After 60 Years, Hope, NBC Share a Final Memory

Six decades ago, a rising young comedian named Bob Hope teamed up with NBC on radio. Little did he or the network know they were embarking on a relationship that would encompass both radio and television and make broadcasting history--”the longest run by any star on any network,” as NBC puts it.

Tonight that astonishing show business association comes to an end. A month after proclaiming himself a “free agent” in newspaper ads, the 93-year-old comedian and national institution--who says he is not retiring and already has other plans--presents what he describes as his final NBC special, an hour entry titled “Bob Hope . . . Laughing With the Presidents.”

President Clinton and his wife, Hillary, and two former White House couples, George and Barbara Bush and Gerald and Betty Ford, as well as David and Julie Nixon Eisenhower, are among the guests. The program looks at Hope’s relationships with 11 presidents, going back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And entertainers Tony Danza, Ann-Margret, Don Johnson, Naomi Judd and Tom Selleck help stitch the narrative together.

Hope, meanwhile, is working on a career change of sorts in his 10th decade as he and his family size up the proper vehicles to suit his stature, his time of life and his unflagging enthusiasm. His wife of 62 years, Dolores, and his executive producer daughter, Linda Hope, agree he won’t and shouldn’t retire.

“Heavens no,” Linda says. “He couldn’t really retire,” Dolores adds.

Hope and his daughter say the ideas for future projects include home video and cable shows based on his treasure trove of material from his decades as an entertainment icon--and, in addition, the creation of a comedy museum under his aegis.

“We have a tremendous library” of footage for shows, Linda Hope says. The comedian agrees, saying he’d like to do some presenting and narration.

On tonight’s hour, which could be an example of how material would be used, Danza does most of the hosting and the white-haired Hope weighs in with periodic comments and memories about the presidents. The footage of Hope past and present speaks for itself in depicting the passage of time. There is a poignant final shot as Hope and Danza depart arm in arm.

As for the comedian’s proposed museum, Hope said in a phone conversation: “I’ll talk to people about getting involved. I have to. There’s an awful lot to do when you’re setting up a museum and thinking of different people to get into it.”

High on his list of honorees, he suggested, is his old pal and comedy partner in the famous series of “Road” movies, the late Bing Crosby. A close friend of Hope quotes him as saying of Crosby: “I was his straight man.”

Linda Hope says her father has very definite ideas not only about what he wants to do, but also what he won’t do, at this stage of his life. He is opposed, she says, to “anything that would denigrate everything he has stood for all these years--certain types of comedy, allowing himself to be used. We’ve had ridiculous offers from people who want to do shows, commercials, that don’t have dignity.

“One script wanted him to be a blithering kind of person, incontinent in a nursing home, the worst of everybody’s image of what it is to be older. Dad is an incredible example of what people can be when they’re 93. The challenge of having new things on the horizon keeps him excited about life.”

Dolores Hope says of her husband’s desire to keep going: “I do like that, because that’s his energy. He still looks fantastic.” But she also has humor about the impact of growing older.

“My mother,” Linda says, “has a needlepoint cushion in her bedroom that says, ‘Old age is not for sissies.’ The other line that my parents love is, ‘We’re not getting old--we’re just on the back nine,’ ” referring to the comedian’s devotion to golf.

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Because of Hope’s achievements--star of stage, radio, movies and television, longtime host of the Academy Awards, friend of presidents and years of entertaining servicemen and women, most famously at Christmastime--a measure of diplomacy and respect entered into the scheduling of tonight’s special and his leaving NBC as a “free agent.”

The program originally was scheduled for Aug. 10. Rick Ludwin, NBC’s senior vice president of specials, variety shows and late-night programs, says Hope previously had done some summer specials that “played pretty well for us.”

“But Linda and Bob felt the perception might be that NBC was burying the show or wasn’t proud of it, which was not the case. But we had to respect that opinion and that it might be perceived as that. They were very proud of the show. And frankly, when you’re dealing with the stature of Bob Hope, you listen to that concern.”

NBC not only moved “Laughing With the Presidents” closer to the presidential election--it also gave it a spot in the prime viewing month of the November sweeps, which helps stations determine their advertising rates. Ludwin recalled that Hope’s Emmy-winning 1993 special marking his 90th birthday “did a 25 share for us [25% of the TV audience tuned in] for three hours on a Friday night.”

As for the parting of the comedian and the network, Linda Hope said the “free agent” ad was taken out because “people were interested in what was happening with NBC. Were they picking him up? Did he want to wrap it up after 60 years? It was really his choice.” She later added that it was “a mutual parting” on the contract, with NBC leaving the door open “if we had a great idea” for a show.

According to his daughter, although Hope still plays golf regularly, “his eyes are not their best at this point” and that “makes it difficult for him to deal with a whole show the way he used to. At 93, with the kind of life he’s led, he’s had enough running around for two lifetimes.”

“And I think just the notion of having another year and another contract didn’t allow him to explore the things he wanted to explore, the top thing being the museum. He’s had a foot in every decade of this century and has been an observer of what has gone on in comedy.”

His newspaper ads, announcing his departure, thanked NBC: “It’s been a great ride.” The network responded with a statement that said, “We respect Bob’s decision. . . . Bob Hope has always been NBC’s number one ambassador. No one better represents the NBC tradition than Bob Hope.”

Says Ludwin: “We paid for those ads. I didn’t want it perceived that NBC was casting him adrift, and we tried to handle it in as classy a way as we could.”

Dolores and Linda Hope say there were family discussions with the comedian encouraging him to follow his desires. “He talked to all of us about it,” Linda says. “We said, ‘What would you like to do?’ He loves this library he has, the collection of his years in the business. There’s a concept of cutting down the hour and 90-minute shows and making them half-hours for cable, like Nick at Nite.”

“We’re all pretty close,” Dolores says. “Linda runs his whole life professionally. It all just seemed to be a natural progression because Bob’s not too dramatic about anything. The contract was ended. It had been wonderful. But it was certainly not the end of his career. He’s still active.”

Adds Linda: “We just got back from two weeks of book signings” for Hope’s new book, “Dear Prez, I Wanna Tell Ya!” The trip took them to Florida, Philadelphia and New York. Says Linda: “He’s a man that needs to be stimulated.”

* “Bob Hope . . . Laughing With the Presidents” can be seen at 8 tonight on NBC (Channel 4).