May 29
HOPE DAY
England’s Leslie Townes Hope was born on this day in 1903, and he was probably smiling instead of crying when he entered the world. You see, Leslie, better known to us as Bob, kept the world smiling for seven decades.
In his autobiography, ‘Ski Nose’ gave us an insight into his sense of humor and comedic timing, “In Russia, I had no trouble with the language -- nobody talked.”
With a career that began with appearances in comedy short films in the 1930s, he made his first feature film appearance in The Big Broadcast of 1938 singing Thanks for the Memory, which became his theme song. Bob Hope hit it big, however, in 1940 with his first ‘road’ picture, The Road to Singapore. Co-starring with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, he hit the road to Zanzibar, Morroco, Utopia, Rio, Bali (the first in color), and the last, Hong Kong in 1962.
The consummate entertainer, Bob Hope appeared in a multitude of films other than the roadies. Millions caught his act on nightclub stages, and on countless TV specials, including 17 years as host of The Academy Awards. Yet he was still best known for his USO tours and entertaining of troops overseas and on the front lines during World War II, the Korean War, the Viet Nam War and during Desert Storm in the early 1990s.
How could one human being have done so much, always seeming to have one more hour to give to entertain the world? Hope, who died July 27, 2003 at age 100, said it best in one of his quips, “If I could live my life over, I wouldn’t have time!”
Thank you for the memories, Mr. Hope, and for giving others hope.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
No portion of these files may be reproduced without the express, written permission of 440 International Inc.
