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Bob Hope Facts
| Sign | Gemini |
| Born |
May 29, 1903 Eltham, London |
| Died |
Jul 27, 2003 Toluca Lake, CA |
| Age | Died at 100 |
| Total Facts | 68 |
1959: Emmy: Trustees' Award "for bringing the great gift of laughter to all peoples of all nations; for selflessly entertaining American troops throughout the world over many years; and for making TV finer by these deeds and by the consistently high quality of his TV programs through the years"
1985: Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award
1995: National Medal of Arts: presented by President Bill Clinton.
ABC-TV Network News Poll, A&E Biography Viewers Poll, as well as magazine and newspaper 'century roundups' have proclaimed Hope as the "Entertainer of the 20th Century."
According to Hope's biographer Arthur Marx, son of comedian Groucho Marx, Hope married his vaudeville partner of five years, Grace Louise Troxell, on 25 January 1933, although they divorced soon afterwards. Hope denied that they had actually married.
After his death in 2003, an airport in Burbank, California, was named "Bob Hope Airport" in his memory.
Appointed an honorary CBE in 1976.
As a young comedian, he won a Charles Chaplin look-alike contest in Cleveland.
At 69 years, his marriage to Dolores Hope held the record for the longest Hollywood marriage when he passed away in 2004. It has since been passed by the marriage of Art Linkletter to Lois Foerster. They were married November 25, 1935.
At the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, Hope released a statement saying he wished he could go to the country to entertain the troops, but that his doctors would not allow him.
Attended the funeral of his friend of more than forty years, former President Richard Nixon. (27 April 1994).
Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by President John F. Kennedy at the White House. (September 11th 1963).
Awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson on his last day in office. (January 20th 1969)
Awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. (1998)
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 256-258. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 219-222. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387
Brother Jack Hope sometimes served as producer of Bob's shows; his memoir 'I Owe Russia $1200' is dedicated to Jack's memory.
Despite a well documented reputation for frugality, Hope is believed to have donated an estimated $1 billion to charity.
Entertained U.S. troops starting 6th May 1941, and became the first 'honorary veteran' by Congress.
First show business job was as a dancer in the 'Roscoe Fatty Arbuckle' vaudeville revue in Cleveland in 1924.
Graduated from Fairmount High School in Cleveland, Ohio.
Has 4 adopted children: Eleanora Avis "Nora", Anthony, Linda Hope and Kelly Hope.
Has a ship named after him: USNS Bob Hope.
Has entertained the troops overseas in every war from WWII to the Gulf War
Has three theaters named after him, located in London, California, and on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
He and best friend Bing Crosby were planning to make one last "road" picture in early 1977, but Bing died before filming. Bob was so broken up about Bing's death that he couldn't sleep for days on end. He stated that it was one of the worst times of his life and that his wife was his rock who got him through the tough time.
He bought several acres of prime real estate in Rancho Mirage, CA, to build a racetrack. He later decided a medical center was needed in the area instead, so he donated the land to build Eisenhower Medical Center, which is now rated as among the top 100 hospitals in America today. A medical building on the campus is named for him and contains statues of he and wife Dolores Hope in the lobby. Another medical building next door is called "Hope Square".
He changed his name from Leslie to Bob, because in school they would call the roll as 'Hope, Leslie' and classmates shortened it to hopeless.
He entertained 11 different Presidents, beginning with Franklin D. Roosevelt and ending with Bill Clinton.
He is among the select few non-band members who have had the honor of dotting the "i" during The Ohio State University Marching Band's 'Script Ohio' routine. This is considered the greatest honor the band can bestow to any non-band person and is an extremely special (and rare) event.
He was a staunch supporter of the Republican Party.
He was awarded 4 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 6541 Hollywood Boulevard; for Radio at 6141 Hollywood Boulevard; for Live Theatre at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard; and for Television at 6758 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1990.
He was one of the richest movie stars.... he ranked in the top ten highest salaried stars continuously from 1941-1953 [except for 1948]
He was the only entertainer to have complete carte blanche to walk on whenever he felt like it on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962).
His golf buddy was Prescott Bush, the father and grandfather of presidents George Bush and George W. Bush.
His grandfather lived to age of 99 years, 11 months, and 25 days
His last TV appearance with Lucille Ball was March 28, 1989 on The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989) (TV). They received a standing ovation upon walking out on stage. Hope and Ball introduced a musical number featuring "The Stars of Tomorrow", which included Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, and Ricki Lake. Lucille Ball passed away 28 days later on April 26, 1989.
His mother's name was Agnes Townes (she was a concert singer). He had many brothers, including Jack Hope (1898 - 1962) who was his personal manager. James Hope was Director of Hope Enterprises. Ivor Hope (? - 1969) was President of Hope Metal Products. George Hope (? - 1969) was a production company coordinator. Two more brothers were Sidney Hope (? - 1946) and Frederick Hope.
Holds two entries in "The Guinness Book of World Records". One is for having the distinction of being the entertainer with "the longest running contract with a single network - spanning sixty-one years". The second is for being the "most honored entertainer", with over 1500 awards.
Hospitalized with gastro-intestinal bleeding in June 2000. Although he received a blood transfusion after the bleeding in his colon was stopped, no surgery was performed.
Hospitalized with pneumonia and respiratory problems in August 2001. A week after he left hospital on 4 September, Hope and his wife released a joint statement expressing their horror at the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center.
Hosted the Academy Awards in 1939, 1940, 1943, 1945 (alongside John Cromwell), 1946 (alongside James Stewart), 1953 (alongside Conrad Nagel), 1955 (alongside Thelma Ritter), 1958 (alongside James Stewart, David Niven, Jack Lemmon, Rosalind Russell and "Donald Duck"), 1959 (alongside Jerry Lewis, David Niven, Laurence Olivier, Mort Sahl and Tony Randall), 1960, 1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1975 (alongside Sammy Davis Jr., Shirley MacLaine and Frank Sinatra) and finally in 1978.
In 1969, he was worth in excess of $150 million, largely as a result of shrewd business and real estate investments.
In 1997, Congress named Hope an honorary U.S. veteran, citing his decades of entertaining troops around the world. He is the only person to receive that distinction.
In 1997, the U.S. Air Force honored Hope by naming a cargo plane "The Spirit of Bob Hope" after the legendary entertainer.
In 1999 he became the first to start the tradition of the official lighting of the Christmas Tree in Disneyland. Afterwards, he and wife Dolores Hope drove their own golf cart down Main Street, through Frontier Land to Club 33 for dinner.
In a mostly ad-libbed skit for a TV show, Hope joked with Jimmy Durante about the size of his own nose. Durante quipped "When it comes to noses, you're a retailer. I'm a wholesaler!"
In November of 1948, when President Harry S. Truman scored his upset presidential re-election victory, Hope sent him a one-word telegram: "Unpack". Truman was so amused by it he kept it in his desk in the Oval Office.
In the 1950s, a part-owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. His guest appearance in "I Love Lucy" (1951) centered around his attending a Yankees-Indians game at Yankee Stadium.