Born into a lower-income California family, actress/pop singer Cher (born Cherilyn Sarkisian) attempted to escape her poverty by entering show business as a go-go dancer at the age of 16. She met and married singer/promoter Sonny Bono, who lifted her from obscurity as half of the immensely popular singing duo Sonny and Cher. The diminutive, ebullient Bono and the tall, deadpan Cher became a top recording team (their big hit was "I Got You, Babe") and a regular guest act on the many variety shows of the period. Sonny and Cher continued their upward climb until musical tastes changed in the early '70s, whereupon they began concentrating on comedy sketches and kidding-on-the-square insults directed at one another in their own variety weekly, The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, which enjoyed a successful three-year network run beginning in 1971...
