Entertainer Bob Hope dead at 100By BOB THOMAS, Associated Press Writer LOS ANGELES - Bob Hope, ski-nosed master of the one-liner and favorite comedian of servicemen and presidents alike, has died, less than two months after turning 100.
Hope died late Sunday of pneumonia, his longtime publicist Ward Grant said Monday. Hope's family was at his bedside at his home in Toluca Lake.
The nation's most-honored comedian, a millionaire many times over, was a star in every category open to him — vaudeville, radio, television and film, most notably a string of "Road" movies with longtime friend Bing Crosby. For decades, he took his show on the road to bases around the world, boosting the morale of servicemen from World War II to the Gulf War.
He perfected the one-liner, peppering audiences with a fusillade of brief, topical gags.
"I bumped into Gerald Ford the other day. I said, `Pardon me.' He said, `I don't do that anymore.'"
He poked fun gently, without malice, and made himself the butt of many jokes. His golf scores and physical attributes, including his celebrated ski-jump nose, were frequent subjects:
"I want to tell you, I was built like an athlete once — big chest, hard stomach. Of course, that's all behind me now."
When Hope went into one of his monologues, it was almost as though the world was conditioned to respond. No matter that the joke was old or flat; he was Bob Hope and he got laughs.
"Audiences are my best friends," he liked to say. "You never tire of talking with your best friends."
He was admired by his peers, and generations of younger comedians. Woody Allen called Hope "the most influential comedian for me."
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.
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. His Christmas tours became tradition.
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?"
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."
Hope had a reputation as an ad-libber, but he kept a stable of writers and had filing cabinets full of jokes. He never let a good joke die — if it got a laugh in Vietnam, it would get a laugh in Saudi Arabia.
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. The fabled intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street was renamed Bob Hope Square, and President Bush established the Bob Hope American Patriot Award.
"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.
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. The Hopes emigrated to the United States when he was 4 and settled in Cleveland. They found themselves in the backwash of the 1907 depression.
The boy helped out by selling newspapers and working in a shoe store, a drug store and a meat market. He also worked as a caddy and developed a lifelong fondness for golf. A highly competitive golfer, he later shot in the 70s and sponsored the Bob Hope Golf Classic, one of the nation's biggest tournaments.
"It's as if every one of them was his kid brother," Mrs. Hope once said.
His 1966 Vietnam Christmas show, when televised, was watched by an estimated 65 million people, the largest audience of his career.
Hope at first was hawkish on Vietnam. Later, he said he was "just praying they get an honorable peace so our guys don't have to fight. I've seen too many wars."
His views opened a gap between the comedian and young Americans opposed to the war. He was sometimes heckled by young people in his audience.
In 1990, he traveled to the Persian Gulf to entertain troops preparing for war with Iraq. Because Saudi Arabia bars female entertainers, he had to leave Marie Osmond and the Pointer Sisters behind in Bahrain.
"They have their religion and their beliefs and you have to kind of abide by it," he said. "What bothers me is they don't want any entertainment and they still invited me."
Hope had a reputation as an ad-libber, but he kept a stable of writers and had filing cabinets full of jokes. He never let a good joke die — if it got a laugh in Vietnam, it would get a laugh in Saudi Arabia.
He said he traveled with more than a ton of cue cards, the letters growing larger as he aged.
Hope never had a regular straight man, but he worked often with crooner Crosby, first in radio, where they developed a routine of insulting each other merrily. Crosby helped make Hope's nose famous as a "droop snoot" and a "ski run." For his part, Hope replied: "Only in Hollywood could a meatball make so much gravy."
Hope amassed a fortune, investing much of it in real estate in California's San Fernando Valley, Palm Springs and Malibu. Forbes magazine in 1983 estimated his wealth at more than $200 million, but Hope denied it.
Mrs. Hope, a prominent Roman Catholic laywoman, kept busy with her charities and their four adopted children, Linda, Anthony, Nora and Kelly.
His awards included scores of honorary degrees; special Oscars for humanitarianism and service to the film industry; the George Peabody Award; the National Conference of Christians and Jews Award; and the Medal of Freedom from President Johnson.
He was the author or co-author of 10 books, including his 1990 autobiography, "Don't Shoot, It's Only Me."
In the mid-'90s, Hope played charity dates around the nation, but he seemed to slow his schedule. What was billed as his last NBC special, "Laughing with the Presidents," focusing on his long friendships with many occupants of the White House, appeared in late 1996. His more than 60-year association with the network was said to be a record.
In 1997, there were new honors: The Navy christened a 950-foot-long, 33,000-ton support ship the USNS Bob Hope, and the Air Force dedicated a C-17 Globemaster III cargo plane as "The Spirit of Bob Hope."
As his 95th birthday approached in May 1998, the Library of Congress announced it was creating the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment. The Hope family pledged $3.5 million for the upkeep of Hope memorabilia in the library.
In recent years, his hearing eroded, although he refused to wear a hearing aid. He suffered recurring eye problems, once remarking: "I've got a hemorrhage in the right eye now, and I used to have one in the left eye. I'm a walking hemorrhage."
Until increasing frailty slowed him down, Hope repeatedly pledged never to quit entertaining.
"I'm not retiring until they carry me away," he said. "And I'll have a few routines on the way to the big divot."
