![]() ![]() Hope changed his name to Bob when classmates ridiculed his English schoolboy name. A highly competitive golfer, he later shot in the 70s and sponsored the Bob Hope Golf Classic, one of the nation's biggest tournaments. He also worked as a caddy and developed a lifelong fondness for golf. The boy helped out by selling newspapers and working in a shoe store, a drug store and a meat market. They found themselves in the backwash of the 1907 depression. The Hopes emigrated to the United States when he was 4 and settled in Cleveland. He was born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29, 1903, in Eltham, England, the fifth of seven sons of a British stonemason and a Welsh singer of light opera. ``He can't believe that this is happening and that he's made it to his Big 100,'' son Kelly Hope said at the time. The fabled intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was renamed Bob Hope Square, and President Bush established the Bob Hope American Patriot Award. ![]() On his 100th birthday, he was too frail to take part in public celebrations, but was said to be alert and happy - and overwhelmed by the outpouring of affection. ![]() He never let a good joke die - if it got a laugh in Vietnam, it would get a laugh in Saudi Arabia. Hope had a reputation as an ad-libber, but he kept a stable of writers and had filing cabinets full of jokes. So often was Hope away entertaining, and so little did he see his wife, Dolores, and their four adopted children, that he once remarked, ``When I get home these days, my kids think I've been booked on a personal appearance tour.'' He headlined in so many war zones that he had a standard joke for the times he was interrupted by gunfire: ``I wonder which one of my pictures they saw?'' Through he said he was afraid of flying, Hope traveled countless miles to entertain servicemen in field hospitals, jungles and aircraft carriers from France to Berlin to Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Hope earned a fortune, gave lavishly to charity and was showered with awards, so many that he had to rent a warehouse to store them. Woody Allen called Hope ``the most influential comedian for me.'' He was admired by his peers, and generations of younger comedians. ``You never tire of talking with your best friends.'' ``Audiences are my best friends,'' he liked to say. No matter that the joke was old or flat he was Bob Hope and he got laughs. When Hope went into one of his monologues, it was almost as though the world was conditioned to respond. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |