Background
Hope was born on May 30, 1903 in Eltham, London, United Kingdom; the son of William Henry Hope and Avis (Townes) Hope. In 1908 Hope's family moved from England to Cleveland.
Bob Hope with his wife Dolores Hope.
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in "Road to Bali", 1952.
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby sing and dance during "Chicago Style" in Road to Bali, 1952.
Hope with Nancy Reagan and President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Hope at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas in 1990.
Bob Hope with his wife Dolores Hope.
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in "Road to Bali", 1952.
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby sing and dance during "Chicago Style" in Road to Bali, 1952.
Hope with Nancy Reagan and President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Hope at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas in 1990.
(To comedians, 'material'--their jokes--has always been pr...)
To comedians, 'material'--their jokes--has always been precious, worthy of protecting and preserving. On stage, a good vaudeville routine could last years as it was performed on tour across the country. On radio, a year's vaudeville material might be fodder for one week's broadcast. Bob Hope used new material not only for his weekly radio series, but also for the several live charity appearances he made each week. Organized by the stages of his life, accompanied by black-and-white photographs, this book gives readers a chance to enjoy the very best of Hope's jokes, from his early years in vaudeville, his top-rated radio show in the '30s and '40s, his legendary television appearances, and much more.
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1940
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1940
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1942
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1948
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1952
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1968
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Hope was born on May 30, 1903 in Eltham, London, United Kingdom; the son of William Henry Hope and Avis (Townes) Hope. In 1908 Hope's family moved from England to Cleveland.
Hope attended the Boys' Industrial School in Lancaster. He received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Nevada, Monmouth College, Whittier College, Pennsylvania Military College, Miami University, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Charleston, the University of Wyoming, the Northwestern University and others.
Hope, before his acting career, had a brief career as a boxer in 1919, fighting under the name Packy East. He worked as a butcher's assistant and a lineman in his teens and early twenties.
He first appeared on Broadway in "The Sidewalks of New York" in 1927. Hope got his first trial as a solo act at Chicago's Stratford Theatre in 1928. In solo appearances, he always made his audience feel at ease and comfortable with his self-deprecating humor. He returned to Broadway in 1933 to star as Huckleberry Haines in the musical "Roberta".
Then Hope signed a contract with Educational Pictures of New York for six short films, but he appeared only in a one comedy "Going Spanish" in 1934. After he dropped his contract with Educational Pictures, he soon signed with Warner Brothers, making movies during the day and performing in Broadway shows in the evenings.
He began his feature-length movie career in Hollywood in 1938, with the Paramount film "The Big Broadcast of 1938". Bob starred in the series consisting of seven films made between 1940-1962, including "Road to Singapore", 1940, "Road to Zanzibar", 1941, "Road to Morocco", 1942, "Road to Utopia", 1946, "Road to Rio", 1947, "Road to Bali", 1952 and "The Road to Hong Kong', 1962.
Also he appeared in a comedy "My Favorite Blonde", 1942, musical film "Let’s Face It", 1943, comedy "Monsieur Beaucaire", 1946, "My Favorite Brunette", 1947, "The Paleface", 1948, "Fancy Pants", 1950, "The Lemon Drop Kid", 1951 and "Son of Paleface", 1952.
During World War II Hope traveled extensively to entertain troops overseas and at home; most of his war-era radio shows were broadcast from military bases throughout the world.
Hope showed his skills as a song-and-dance man and afforded him the opportunity to introduce many songs that became popular standards, including "Two Sleepy People", "Buttons and Bows" and "Silver Bells".
In addition to his acting career, he began performing on the radio in 1934. His first regular series for NBC Radio was the "Woodbury Soap Hour" in 1937, on a 26-week contract. A year later "The Pepsodent Show" starring Bob Hope began and he signed a ten-year contract with the show's sponsor, Lever Brothers. He performed his first United Service Organizations (USO) show on May 6, 1941 at March Field in California and continued to travel and entertain troops for the rest of World War II, later during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the third phase of the Lebanon Civil War, the latter years of the Iran-Iraq War and the 1990-19991 Persian Gulf War. His USO career lasted a half-century during which he headlined 57 times.
Hope`s later movie was "Cancel My Reservation", 1972 and he did make a few cameo film appearances into the 1980s. Hope was host of the Academy Awards ceremony 19 times between 1939-1977. However, in 1992, he made a guest appearance as himself on the animated Fox series "The Simpsons" in the episode titled "Lisa the Beauty Queen".
His final television special "Laughing with the Presidents" was broadcast in November 1996, with host Tony Danza helping him present a personal retrospective of presidents of the United States known to Hope, a frequent White House visitor over the years. In 1997, Hope made his last TV appearance in a commercial about the introduction of Big Kmart.
At age 92, he released a book, video and two compact discs commemorating the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. He was the author of 14 books.
Hope starred in 54 theatrical features between 1938 and 1972, as well as cameos and short films. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his service to the armed forces through the United Service Organizations and the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen in 1982. On June 10, 1980, he became the 64th and only civilian recipient of the United States Air Force Order of the Sword.
Several buildings and facilities were renamed for Hope, including the historic Fox Theater in downtown Stockton, California, the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and the Bob Hope Gallery at the Library of Congress. He was given five honorary awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
(To comedians, 'material'--their jokes--has always been pr...)
Quotations:
"When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness".
"If you haven't got any charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble".
"The good news is that Jesus is coming back. The bad news is that he's really pissed off".
"Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle".
"The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body and your fat are really good friends".
Hope served as an honorary chairman on the board of Fight for Sight organization.
Hope was an avid golfer, playing in as many as 150 charity tournaments a year. The Bob Hope Classic (nowadays CareerBuilder Challenge), founded in 1960, made history in 1995 when Hope teed up for the opening round in a foursome that included Presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, the only time three United States presidents played in the same golf foursome.
In 1946, he bought a small stake in the Cleveland Indians professional baseball team and held it for most of the rest of his life. Hope was always ambitious and wanted to improve.
On January 25, 1933 Bob Hope married Grace Louise Troxell, with whom he divorced in November 1934. Then in February 1934 he married Dolores Hope. The couple adopted four children and they had several grandchildren.
