Knighthood for Bob Hope
 

Bob Hope with his wife Dolores, after being awarded the KBE.

The American comedian Bob Hope at 94, has received an honorary knighthood at the British Embassy in Washington. He was accompanied by his wife Dolores as he accepted the honour from the British ambassador to the US, Sir Christopher Meyer. The knighthood is in recognition of his work entertaining troops in several wars, including the 1990 Gulf War.

Mr Hope will not be able to use the title Sir, but will be able to use the initials KBE - Knight of the British Empire - after his name. Mr Hope, probably the world's oldest working comedian, made his name in vaudeville theatre and radio, before embarking on the famous 'Road' films with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamur.

 

 

Photos from L to R: #1. Samia Thuruvan, a homeless veteran from Vietnam attended a ceremony honouring the comic. #2. Onlookers gathered to see a street being renamed Bob Hope Square. #3. Bob Hope's children Kelly Hope, Zachary, Linda, and Tony, from left, held a sign after the ceremony.

Photos from L to R: #1. Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, the son of a stonemason and concert singer. Here he is aged about six. #2. After spells on Broadway in the 1930s, he first made an impact on screen alongside Dorothy Lamour in The Big Broadcast of 1938

 

The "Road Pictures" with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour made Hope a box office star.  A Bob Hope movie on television, be it the 'early movie' or the 'late-late show', is watched and enjoyed by all ages. Consequently, his movies claim a large and faithful following with each generation. In all, Hope starred in more than 50 feature films and has appeared in cameos for another 15 -- the last being "Spies Like Us" in 1985. As with radio -- Hope earned the status of #1 at the box office. Bob has introduced two Academy Award-winning songs: "Thanks for the Memory" with Shirley Ross in "The Big Broadcast of 1938" and "Buttons and Bows" in "The Paleface" (1948). To his credit are "Two Sleepy People" from the movie "Thanks for the Memory," "Silver Bells" from "The Lemon Drop Kid;" and with Crosby and Lamour in the "road" pictures: "Put It There Pal," "Teamwork," and "We're Off On the Road to Morocco." Ah yes, the "road" pictures! Paramount had been planning a movie called "The Road to Mandaley" (later changed to "The Road to Singapore") for George Burns and Gracie Allen. Because Burns and Allen were not available, Paramount tapped Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie -- they were also overbooked. Enter Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour... and film history is made.

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