Hope achieves a postal first

The Postal Service is telling Bob Hope: Thanks for the memories.

The beloved entertainer will be honored on a U.S. postage stamp next spring. The design will be unveiled Monday at a ceremony on New York’s Ellis Island, the entry spot for thousands of immigrants like Hope, who was born in England.

Hope died in 2003 and becomes the first person to benefit from a postal rule change allowing individuals to be honored on a stamp five years after their death. Before the rule change in 2007, people other than ex-presidents had to wait 10 years.