An emotional Cher eulogised her ex-husband Sonny Bono as "the most unforgettable character," and told a gathering of mourners from Hollywood and Washington how the entertainer-turned-congressman beat the odds with his joking personality.

"Some people were under the misconception that Sonny was a short man, but he was heads and tails taller than anyone else, " Cher said tearfully.

Cher made an emotional and moving eulogy

"He could see above the tallest people. He had a vision of his future and just how he was going to build it," she told some 1,400 mourners at St. Theresa Roman Catholic Church in Palm Springs, California.

A large color portrait of a grinning Bono hung near his flag-draped mahogany casket. Outside, another 2,500 mourners clutched umbrellas in a light drizzle, listening to the services on a loudspeaker.

The two-term Republican congressman and former mayor of Palm Springs died on Monday when he skied into a tree at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe. He was 62.

Mourners included House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, a dozen congressmen, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former President Gerald Ford, California Governor Pete Wilson, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, who represented President Bill Clinton, actor Jack Scalia and singers Tony Orlando and Jerry Vale.

In a ceremony marked by tears and laughter, Bono was remembered as a gregarious man whose accomplishments were more remarkable given his self-deprecating sense of humor.

Cher, Bono's long-time singing and stage partner, described first meeting him, then traced the formation of their professional and romantic partnerships.

"When I was 16, I met Sonny," she recalled. "I never saw anything like him before in my life. He walked into this room and I swear to God, I saw him and everybody else was washed away."

Sonny Bono - Congressman, singer and entertainer

Laughs filled the church when Cher lovingly recalled Bono's "weird hairdo - between Caesar and Napoleon."

"What people don't realize is he created Sonny and Cher," the Academy Award-winning actress said. "He had the confidence to be the butt of the joke because he created the joke."

On the career change that propelled him to Washington, Cher said, "I know someone doesn't decide in the middle of their life to become a congressman, but that's so typically Sonny."

Leaving most of the congregation in tears, Cher ended her eulogy by recalling a Reader's Digest feature called, "The Most Unforgettable Character."

"That person will always be Sonny for me," she said.

Sonny Bono's wife Mary, and their children

In his eulogy, Newt Gingrich told mourners how members of Congress had gathered before dawn in Washington for the trip west. "It was the sort of group Sonny would have liked, a lot of people, important, early in the morning being inconvenienced for him."

Mr Gingrich said Mr Bono never took himself seriously and never acted like a celebrity. Behind his jokes, however, was a dedicated politician who was able to disarm his critics.

After the funeral Mass, a cortege of several hundred cars drove to the cemetery at Desert Memorial Park in Cathedral City for the burial.
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