Books about bob hope biography wikipedia

Born in , and until his death in , Bob Hope was the only entertainer to achieve top-rated success in every major mass-entertainment medium, from vaudeville to television and everything in between. He virtually invented modern stand-up comedy. His tours to entertain US troops and patriotic radio broadcasts, along with his all-American, brash-but-cowardly movie character, helped to ease the nation's jitters during the stressful days of World War II.

He helped redefine the very notion of what it means to be a star: a savvy businessman, pioneer of the brand extension churning out books, writing a newspaper column, hosting a golf tournament , and public-spirited entertainer whose Christmas military tours and tireless work for charity set the standard for public service in Hollywood. But he became a polarizing figure during the Vietnam War, and the book sheds new light on his close relationship with President Richard Nixon during those embattled years.

Bob Hope is a household name. However, as Richard Zoglin shows in this revelatory biography, there is still much to be learned about this most public of figures, from his secret first marriage and his stint in reform school, to his indiscriminate womanizing and his ambivalent relationship with Bing Crosby and Johnny Carson. Hope could be cold, self-centered, tight with a buck, and perhaps the least introspective man in Hollywood.

But he was also a dogged worker, gracious with fans, and generous with friends. Hope is both a celebration of an entertainer whose vast contribution has never been properly appreciated, and a complex portrait of a gifted but flawed man, who, unlike many Hollywood stars, truly loved being famous, appreciated its responsibilities, and handled celebrity with extraordinary grace.

Not just for Hope fans, Zoglin's work will also appeal to readers interested in the colorful history of American entertainment, in which Hope played a prominent role. For me it's a feast. At the same time, Bob Hope became a comedian. Hope visited the United States armed forces between and during the conflicts in that time period. These shows made Hope a household name and well liked by most Americans.

Hope also entertained eleven U. The couple adopted four children: Eleanora, Anthony, Linda, and Kelly. Bob Hope was honored with more than awards. Among them are five special Oscars in , , , , and Between and he hosted the Academy Awards record seventeen times. Upon accepting the appointment, Hope quipped, "I'm speechless. Bob Hope died of pneumonia on July 27, , 2 months after his th birthday.

He was buried 3 days later, reburied on July 22, in custom made grave in California. Bob Hope's So This is Peace. Hope, Bob and Martin, Pete. ISBN Hope, Bob, and Lachman, Mort uncredited. New York: Doubleday, Amarillo, TX: Hale Publishing, The Last Christmas Show. ISBN X. Hope, Bob and Thomas, Bob. Hope, Bob and Netlund, Dwayne.

The first was a comedy, Going Spanish He was not happy with it, and told newspaper columnist Walter Winchell , "When they catch [bank robber] Dillinger , they're going to make him sit through it twice. He soon signed with the Vitaphone short-subject studio in Brooklyn , New York, making musical and comedy shorts during the day and performing in Broadway shows in the evenings.

The song " Thanks for the Memory ", which later became his trademark, was introduced in the film as a duet with Shirley Ross , accompanied by Shep Fields and his orchestra. As a film star, Hope was best known for such comedies as My Favorite Brunette and the highly successful " Road " movies in which he starred with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour.

At the outset, Paramount executives were amazed at how relaxed and compatible Hope and Crosby were as a team. What the executives didn't know was that Hope and Crosby had already worked together on the vaudeville stage in , and that working so easily in the "Road" pictures was just an extension of their old stage act. Lamour sometimes arrived for filming prepared with her lines, only to be baffled by completely rewritten scripts or ad-libbed dialogue between Hope and Crosby.

Hope and Crosby teamed not only for the "Road" pictures, but for many stage, radio, and television appearances and many brief movie appearances together over the decades [ 36 ] until Crosby died in Although the two invested together in oil leases and other business ventures, worked together frequently, and lived near each other, they rarely saw each other socially.

After an year hiatus from the "Road" genre, he and Crosby reteamed for The Road to Hong Kong , starring the year-old Joan Collins in place of Lamour, whom Crosby thought was too old for the part. Hope starred in 54 theatrical features between and , [ 40 ] as well as cameos and short films. Most of his later movies failed to match the success of his s efforts.

He was disappointed with his appearance in Cancel My Reservation , his last starring film; critics and filmgoers panned the movie. Hope's career in broadcasting began on radio in Serving as the master of ceremonies for these Rippling Rhythm Revue radio broadcasts, Hope collaborated with the big band leader Shep Fields during this period of transition from vaudeville to radio.

The writing staff eventually grew to fifteen. Hope continued his lucrative career in radio into the s, when radio's popularity began being overshadowed by the upstart television medium. Hope did many specials for the NBC television network in the following decades, beginning in April He was one of the first people to use cue cards.

The shows often were sponsored by Frigidaire early s , General Motors —61 , Chrysler —73 , and Texaco — Both were seen by more than 60 percent of the U. The comic, originally featuring publicity stills of Hope on the cover, was entirely made up of fictional stories, eventually including fictitious relatives, a high school taught by movie monsters, and a superhero called Super-Hip.

It was published intermittently and continued publication through issue in Illustrators included Bob Oksner and for the last four issues Neal Adams. Louis, Missouri. He continued his interest and support, and regularly visited the facility when in London. The theater was renamed in his honor in In , Hope made a guest appearance as himself on the animated Fox series The Simpsons in the episode " Lisa the Beauty Queen " season 4, episode 4.

Hope continued an active entertainment career past his 90th birthday, concentrating on his television specials and USO tours. Although he had given up starring in feature films after Cancel My Reservation , he made several cameos in various films and co-starred with Don Ameche in the television film A Masterpiece of Murder. Upon accepting the appointment, Hope quipped, "I'm speechless.

Hope was host of the Academy Awards ceremony 19 times between and His supposedly-feigned desire for an Oscar became part of his act. He had a deep respect for the men and women who served in the armed forces, and this was reflected in his willingness to go anywhere to entertain them. Anti-war sentiment was high, and his pro-troop stance made him a target of criticism from some quarters.

Some shows were drowned out by boos; others were listened to in silence. The tours were funded by the U. Department of Defense, Hope's television sponsors, and by NBC , the network that broadcast the television specials created after each tour from footage shot on location. However, the footage and shows were owned by Hope's own production company, which made them very lucrative ventures for him, as outlined by writer Richard Zoglin in his biography Hope: Entertainer of the Century.

Hope sometimes recruited his own family members for USO travel. His wife, Dolores, sang from atop an armored vehicle during the Desert Storm tour, and granddaughter Miranda appeared alongside him on an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean. When the time for recognition of service to the nation in wartime comes to be considered, Bob Hope should be high on the list.

This man drives himself and is driven. It is impossible to see how he can do so much, can cover so much ground, can work so hard, and can be so effective. He works month after month at a pace that would kill most people. Along with his best friend Bing Crosby, Hope was offered a commission in the United States Navy as lieutenant commander during World War II, but FDR intervened, believing it would be better for troop morale if they kept doing what they were doing by playing for all branches of military service.

He remarked, "I've been given many awards in my lifetime, but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most is the greatest honor I have ever received. Dear Bob Bob Hope's Wartime Correspondence with the G. Les Richter was made president of the raceway. And I think influences in part on their own personas as not being this suave, handsome, macho guy.

And that character - that kind of scared character, the guy talk - nervous, talking his way through, you know, bad times and scary times. He always said that he and Diane Keaton in those films were basically like Hope and Crosby ". And I thought, what are you talking about? How did Bob Hope influence you in any way? Then I went back and I started looking at seeing some of the movies.

And you see it, you see that that the character that Woody Allen does is a character that I think was really, to a large extent invented by Bob Hope. Hope helped establish modern American stand-up comedy. He was known for his style of self-deprecating jokes, first building himself up and then tearing himself down. He performed hundreds of times per year.

Hope had no faith in his skills as a dramatic actor, and his performances of that type were not as well received. Although Hope made an effort to keep his material up to date, he never adapted his comic persona or his routines to any great degree. As Hollywood began to transition to the " New Hollywood " era in the s, he reacted negatively, such as when he hosted the 40th Academy Awards in and voiced his contempt by mocking the show's delay because of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Former First Lady Nancy Reagan , a close friend and frequent host to him at the White House, called Hope "America's most honored citizen and our favorite clown". Hope was well known as an avid golfer, playing in as many as charity tournaments a year. His love for the game—and the humor he could find in it—made him a sought-after foursome member.

He once remarked that President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave up golf for painting: "Fewer strokes, you know. A golf club became an integral prop for Hope during the standup segments of his television specials and USO shows. Bush , and Bill Clinton , the only time three U. Hope had a heavy interest in sports beyond golf and his brief fling as a professional boxer in his youth.

In , he bought a small stake in the Cleveland Indians professional baseball team [ 99 ] and held it for most of the rest of his life. The players would come onstage one by one and introduce themselves, then Hope, often dressed in a football uniform, would give a one-liner about the player or his school. Hope was awarded more than 2, honors and awards, including 54 honorary university doctorates.

In President John F. Kennedy awarded him the Congressional Gold Medal for service to his country. Military Sealift Command was named for the performer in It is one of very few U. In , he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters L. In , Hope was invited to dot the "i" in the Ohio State University Marching Band 's "Script Ohio" formation, an honor only given to non-band members on 14 occasions from through The award was created to honor the football coach's legacy, and is awarded annually to an individual who exemplifies his spirit.

On May 28, , President George W. Although he was never nominated for a competitive Oscar, Hope was given five honorary awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences : [ ]. They were married on January 25, , in Erie, Pennsylvania. She was described as a "former Ziegfeld beauty and one of society's favorite nightclub entertainers, having appeared at many private social functions at New York, Palm Beach, and Southampton".

His marriage to Reade was fraught with ambiguities. Bob and Dolores always claimed that they married in February in Erie, Pennsylvania. But at that time, he was secretly married to his vaudeville partner Louise Troxell, after three years together on and off. I found divorce papers for Bob and Louise dated November , so either Bob Hope was a bigamist, or he lied about marrying Dolores in February that year.

He had actually married Louise in January in Erie when they were traveling on the vaudeville circuit. More intriguing, there is no record anywhere of his marriage to Dolores, if it happened. And there are no wedding photos, either. But he never forgot Louise and quietly sent her money in her later years. Dolores had been one of Hope's co-stars on Broadway in Roberta.

The couple adopted four children: Linda in , Anthony "Tony" — , [ ] Kelly , and Eleanora "Nora" In , they moved to Moorpark Street in the Toluca Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, where they would reside until their respective deaths. Hope had a reputation as a womanizer and continued to see other women throughout his marriage. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton and often made topical political jokes in his comedic material.

Books about bob hope biography wikipedia

He hosted the White House Correspondents Dinner three times in , , and Bob Hope was friends with Nixon. Bob Hope was speaking in favor of the Vietnam War. Bob Hope was expressing that kind of backward, suburban, WASP view of minorities, homosexuals , the women's movement ". Hope, who suffered from vision problems for much of his adult life, served as an active honorary chairman on the board of Fight for Sight , a nonprofit organization in the United States which funds medical research in vision and ophthalmology.

Hope's Modernist 23,square-foot 2, m 2 home , built to resemble a volcano, was designed in by John Lautner. That house was put on the market in late In July at age 94, he attended the funeral of Jimmy Stewart , where many pointed out his frail appearance. Contemporaries Fay Wray and Gloria Stuart were also present. Hope celebrated his th birthday on May 29, Even at , Hope maintained his self-deprecating sense of humor, quipping, "I'm so old, they've canceled my blood type.

Hope converted to Catholicism seven years before his death. In , five years before his death, a prepared obituary written by the Associated Press was inadvertently released, resulting in Hope's death being announced on the floor of the U. House of Representatives. On the morning of July 27, , Hope died of pneumonia at his home in Toluca Lake, California , two months after his th birthday.