Hope: Entertainer of the Century (83 page)

“He was stronger than most”
: Perret, interview with author.

Alberti had to kneel
: Alberti,
Up the Ladder
, 135.

“Great job”; “Aw, come on”
: Lipton, interview with author.

“Starting in the late eighties, it was affecting”
: Ludwin, interview with author.!

“He got really mad”
: Shields, interview with author.

“If I ever end up like that”
: Andrew Nicholls and Darrel Vickers, interview with author.

The fading star was shunted; “We’ll do it later”
: Perret, interview with author.

But what set off a firestorm
: The dispute is chronicled in numerous
Los Angeles Times
articles in 1990 and 1991, as well as Tom Johnson, “Bob Hope’s Last Road Show,”
Los Angeles
magazine, November 1990.

“No one has a larger ownership”
: Alan Citron, “Park Advocates Pressure Bob Hope for Land Gift,”
Los Angeles Times
, March 7, 1990.

HONK IF YOU THINK BOB HOPE
: Johnson, “Hope’s Last Road Show.”

“Hope doesn’t owe anyone”
: Stephen Padgett, letter to the editor,
Los Angeles Times
, March 16, 1990.

“I didn’t hold it for twenty-five years”
: Johnson, “Hope’s Last Road Show.”

“Bob Hope is making a special gift”
: “Hope Signs Deal to Turn His Acreage into Parkland,”
Los Angeles Times
, November 8, 1991.

“The knocks he’s taken”
: Ron Russell, “Of Faith, Hope and a Little Charity Parks,”
Los Angeles Times
, November 14, 1991.

“just a lot of old stuff”
:
Santa Monica Daily Breeze
, October 24, 1993.

“Her dream was to marry a shoe salesman”
: Linda Hope, interview with author.

“I don’t think it really deeply affected him”
: Ibid.

Johnny Carson agreed . . . on the assurance
: Don Mischer, interview with author.

“I don’t know if I can do this”
: Ibid.

“Bob Hope could have done”
: Bill Zehme, “Heeeeeerrrre’s Dave,”
Rolling Stone
, February 18, 1993.

“I said, ‘Dad, you don’t want to keep on’ ”
: Linda Hope, interview with author.

“I’m not doing that!”
: Anecdote related by Dave Thomas, interview with author.

Hope puttered around; “Dammit,” Hope grumbled
: Andrew Coffey, interview with author.

“I practically fell out of my chair”
: Bill Clinton, interview with author.

“He could see the ball below his feet”
: Ibid.

“Brandon Tartikoff regarded Bob Hope”
: Ludwin, interview with author.

“We’re doing this one”
: Related by Michael Thompson, the Hopes’ estate manager at the time, interview with author.

“devote our energies toward specials”
:
Los Angeles Times
, November 30, 1995.

“There came a point where all the parties”
: Ludwin, interview with author.

“I’ve decided to become a FREE AGENT”
: Ad in
Variety
et al., October 23, 1996.

“It was sort of a mutual thing”
: Linda Hope, interview with author.

“This TV entry?”
:
Daily Variety
, November 20, 1996.

“Backstage he was not in good shape”
: Feinstein, interview with author.!

“Her timbre was clear”
: Stephen Holden,
New York Times
, May 23, 1997.

“Mrs. Hope joined Bob”
: Bill Tush, e-mail to author.

Paulin would let him take the wheel
: J. Paulin, interview with author.

AP actually reported his death by mistake
: Bob Pool, “Yes, America, There Is
Still
Hope,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 6, 1998.

“He was in very critical condition”
: Paulin, interview with author.

“His eyes light up”
: Army Archerd,
Daily Variety
, May 28, 2003.

“I couldn’t be here in spirit”
: Patricia Ward Biederman, “Friends Recall Hope with Tears, Laughter,”
Los Angeles Times
, August 28, 2003.

The
New York Times’
obituary
: Vincent Canby, “Bob Hope, Comedic Master and Entertainer of Troops, Dies at 100,”
New York Times
, July 28, 2003.

Time
magazine gave the comedian
: Richard Schickel, “Bob Hope: The Machine-Age Comic,”
Time
, August 11, 2003.

one unit of six hundred men . . . marched the ten miles
:
Time
correspondent files, August 1943.

“Never make ’em think”
: Kaplan,
New Times
, August 7, 1978.

MOVIES

Going Spanish
(short, 1934). Educational Films. Director: Al Christie.

Soup for Nuts
(short, 1934). Universal. Director: Milton Schwartzwald.

Paree, Paree
(short, 1934). Warner Bros. Director: Roy Mack.

Calling All Tars
(short, 1935). Warner Bros. Director: Lloyd French.

Watch the Birdie
(short, 1935). Warner Bros. Director: Lloyd French.

Double Exposure
(short, 1935). Warner Bros. Director: Lloyd French.

The Old Grey Mayor
(short, 1935). Warner Bros. Director: Lloyd French.

Shop Talk
(short, 1936). Warner Bros. Director: Lloyd French.

The Big Broadcast of 1938
(1938). Paramount. Director: Mitchell Leisen.

College Swing
(1938). Paramount. Director: Raoul Walsh.

Give Me a Sailor
(1938). Paramount. Director: Elliott Nugent.

Thanks for the Memory
(1938). Paramount. Director: George Archainbaud.

Never Say Die
(1939). Paramount. Director: Elliott Nugent.

Some Like It Hot
(1939). Paramount. Director: George Archainbaud.

The Cat and the Canary
(1939). Paramount. Director: Elliott Nugent.

Road to Singapore
(1940). Paramount. Director: Victor Schertzinger.

The Ghost Breakers
(1940). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

Road to Zanzibar
(1941). Paramount. Director: Victor Schertzinger.

Caught in the Draft
(1941). Paramount. Director: David Butler.

Nothing But the Truth
(1941). Paramount. Director: Elliott Nugent.

Louisiana Purchase
(1941). Paramount. Director: Irving Cummings.

My Favorite Blonde
(1942). Paramount. Director: Sidney Lanfield.

Road to Morocco
(1942). Paramount. Director: David Butler.

Star Spangled Rhythm
(1942). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

They Got Me Covered
(1943). Samuel Goldwyn. Director: David Butler.

Let’s Face It
(1943). Paramount. Director: Sidney Lanfield.

The Princess and the Pirate
(1944). Samuel Goldwyn. Director: David Butler.

Road to Utopia
(1946). Paramount. Director: Hal Walker.

Monsieur Beaucaire
(1946). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

My Favorite Brunette
(1947). Paramount. Director: Elliott Nugent.

Variety Girl
(1947). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

Where There’s Life
(1947). Paramount. Director: Sidney Lanfield.

Road to Rio
(1947). Paramount. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

The Paleface
(1948). Paramount. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

Sorrowful Jones
(1949). Paramount. Director: Sidney Lanfield.

The Great Lover
(1949). Paramount. Director: Alexander Hall.

Fancy Pants
(1950). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

The Lemon Drop Kid
(1951). Paramount. Director: Sidney Lanfield.

My Favorite Spy
(1951). Paramount. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

The Greatest Show on Earth
(1951, cameo). Paramount. Director: Cecil B. DeMille.

Son of Paleface
(1952). Paramount. Director: Frank Tashlin.

Road to Bali
(1952). Paramount. Director: Hal Walker.

Off Limits
(1953). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

Scared Stiff
(1953, cameo). Paramount. Director: George Marshall.

Here Come the Girls
(1953). Paramount. Director: Claude Binyon.

Casanova’s Big Night
(1954). Paramount. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

The Seven Little Foys
(1955). Paramount. Director: Melville Shavelson.

That Certain Feeling
(1956). Paramount. Director: Norman Panama, Melvin Frank.

The Iron Petticoat
(1956). Paramount. Director: Ralph Thomas.

Beau James
(1957). Paramount. Director: Melville Shavelson.

Paris Holiday
(1958). United Artists. Director: Gerd Oswald.

Alias Jesse James
(1959). United Artists. Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

The Facts of Life
(1960). United Artists. Director: Melvin Frank.

Bachelor in Paradise
(1961). MGM. Director: Jack Arnold.

The Road to Hong Kong
(1962). United Artists. Director: Norman Panama.

Critic’s Choice
(1963). Warner Bros. Director: Don Weis.

Call Me Bwana
(1963). United Artists. Director: Gordon Douglas.

A Global Affair
(1964). MGM. Director: Jack Arnold.

I’ll Take Sweden
(1965). United Artists. Director: Fred de Cordova.

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!
(1966). United Artists. Director: George Marshall.

Eight on the Lam
(1967). United Artists. Director: George Marshall.

The Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell
(1968). United Artists. Director: Frank Tashlin.

How to Commit Marriage
(1969). Cinerama. Director: Norman Panama.

Cancel My Reservation
(1972). Warner Bros. Director: Paul Bogart.

The Muppet Movie
(1979, cameo). ITC Entertainment. Director: James Frawley.

Spies Like Us
(1985, cameo). Warner Bros. Director: John Landis.

BROADWAY SHOWS

Sidewalks of New York
(October 3, 1927–January 7, 1928). Book, music, and lyrics by Eddie Dowling and James Hanley.

Ups-a Daisy
(October 8–December 1, 1928). Music by Lewis A. Gensler, book and lyrics by Clifford Grey and Robert A. Simon.

Smiles
(November 18, 1930–January 10, 1931). Music by Vincent Youmans, lyrics by Clifford Grey and Harold Adamson, book by William Anthony McGuire.

Ballyhoo of 1932
(September 6–November 26, 1932). Music by Lewis A. Gensler, lyrics by E. Y. Harburg, book by Norman H. Anthony.

Roberta
(November 18, 1933–July 21, 1934). Music by Jerome Kern, book and lyrics by Otto Harbach.

Say When
(November 8, 1934–January 12, 1935). Music by Ray Henderson, lyrics by Ted Koehler, book by Jack McGowan.

Ziegfeld Follies of 1936
(January 30–May 9, 1936). Music by Vernon Duke, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, book by David Freeman.

Red, Hot and Blue
(October 29, 1936–April 10, 1937). Music and lyrics by Cole Porter, book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse.

RADIO PROGRAMS

The Intimate Revue
, sponsored by Bromo-Seltzer, NBC (January 4–April 5, 1935).

Atlantic Family Show
, sponsored by Atlantic Oil, CBS (December 14, 1935–September 3, 1936).

The Rippling Rhythm Revue
, sponsored by Woodbury soap, NBC (May 9–September 26, 1937).

Your Hollywood Parade
, sponsored by Lucky Strike, NBC (December 29, 1937–March 23, 1938).

The Pepsodent Show, Starring Bob Hope
, NBC (September 27, 1938–June 8, 1948).

The Swan Show, Starring Bob Hope
, NBC (September 14, 1948–June 13, 1950).

The Bob Hope Show
, sponsored by Chesterfield, NBC (October 3, 1950–June 24, 1952).

The Bob Hope Show
(mornings), sponsored by General Foods, NBC (November 10, 1952–July 9, 1954).

The Bob Hope Show
, sponsored by General Foods, NBC (January 7, 1953–July 1, 1953).

The Bob Hope Show
, sponsored by the American Dairy Association, NBC (September 25, 1953–April 21, 1955).

TELEVISION MILESTONES

The Star-Spangled Revue
, sponsored by Frigidaire (April 9, 1950). First Hope network TV special, broadcast live by NBC on Easter Sunday.

The Colgate Comedy Hour
(October 1952–June 1953). One of several rotating hosts on his first regular series.

Academy Awards
(March 19, 1953). Host of the first televised Oscar ceremony.

Hope in Greenland
(January 9, 1955). First televised holiday tour for the troops.