BOB HOPE: GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

 

Photos from L to R: #1. Hope's first UK broadcast was on 17 July, 1943 - Yankee Doodle Doo at the BBC, alongside Frances Langford and David Niven. #2. His love affair with the BBC continued into the 1950s, with Denis Goodwin (l) and Bob Monkhouse in 1956 on The Bob Hope Show. #3. Hope always held his own with new generations of comic talent; here playing comic foil to Derek Nimmo on the BBC in 1970. #4. He became well known for entertaining US troops stationed overseas - here in Vietnam, at Cu Chu, near Saigon, December 1970.

 

 

Photos from L to R: #1. Two of the US' best-loved entertainers: Aged 96 at Disneyland with a fellow American icon of the 20th Century. #2. He made one of his last public appearances in January 2000 with wife Dolores, his companion for 70 years.

Television: Radio, movies, and a heavy schedule of personal appearances made Bob a star! But it was television that made him a super-star and a welcomed guest in every living room of America. Although he flirted with the 'new' entertainment medium as early as 1932 for an experimental station for CBS; appeared on the first commercial television broadcast on the West Coast in 1947; and was a surprise guest on Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town" in 1949 -- Bob was a latecomer to TV, not at all convinced it would succeed.

Photo: Mr. and Mrs. Hope at his 100th Anniversary.

Bob made his formal debut on NBC television Easter Sunday, 1950. Frigidaire sponsored the special, "Star Spangled Revue," which featured Bob's guest stars, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Beatrice Lillie, and Dinah Shore. The formula, along with Bob's unshakable decision to avoid a weekly show, proved extremely successful. For 60 years (radio and television) Bob was an NBC headliner and Nielsen ratings king. Bob has been honored and befriended by Presidents of the United States since Roosevelt. Hope's golfing buddies have been Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. He was hailed as "America's most prized ambassador of goodwill throughout the world" when presented with the Congressional Gold Medal from President Kennedy. President Johnson honored Bob with the Medal of Freedom and President and Mrs. Carter hosted a White House reception in celebration of his 75th birthday. Harry Truman played the piano for him and Bill Clinton bestowed on him a Medal of the Arts. Likewise he has been feted by his native England. Most recently in 1998, by order of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Bob received an honorary knighthood - Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (KBE) in recognition of his contribution to film, to song and to the entertainment of troops in the past. Upon hearing the news, Bob said, "I'm speechless. 70 years of ad lib material and I'm speechless." Cited by the Guinness Book of Records as most honored entertainer in the world, Hope has more than two thousand awards and citations for humanitarian and professional efforts, including 54 honorary doctorates.

Entertaining The Troops:

Bob Hope's unwavering commitment to the morale of America's servicemen and women is entertainment history, indeed, world history. Many say 'legend.' For nearly six decades, be the country at war or at peace, Bob, with a band of Hollywood gypsies, has traveled the globe to entertain our service men and women. The media dubbed him "America's No. 1 Soldier in Greasepaint." To the GIs, he was "G.I. Bob" and their clown hero. It began in May, 1941 when Bob, with a group of performers, went to March Field, California, to do a radio show for airmen stationed there. Throughout World War II, with only two exceptions, all of Bob's radio shows were performed and aired from military bases and installations throughout the United States and theaters of war in Europe and the South Pacific. His first trip into the combat area was in 1943 when he and his small USO troupe - Frances Langford, Tony Romano and Jack Pepper visited US military facilities in England, Africa, Sicily and Ireland.

In later years his itinerary included the South Pacific. Bob began what was to become a Christmas custom in 1948. He, with wife Dolores, went to Germany at the request of then Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, to entertain the troops involved in the Berlin Airlift. With the end of the Vietnam conflict in sight, Hope hailed his 1972 trip as his "last Christmas show." But each Christmas that followed, he was somewhere in the country doing a show at a military base or veterans hospital. In 1983 the call came from Beirut and Hope was "on the road again." In 1987, Hope flew around the world to entertain servicemen and women in the Pacific. Atlantic and Indian Oceans and in the Persian Gulf. He embarked on a goodwill tour in May, 1990 to entertain military personnel stationed in England, Russia, and Germany. At Christmas that year, he and wife Dolores, were in Saudi Arabia entertaining the men and women of "Operation Desert Storm."  1994 was a good year for Bob. His "Bob Hope: The First 90 Years," produced by daughter Linda Hope, won an Emmy. And he returned to his native England for a personal appearance tour in June, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.1996 marked the publication of Bob's collection of Presidential humor called "Dear Prez, I Wanna Tell Ya", and in November, he aired his 296th television special for NBC, Bob Hope Laughing with the Presidents." The show featured appearances by President and Mrs. Clinton, President and Mrs. Bush, President and Mrs. Ford, Julie Nixon and David Eisenhower. Bob's co-host was Tony Danza. May 1997, New Orleans - Bob stood by as Dolores christened the USNS Bob Hope (AKR 300), the first of a new class of ships named after Bob. Not to be outdone, one month later the US Air Force dedicated a new C-17 in his name. (In 2001, the C-17 the 'Spirit of Bob Hope,' transported the pilots and crew of the reconnaissance plane downed in China back safe and sound to Hawaii.). Five times Bob has been honored by the United States Congress. But, in October 1997, Bob received one of his greatest tributes when Resolution 75 was unanimously passed by members of both houses making him an Honorary Veteran - the first individual so honored in the history of the United States. He was feted in the US Capitol Rotunda by members of congress, military personnel and veterans. The next day, Bob, family and friends were guests in the oval office for the signing of the resolution by President Clinton  Bob's next visit to Washington, D.C. was in May 2000 when he officially opened the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment at the Library of Congress. In July 2001, the 'Pentagon' (US Army Adjutant General Corps) paid a visit to Bob Hope's home in Toluca Lake, California for the presentation of the Order of Horatio Gates Gold Medal for his life-long contributions toward maintaining the high morale of soldiers around the world. And on his 99th birthday, May 29, 2002; The Chapel at the Los Angeles National Cemetery was named The Bob Hope Veterans Chapel.

  Golf

Photo, left: Bob Hope with President and Mrs. Kennedy.

Bob is the ultimate sport fan. A boxer, a pool hustler, he also once owned part of the Cleveland Indians and the Los Angeles Rams ("Both before they learned how to play their game" he says.) He loves football. On television, it was his tradition to introduce the AP All American Football Team on his Christmas special each year.) And it is always a treat for him to visit or watch his 'now' favorite team, The San Diego Chargers. BUT, golf is his game. He is an avid golfer and has been quoted as saying "Golf is my profession. I tell jokes to pay my green fees."  Bob is one of the foremost proponents of the game and has contributed immensely to the popularity of golf - as a participant, a spectator and as an author. His book, "Confessions of a Hooker," which spotlights the memorable moments of his more than fifty years of golfing, was on the New York Times 'best seller' list for 53 weeks. In prominent spots in his trophy room are: the Old Tom Morris Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Golf Writer's Gold Tee Award and a PGA medal honoring him as "one of the three men who have done the most for golf." Most evident is a silver cup from Sports Illustrated commemorating his fifth hole-in-one fired at Butler National Golf Course in Oak Brook, Illinois. Since then he has added two more holes-in-one to his record at courses in Palm Springs. Enshrined in the World Golf Hall of Fame is a bas relief of his profile with a plaque that reads, "BOB HOPE - known by his nose, applauded for his humor, envied for his wit and loved by millions for his unselfish concern for all beings, Bob Hope is truly one-of-a-kind. He popularized golf to the unknowing, sponsored it for charity and played it for fun. Not a golf champion but a great champion of golf." Probably his greatest achievement in golf is the development and hosting of the Bob Hope/Chrysler Classic, a pro-am tournament held annually in Palm Springs, California. Now in its 44th year, the Classic draws the most famous pros and celebrity amateurs. A total charity effort, the Classic has raised over 35 million dollars for the Eisenhower Medical Center and 70 other deserving desert charities.

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