Op-Ed: Honor Burbank, Bob Hope and flying history

Bob Hope Airport’s governing agency recently announced it was considering a name change — to Los Angeles Burbank Airport — which would be a mistake.

It’s not because the airport cannot afford to change the name. The airport’s name has changed six times since 1930. It’s not because the current name is commonly used — it isn’t — and it is not because the proposed name isn’t legitimate — an airport hotel goes by the Los Angeles Burbank Marriott — though it might be confusing, given that Burbank is not part of the city of Los Angeles.

The reason why the agency should keep the name Bob Hope Airport, which is located in Burbank, is because the name honors the truth of its history — the city’s, the man’s and the airport’s.

According to Burbank’s website, for example, the city of Burbank — founded by an entrepreneurial dentist named David Burbank who was also a rancher and a land developer — named the airport after the show businessman to commemorate Bob Hope’s “great contributions” to Burbank.

Naming the airport, which serves more than 3 million annual passengers, after the legendary comedian is a perfect fit. Hope lived in nearby Toluca Lake, kept his plane at the airport and worked for NBC. The airport’s current name was announced on Dec. 17, 2003, the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight in 1903, the year Bob Hope was born.

That the name holder’s birth date matches pioneers of flight with a pioneer of stage, screen, radio and television makes sense. Bob Hope is one of America’s greatest entertainers — a master of multimedia well matched to the Media City, which continues to attract enterprises such as Marvel and KCET.

Many may know that Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in England, that the family moved to the Midwest, and that Hope was a poor child of an alcoholic and worked as a newspaper boy and as a boxer. Hope once quipped: “I was on more canvases than Picasso.” Many also know that throughout his 60 years with NBC in Burbank, Bob Hope set the comedy standard for a century of comics.

Every milestone in Hope’s life, from his name to his good humor, charity work, show business, property development and vast wealth, is an example of self-made success. Buying much of the San Fernando Valley, the Cleveland Indians and oil wells, he earned his fortune through hard work and good judgment. He supported American troops, who moved in large volume through the airport during World War II, at great peril to his life and career. He supported artists, too, such as comedienne Phyllis Diller, whom he insisted get equal billing in their movies.

Bob Hope, who dropped out of high school to work, taught himself to sing (“Thanks for the Memories”), dance and be funny without sneering at the world.

His is a distinguished life and Burbank is a crucial part of it. The city that proclaims it was built by “people, pride and progress” ought to be proud to have an airport that bears the name of one of its most progressive people, Bob Hope. The facts and meaning of his exemplary life are the best reason Bob Hope Airport should choose to keep — and keep earning — its exceptional, self-made name.

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SCOTT HOLLERAN is a resident of Burbank. He can be reached via email at scott@scottholleran.com.