Bob Hope Honored on New Stamp

Comedian Bob Hope (1903-2003), who entertained before millions of American servicemen and servicewomen, is being honored with a 44 cent U.S. postage stamp of his own on his birthday, Friday, May 29th.

Ceremony

First-Day-of-Issue Dedication Ceremony will be held on the flight deck of the USS Midway, now a floating museum in San Diego, aboard which Bob twice performed when it was on active duty. Hope's daughter, Linda, who produced an Emmy-winning documentary on her father, is to be an honored guest.

The setting for the ceremony is fitting because of Hope's association with performing before military audiences from World War Two through Operation Desert Storm.

Born in England as Leslie Townes Hope, Bob Hope's family moved to the United States when he was four years old. He entered show business through vaudeville and transitioned into radio, the movies and, eventually, television.

Entertaining the Troops

Numerous veterans remember seeing Hope's road show on ships, at air bases, and at Army posts. My father, who was with Special Services, drove Hope to a performance in occupied Germany after World War Two. Hope was cracking jokes as they drove. "The flight over the Channel was so rough, even the automatic pilot bailed out." Two wars later, I saw him perform at Indianhead Theater in Korea in 1968; I have a copy of the show which is available on DVD.

Hope's association with the military was so strong that in 1997, he became the first person recognized by the US Congress as an honorary veteran of the United States Armed Forces.

Hope wisely took a bevy of beautiful women with him on his trips including such ladies as his radio show co-star Frances Langford, Marilyn Monroe, Ann-Margaret, Raquel Welch, and Brooke Shields.

Accompanying Hope overseas the year he landed on the moon 40 years ago was astronaut Neil Armstrong. If anyone could get more positive crowd reaction that year as Hope or his girls, it was Neil Armstrong.

Hope died in 2003 and a change in postal regulations allows this new stamp to be issued. Under this change, a person need be only dead five years rather than 10 to be honored on a stamp.

Hope's Movies, TV

Hope's movie career included co-starring with Bing Crosby in a series of seven highly successful "Road" movies including Road to Morocco, Road to Utopia, and Road to Hong Kong. He also starred without Crosby in movies like Paleface, My Favorite Brunette, and Ghost Breakers.

In his feature film debut, The Big Broadcast of 1938 Hope sang the Oscar-winning "Thanks For the Memory" which became his theme song.

In 1952's Son of Paleface, he sang "Buttons and Bows" which became a popular standard.

In all, he made 50 movies. Besides countless TV specials, he hosted the Academy Award presentation shows.

He received countless awards to include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. He passed away a few months after his 100th birthday in Toluca Lake, California.