming out did." [21] GLAAD and the Empowering Spirits Foundation were quick to offer praise and support for the announcement. [22] Bono's legal transition was completed on May 6, 2010, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change. [6] [23] Bono made Becoming Chaz, a documentary film about his transition that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The Oprah Winfrey Network acquired the rights to the documentary and debuted it on May 10, 2011. [24]

In September 2011, he became a competitor on the 13th season of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars , paired with professional ballroom dancer Lacey Schwimmer. [25] The duo was eliminated on October 25, 2011. [26] This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender. [27]

His book, Transition: Becoming Who I Was Always Meant to Be was published in 2012, making him the first person of Armenian descent to publish a memoir about being an openly transgender man. [28]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1994 Bar Girls [lower-alpha 1] Scorp'
2004Fronterz [lower-alpha 1]
2016DirtyJerry the Hoarder
2019 3 from Hell Digby Neville
2020 Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen HimselfDocumentary film
2020 Reboot Camp Herbertmockumentary
2023 The Bell Keeper Sheriff Carlson
2024 Little Bites PaulAlso executive producer

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1972–77 The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour [lower-alpha 1] Himself32 episodes
1975 Cher [lower-alpha 1] HimselfEpisode 2.14
1997 Ellen [lower-alpha 1] The ModeratorEpisode: "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah"
2011Becoming ChazHimselfDocumentary film
Dancing with the Stars Himself6 episodes
2012 Degrassi: The Next Generation HimselfEpisode: "Tonight, Tonight: Part 2"
2013 The Secret Life of the American Teenager HimselfEpisode: "To Each Her Own"
2014 RuPaul's Drag Race Himself/Guest Judge"Queens of Talk" [29]

"Reunited!" [30]

2016 The Bold and the Beautiful Reverend Rydale5 episodes
American Horror Story: Roanoke Brian Wells (Lot Polk, re-enactment)4 episodes
Where the Bears Are Gavin Kelly3 episodes
2017 American Horror Story: Cult Gary K. Longstreet8 episodes
2018Adi Shankar's Gods and SecretsUpcoming series
2020 Curb Your Enthusiasm Joey FunkhouserEpisode: "The Spite Store"

Bibliography

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 as Chastity Bono

Related Research Articles

Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBT person's sexual orientation or gender identity without that person's consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia in order to discredit political opponents or to combat homophobia and heterosexism by revealing that a prominent or respected individual is homosexual. Historical examples of outing include the Krupp affair, Eulenburg affair, and Röhm scandal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Bono</span> American singer, comedian, actor, and politician (1935–1998)

Salvatore Phillip "Sonny" Bono was an American singer, songwriter, actor, and politician. In partnership with his second wife, Cher, he formed the singing duo Sonny & Cher. A member of the Republican Party, Bono served as the 16th mayor of Palm Springs, California, from 1988 to 1992, and served as the U.S. representative for California's 44th district from 1995 until his death in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coming out</span> Process of revealing ones sexual orientation or other attributes

Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cher</span> American singer and actress (born 1946)

Cher is an American singer, actress, and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female autonomy in a male-dominated industry. She is known for her distinctive contralto singing voice, for having worked in numerous areas of entertainment and for adopting a variety of styles and appearances. Cher rose to fame in 1965 as one half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher before releasing her first solo top-ten singles "Bang Bang " and "You Better Sit Down Kids". Throughout the 1970s, she scored the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves", "Half-Breed", and "Dark Lady", becoming the female solo artist with the most number-one singles in US history at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny & Cher</span> American pop music duo

Sonny & Cher were an American pop and entertainment duo in the 1960s and 1970s, made up of spouses Sonny Bono and Cher. The couple started their career in the mid-1960s as R&B backing singers for record producer Phil Spector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michelangelo Signorile</span> American journalist, author, and talk radio host

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<i>The Advocate</i> (magazine) Bi-monthly American magazine covering LGBT-interest topics

The Advocate is an American LGBT magazine, printed bi-monthly and available by subscription. The Advocate brand also includes a website. Both magazine and website have an editorial focus on news, politics, opinion, and arts and entertainment of interest to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) people. The magazine, established in 1967, is the oldest and largest LGBT publication in the United States and the only surviving one of its kind that was founded before the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan, an uprising that was a major milestone in the LGBT rights movement. On June 9, 2022, Pride Media was acquired by Equal Entertainment LLC.

Patrick Califia, formerly also known as Pat Califia and by the last name Califia-Rice, is an American writer of non-fiction essays about sexuality and of erotic fiction and poetry. Califia is a bisexual trans man. Prior to transitioning, Califia identified as a lesbian and wrote for many years a sex advice column for the gay men's leather magazine Drummer. His writings explore sexuality and gender identity, and have included lesbian erotica and works about BDSM subculture. Califia is a member of the third-wave feminism movement.

<i>The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour</i> American variety show

The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour is an American variety show starring American pop singers Sonny Bono and Cher, who were married to each other at the time. The show ran on CBS in the United States, and premiered in August 1971. The show was cancelled in May 1974, due to the couple's divorce, but the duo reunited in 1976 for the similarly formatted The Sonny & Cher Show, which ran for two seasons, ending August 29, 1977.

Bono is an Irish musician, activist, and lead singer for the band U2.

<i>All I Really Want to Do</i> (album) 1965 studio album by Cher

All I Really Want to Do is the debut solo studio album by American singer-actress Cher and was released on August 16, 1965, by Imperial Records. The album was produced for Cher by her then husband and singing partner, Sonny Bono, with contributions from arranger Harold Battiste. The album is by-and-large a collection of cover versions but does contain three songs written by Bono. In 1992, All I Really Want to Do and Cher's follow-up solo album, The Sonny Side of Chér, were reissued on one CD by EMI Records. Later, in 1995, EMI released a collection titled The Originals, which included All I Really Want to Do, The Sonny Side of Chér, and Cher's third solo album, Chér. The album was again reissued on one CD with The Sonny Side of Chér by BGO Records in 2005 in the UK only. The original twelve track All I Really Want to Do album has never been issued on Compact Disc on its own. Upon its release, the album was well received by critics and garnered positive reviews.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Got You Babe</span> 1965 single by Sonny Bono & Cher

"I Got You Babe" is a song performed by American pop and entertainment duo Sonny & Cher and written by Sonny Bono. It was the first single taken from their debut studio album, Look at Us (1965). In August 1965, the single spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States where it sold more than one million copies and was certified Gold. It also reached number one in the United Kingdom and Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianca Montgomery</span> Soap opera character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cher filmography</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baby Don't Go</span> 1964 single by Sonny & Cher

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<i>Chastity</i> (soundtrack) 1969 soundtrack album by Cher

Chastity is the first soundtrack album featuring American singer-actress Cher, released in June 1969 by Atco. It was released to promote and accompany the 1969 motion picture, Chastity. The album, like the film from which it came, was a commercial failure.

<i>Chastity</i> (1969 film) 1969 film by Alessio de Paola

Chastity is a 1969 American romantic drama film directed by Alessio de Paola and starring American singer-actress Cher, in her first film role without her then-husband Sonny Bono. Written and produced by Sonny Bono, as a star vehicle for her, it flopped badly and deterred her from acting in films for more than a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chastity (given name)</span> Name list

Chastity is a feminine given name meaning chastity, referring to the virtue of exercising self-control over one's sexual behavior, which might mean practicing celibacy for a person who is unmarried, or monogamy for a person who is married. The name comes from the Late Latin word castitas. According to some sources, it was one of many virtue names in use by Puritans in the Colonial United States. However, other sources state that the name was not actually in use by the Puritans.

References

  1. ↑ "Cher's son now officially a man". BBC News. May 7, 2010. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ "Chastity Bono Undergoing Gender Change". TV Guide. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2011. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Chastity Bono is Chaz Bono". Right Celebrity. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on June 15, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Marcus, Lydia (March 21, 2006). "Interview with Chastity Bono". AfterEllen. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2007.
  5. 1 2 3 "Chaz Bono", June 15–16, 2009, Entertainment Tonight .
  6. 1 2 "Chaz Bono granted gender and name change". Fox News Channel . May 6, 2010. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Chaz Bono Documentary To Debut on OWN | Access Hollywood – Celebrity News, Photos & Videos". Access Hollywood. Archived from the original on November 14, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Chaz Bono Documentary, Becoming Chaz, to Have World Television Premiere on OWN". Oprah.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2020. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ Bryant, Wayne, M. (1996). Bisexual Characters in Film, from Anaïs to Zee. Haworth Press. p. 117. ISBN   978-0-7890-0142-9
  10. ↑ Bego 2001 , p. 11: Sarkisian's profession; Berman 2001 , p. 17: Sarkisian's nationality and personal problems, Crouch's profession; Cheever 1993: Crouch's ancestry.
  11. ↑ "Sonny Bono Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Jennifer Aniston & Chaz Bono in High School Together (PHOTO)". September 15, 2011. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  13. ↑ Bono, Chaz (as Chastity); Fitzpatrick, Billy (1998). Family Outing . New York: Little, Brown. p. vii. ISBN   0-316-10233-4.
  14. ↑ Krbechek, Randy (December 22, 1993). "Reviews of Ceremony | Hang Out Your Poetry, The Dead Milkmen | Not Richard, But Dick, and Al Stewart concert". PSNW. Archived from the original on June 16, 2009. Retrieved March 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ Roch Parisien. "Hang Out Your Poetry". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Freydkin, Donna (October 14, 1998). "Chastity Bono opens up about coming out". CNN. Archived from the original on March 20, 2007. Retrieved February 20, 2007.
  17. 1 2 Bono, Chaz (as Chastity); Fitzpatrick, Billy (1998). Family Outing . New York: Little, Brown. p. viii. ISBN   0-316-10233-4.
  18. ↑ Bono, Chaz (as Chastity); Fitzpatrick, Billy (1998). Family Outing. New York: Little, Brown. p.  207. ISBN   0-316-10233-4.
  19. ↑ "49 Celebrities Honor 49 Victims of Orlando Tragedy | Human Rights Campaign". Hrc.org. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  20. ↑ Rothaus, Steve (June 12, 2016). "Pulse Orlando shooting scene a popular LGBT club where employees, patrons 'like family'". The Miami Herald. Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Chastity Bono Undergoing Gender Change". TV Guide . June 11, 2009. Archived from the original on March 21, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
  22. ↑ "ESF Applauds Chastity Bono's Gender Transition Announcement" (PDF). Empowering Spirits Foundation Press Release. June 11, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 16, 2009. Retrieved June 11, 2009.
  23. ↑ "Chaz Bono, Cher's child, becomes a man after Southern Californian judges grants gender change". Herald Sun. May 7, 2010. Archived from the original on June 14, 2011. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  24. ↑ Byrge, Duane (January 24, 2011). "SUNDANCE REVIEW: 'Becoming Chaz' Is a Powerful Study in Personal Courage". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 1, 2019. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  25. ↑ "BBC News – Cher berates 'bigots' attack on son's role in TV show". BBC. September 2, 2011. Archived from the original on November 24, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2011.
  26. ↑ Corneau, Allison (October 26, 2011). "Dancing With the Stars: Chaz Bono Sent Home". Us . Archived from the original on October 28, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  27. ↑ "14 Reasons That Made 2011 Great for Trans People". Advocate.com. December 28, 2011. Archived from the original on October 7, 2013. Retrieved October 5, 2013.
  28. ↑ "Transition by Chaz Bono". The Queer Armenian Library. September 28, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2024.
  29. ↑ Rezsnyak, Eric. ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 6, Episode 9: Talk Show, Balk Show". CITY News. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  30. ↑ "Chaz Bono and Damiana on the RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 Finale Red Carpet". The WOW Report. May 23, 2014. Archived from the original on February 1, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

Works cited

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