'Thanks for the memory'
By
Lubna Abdel Aziz
The news was sad, yet few among us could resist a smile, threatening to burst into a hearty guffaw, at the many memories of mirth and laughter, provided by the comedian of the 20th century. It was indeed a full century that Bob Hope lived, laughed and thrilled generations, whipping those one-liners one after another with his impenetrable calm, driving audiences wild with pleasure. Everything in his life was dealt with a smile and a song, except for one thing -- his country. He took his patriotism very seriously and "no one served his country more passionately, more faithfully and for as long as did Bob Hope." Honoured by every president, democrat or republican since Eisenhower; he also played golf with every president from "George Washington to George Bush" he joked. The golf course was his second favourite place to be -- the first was performing in front of an audience. He took it upon himself to entertain homesick US servicemen serving on foreign soil since WWII.
Every Christmas and on many other occasions he packed his bags recruited some first class names in show business and headed for the battlefields to the delight of the fighting men. For over six decades he entertained the USO 60 times, the first in May 1941 and the last in December 1990 during Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. He travelled more than 2 million miles, and entertained more than 11 million servicemen accompanied by the likes of Betty Grable, Jane Russell, Marilyn Monroe and Raquel Welch. His country was grateful and showered him with love. His presidents were grateful and showered him with honours, and so did the rest of the world.
When he reached 100 in May, President George Bush established the Bob Hope American Patriot Award "for civilians showing extraordinary love of country". He remains the only civilian to be named Honorary Veteran of the Armed Forces.
This true American patriot was not even born in America. Leslie Townes Hope was born in Eltham England on 29 May 1903. Before he reached the age of four, his parents packed up their 7 sons and emigrated to Cleveland, Ohio, USA. By age 12 he decided to drop out of school and help his butcher brother chop up chicken necks. Show business soon beckoned and Hope, like many immigrants, found this was one of the surest ways to succeed in the "new world". It certainly was for Leslie Hope whose career lasted 8 decades, starting with the stage, then moving on to radio, film and television. He is the only performer with 4 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
A natural dancer, he developed his famous strut and entered vaudeville. Leslie became Lester, and soon settled for something simpler, more accessible --"Bob", "and indeed became the best known Bob in the world". Nobody could stand taller or longer than funny man "Rapid Robert" as he was referred to, because of the speed with which he delivered his jokes. The Hope style soon began to evolve. Antics of 1930, a Broadway revue earned him a screen test, which he flunked: "My nose came up on the screen about an hour and a half ahead of me!"
Bob Hope 1903 --2003 An American institution
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It was all in the delivery of his one-line gags. That was the secret of his youthfulness. He delighted generations of fans with his breezy monologues and his cutting edge topics, a typically American brand of brash humour, profound, subtle, but also irreverent and pleasing. Though he was surrounded by a legion of the ablest comedy writers, he best knew what his audiences expected of him. Chief writer and director Melville Shavelson explained: "We took his own characteristics and exaggerated them. The woman-chaser, the coward, the cheap guy, and just put them in. He was really playing the real Bob Hope."
In 1934 during a Broadway run of Roberta, he was introduced to an Italian-Irish beauty by the name of Dolores Reade. She was pretty, she was witty, she played, she sang, she matched his humour and his grace, and together they made Hollywood history by staying married for 70 years. She became his wife in 1934. They adopted four children to keep her company while he took off again and again to entertain the troops. Always accompanied by pretty girls, Dolores remained the love of his life; her only rivals -- audiences and the game of golf.
His move from his popular radio show to films was easy. In The Big Broadcast (1938) he sang the bittersweet ballad "Thanks for the Memory" to Shirley Ross and it soon became the theme he would be identified with. He made it his own. After half a dozen films Paramount cast him opposite his friend Bing Crosby in Road to Singapore (1940). A huge success at the box office, it became the pattern for seven other Road films, always with Dorothy Lamour, the exotic native girl, rounding up the gay trio. He also scored big in his solo-starring films such as Monsieur Beaucaire (1946) and Paleface (1948). Combined with the success of the Road films, he became one of the top money-making stars in cinema (1941-1953). In 1941 he was No.1. He made over 50 films and his general popularity never flagged. Words were his forté. A connoisseur of the one- liner, and double entendres, the fast wise guy cracks and harmless leer, he never ever resorted to the loud, the fresh or the obscene. His grace, his famous jaunt, and the lightnesss of his touch never deserted him.
Capitalising on Americans' deep-rooted reverence for British aristocracy, Hope promoted the notion early in his career that the Hope family were descendents of British nobility, and he was lured to Broadway from his ancestral castle, Craig Hall, Kent, England. In later years such references to Lord Hope and Craig Hall dwindled and Mr Hope spoke candidly of the days of struggle that his immigrant family had to go through during their early days in America.
As Master of Ceremonies he had no equal. The most popular Oscar host, he appeared 13 times for the Annual Academy Awards, making his hopeless yearning for the Oscar into the longest running gag in the history of the Academy. He ended up earning 5 special Oscars, 54 honorary degrees, and keys to 500 cities.
Decorated by six presidents, he had a ready comment at all times. On receiving the Presidential Gold Medal from John Kennedy he quipped: "I feel very humble, but I think I have the strength of character to fight it." In 1998, Queen Elizabeth bestowed upon him the honorary title "Knight" -- Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. On receiving it he resurrected his famous gag "I left England at the age of 3 when I found out I couldn't become king."
Bob Hope is listed in the Guinness Book of World records as the most decorated man in the world. Streets, ships and planes have been named after him. He was nothing less than an American institution. Every comedian who followed him had an element of Hope.
At age 86 an interviewer asked what he still looked forward to, Hope quickly replied "More fun!" That is the legacy he left us. "Where there is life there is Hope" said President Reagan, and where there is Hope there is laughter and memories that will ring in our hearts as long as humour lives within us.
Awfully glad we met you, cheerio and toodeloo -- words from his famous wistful ballad for seven decades - Thanks for the Memory. To the king of delights we echo its last verse....
That grown men never cry, baby that's a lie,
We had our bed of roses, but forgot that roses die,
And thank you -- so much.
-- Bob Hope
