Sonny King (April 1, 1922 – February 3, 2006) was an American

lounge singer Lounge music is a type of easy listening music popular in the 1950s and 1960s. It may be meant to evoke in the listeners the feeling of being in a place, usually with a tranquil theme, such as a jungle, an island paradise or outer space. The rang ...

of Italian descent. He was born as Luigi Antonio Schiavone on April 1, 1922 in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. He was the sidekick of Jimmy Durante for 28 years until Durante's death in 1980. They appeared together on ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the '' CBS Sunday Night M ...

'' 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. 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 ''Robin and the 7 Hoods'' is a 1964 American musical film directed by Gordon Douglas and starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Bing Crosby. The picture features Peter Falk, Barbara Rush, and an uncredited Edward G. Robinson. ...

'' and ''

Sergeants 3 ''Sergeants 3'' is a 1962 American comedy/Western film directed by John Sturges and starring Rat Pack icons Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. It was the last film to feature all five members of the Ra ...

''. 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 Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the 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 Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. 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 had seven children: Thomas Stephens, Michael Stephens, Craig Unger, Shannon Ward, Antoinette Schiavone, Louis Schiavone II and Christopher Schiavone.

Discography

Filmography

References

1922 births 2006 deaths American male film actors Musicians from Brooklyn People from the Las Vegas Valley American people of Italian descent Deaths from cancer in Nevada 20th-century American singers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers {{US-singer-stub