Lillian frequently stayed with Leon and his mother to escape her parents and her brother Sonny.
Ms. Buono has been running only Internet ads so far; one earlier this week sought to teach people how to pronounce her name (and distinguish her from Sonny Bono, Bono and Andrew M. Cuomo).
Her feed is a mix of stylish red carpet shots, goofy pics of her hanging out with her family or clubbing with her mates, and lots of snaps of her dog Sonny, a white bundle of fluff she adopted from Bristol cats and dogs home just after Christmas.
The scene, which ends with her taking Sonny's hands and holding them tearfully to her face, has a rawness and emotional intensity that is rarely found in even the best of the rites of passage movies that followed The Last Picture Show.
Now she's the headliner, her warp-speed climb to the top of kid pop — by way of albums, TV films and her sitcom, "Sonny With a Chance" — a testament not only to her indefatigable energy and legitimate talent, but also to the vitality and efficiency of the Disney star-making machine, which cultivates young talent across media platforms.
Her two 22-year-old twin nieces, Paulina and Portia, and her nephew, Sonny Boy, 26, have been searching for full-time work.
Among them are Black Spot, above, at more than 6 feet tall the mob's dominant male and the father of most of the joeys in his group, and Madge, who teaches her son Sonny about survival among humans while carrying a nursing joey named Alice in her pouch.
In the evening as Sherri examines her wardrobe Sonny comes in.
Samta Patel and her husband, Sonny -- both born in Zambia -- own Treasured Artifacts, which sells folk art from Africa and Mexico.
