Hope, Bob (1903–2003)

British-born US comedian. His earliest success was on Broadway and as a radio star in the 1930s. Employing a wise-cracking, cowardly persona, his film appearances include seven ‘Road’ films (1940–62) with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour (1914–96). These include The Road to Singapore (1940), The Road to Zanzibar (1941), The Road to Morocco (1942), The Road to Utopia (1946), The Road to Rio (1946), The Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1953). He made other films, including two Paleface comic westerns (1948–52) with Jane Russell.

As a child he moved to the USA in 1907. Hope entertained the troops in the field during World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars. He was a perennial star on radio and television (from 1950) in his own comedy series and specials. He received five honorary Academy Awards for these activities and the longevity of his contributions to the industry. He also received an honorary British knighthood in 1998 at the British Embassy in Washington, DC.

His other films include The Cat and the Canary (1939), My Favorite Brunette (1947), Fancy Pants (1950), Casanova's Big Night (1954), The Facts of Life (1960), A Global Affair (1964), How to Commit Marriage (1969), and A Masterpiece of Murder (1986). In 1997, he received the Freedom Award from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation on his 94th birthday. The award was given for Hope's half-century of entertaining American troops around the world. Bob Hope gave several million dollars to the Library of Congress on 19 May 1998 for a Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment. He also donated personal papers and some scripts from his radio, television, and film performances.