Funnyman Bob Hope was not amused: He...

Funnyman Bob Hope was not amused: He had done a 15-minute standup routine--without pay--at a benefit last Sunday at Burbank Starlight Amphitheatre to raise funds to buy that city a “Defenders of the Constitution” sculpture.

But the show was not a success. Only about 1,500 people paid for admission to the amphitheater, which can hold 6,000 or so, and Burbank City Councilwoman Mary Lou Howard said she thought she knew why.

“Times have changed,” she said, “and obviously Bob Hope is not the draw he once was.”

The remark drew plenty of heat. Hope is, his supporters pointed out, one of the best-known entertainers in the world; there were several other acts on the bill that night--and the Starlight Amphitheatre has a long history of poor turnouts. What’s more, Mayor Michael R. Hastings said Hope’s representatives had called him the day after the show, offering to assist if funds for the sculpture fell short.

So Howard promised to apologize.

The damage was done, though, and Hope publicist Ward Grant said the comedian was “not pleased” by the response.

“You know,” Ward said, “he didn’t even get thanks.”

(But he sure got some memories.)

The city of Whittier was founded by Quakers, so it’s only natural that a “Quaker City Bank” be located in the business district--and just as natural that Thursday’s earthquake should remove the letter “R” from the bank’s sign. . . .

Steven Tuillinger is no crybaby.

He told police he was poking through some discarded building materials at the corner of Prospect and Hallowell avenues in Hermosa Beach during the early morning hours when a man he’d never seen before pointed a gun at him, demanded money . . . and shot him in the face before he could reply.

Left for dead, Tuillinger, 38, attracted the attention of a passer-by, who called police and paramedics. They rushed him to Harbor-UCLA Medical Center.

But they were too late.

Paramedic Dixon Wood explained that the bullet--probably .22 caliber--had evidently traveled downward through the roof of Tuillinger’s mouth and stopped when it struck a dental plate. “He just spit it out on the floor of the ambulance,” Wood said, “and when we got to the hospital he wouldn’t come in. Kept saying he’s no crybaby.

“And he doesn’t trust doctors, either.”

Friday was World Farm Animals Day to dramatize the plight of “innocent and feeling beings that are slaughtered for food,” and nearly 500 vegetarians, environmentalists and animal-rights activists turned up for a noon rally in Hollywood.

Right in front of McDonald’s.

If there is one thing in the world that El Camino College absolutely will not stand for, it is discrimination.

And the school is up front with its feelings: Its stationery letterhead clearly states that El Camino “ensures equal access to its services, classes and programs without regard to race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, handicap, sex or service as a Vietnam-era veteran.”

That last item has raised a few eyebrows, of course. But El Camino spokeswoman Mary Ann Keating explained that trustees wanted to mention every group specifically protected under federal law--and Vietnam vets were added because they got such bad treatment from people who opposed the war.

Still, it does cause confusion. About once a week, she said, the school gets a phone call asking if El Camino discriminates against World War II vets. (And how about the ones who served in Korea?)