To the Birthday Boy: Thanks for Memories
NBC celebrates the 100th birthday of comic, actor, hoofer, singer and golfer Bob Hope this Easter Sunday night in a new two-hour special, “100 Years of Hope & Humor.” Hosted by Jane Pauley, the birthday bash features guest appearances by Alan Alda, Woody Allen, Bob Costas, Phyllis Diller, Brooke Shields, Tiger Woods and President George W. Bush. The special also will feature footage from Hope’s eventful life, including his relationship with 11 presidents, his association with golf, his tireless work with the USO and his vaudeville, film and TV performances.
Notably missing from the show is Hope himself, who turns 100 on May 29. Though he was very much a presence on his Emmy Award-winning 90th birthday special, “Bob Hope: The First 90 Years,” the comic is retired and spends his days at his homes in Toluca Lake and Palm Springs.
Linda Hope, who executive produced the special with Gary Smith, says that because her father isn’t participating, this will be a different style of show than the one she also produced in 1993.
“It is not a tribute evening,” she says. “I hate to call it a documentary, maybe it is an entertainment-ary. It’s a look at his life, really, and because he led such an amazing life, it is a lot of fun and has heart, humor and warmth. I am somebody who has seen this footage, I won’t say 100 times, but I have seen it many times, and it has been assembled this time to give it a completely new look. By having the guest stars paying tribute, it gives it a different feeling, and then the footage is just woven in there in such a nice way. I think it’s going to be something that he will love.”
The NBC special is just one of the many celebrations thanking Hope for all the memories on his 100th birthday. Universal Home Video just released the “Bob Hope DVD Tribute Collection,” which features four of the “Road” comedies he made with Bing Crosby, including the 1942 classic “The Road to Morocco,” along with such Hope gems as “Louisiana Purchase,” “Monsieur Beaucaire,” “The Paleface” and “Caught in the Draft.”
Linda Hope believes the release of these films will increase her father’s already immense fan base.
“I think in these times people need to laugh,” she says. “I think people are looking for sort of escape. I think he may find a whole new young audience.”
Radio Spirits has also released on CD and cassette a 20-hour collection of Hope’s NBC radio shows from 1938 to 1954, featuring such guests as Judy Garland, Humphrey Bogart, Cary Grant and Crosby.
And now through June 8, the Ronald W. Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley is presenting “Bob Hope: American Patriot,” an exhibit that showcases his work during World War II and the Korean, Vietnam and Gulf wars. It also features photographs, programs and scripts from various USO camp shows, plus awards, medals and signature pieces Hope used to entertain the troops.
The exhibition moves to the Eisenhower Library in July, reports Linda Hope. “And then it’s going to the Johnson Library, the Ford Library and the Carter Library.”
Linda Hope says it is her father’s accessibility that has endeared him to fans for nearly 70 years. “Even though he entertained millions of people in the course of a lifetime, there was always that kind of personal touch. I remember from the time I was a small kid until as long I have been out with him in public, people came up to him and said, ‘Hi Bob. I saw you in the South Pacific in 1942’ or ‘I saw you at the Ohio State Fair.’ He would always have a nice word and happily sign autographs.”
She says her father will be watching the special -- Hope did his first show for NBC on Easter Sunday in 1950. “I think a lot of the family will be around for Easter and enjoying it with him. He’s hanging in there. He’s determined to make it to 100. His grandfather lived to be just short of 100, so he has a lot of fight. He has a stout heart.”
“100 Years of Hope & Humor” can be seen Sunday at 7 p.m. on NBC. The network has rated it TV-PG (may be unsuitable for young children).
Cover photograph courtesy of NBC.
