“The trees in Siberia are miles apart, that is why the dogs are so fast.”
Bob Hope
Introduction
Bob Hope was among the most prosperous American comedians ever. He was a man who used wise crack gags to his best advantage and ones that entertained radio, television and film audiences for generations. A comedian who roused the spirits of the troops in the Second World War and Vietnam and was a personal friend of American Presidents from Harry H. Truman to Bill Clinton. His Road movies with Bing Crosby were legendary. Bob loved being famous, but beyond the laughs, gags, and smiles was a more sinister side to the comedian who made a global audience laugh.
The Comedic Mask
Bob Hope, like Stan Laurel, hailed from England. He was born in Eltham in 1903. His birth name was Leslie Townes Hope, the son of a failed stone mason, William and Avis, a light opera singer and cleaner. The family emigrated to America in 1908, sailing on the SS Philadelphia to Cleveland, Ohio, in search of a better life. Hope, a massive fan of Charlie Chaplin growing up, became a street busker from 12, singing, dancing and performing for passers-by. His obsession with Chaplin. He entered numerous talent competitions named Lester Hope and even won a Charlie Chaplin competition when he was 15. He even had a brief career as a boxer under the name of Packy East. He won three fights and lost one in 1919. In 1920, Bob and his brothers became naturalised Americans.
Whilst working for a power company as a lineman in 1921, Hope was helping his brother Jim clear trees and one landed on Bob and crushed his face. He had to have reconstructive surgery He later worked as a butcher’s assistant and Chandler Motor Company in Cleveland. Hope would go on to have dancing lessons with his girlfriend and was spotted by Fatty Arbuckle. It would lead to work with George Byrne. In 1929, he changed his name to Bob Hope, naming himself after the racing driver Bob Burman.
From radio to film, Bob was a wisecracker. His stage shows entertained wartime troops and some of his scripts were written by Bob Monkhouse. My Great Uncle even performed with him in the 1950s. With a host of leading ladies including Katharine Hepburn, Paulette Goddard, Hedy Lamarr, Lucille Ball, Rosemary Clooney, Jane Russell and Elke Sommer, Hope was known in the film industry as a philanderer, having numerous affairs despite his long-term marriage to Dolores.
Seldom mentioned now, Bob wasn’t the jovial person offstage. He was described as being cold and distant. Adoring his fans but have an arm’s length distance with his children. Becoming highly unpopular for his patriotic stance on the Vietnam War, Hope performed for too long. Going on well into his 80s, his humour became dated. Now going blind and deaf, Bob was despised as a guest on the Johnny Carson Show. Despite being one of the most booked guests, he ended up having to have enlarged print cue cards on his show. Carson abided him but didn’t like him. A prickly character who disguised his aloof personality with well-rehearsed humour and laughs. A comedian who lived to the grand age of 100 and whose entertainment career spanned 80 years. He died in 2002 in Los Angeles, California.
