Happy 100th, Bob Hope

Gentle Giant · May-29th-2003, 10:06 AM

I'm surprised no one started this yet. I don't even like the guy, but it's not everyday you turn 100.

Here's one reason why, from this morning's Boston Globe:

A frequent White House guest and presidential golfing partner, Hope hobnobbed with Republicans and Democrats alike. However, he made no effort to hide his fondness for conservatives like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, or for the hawks in Washington who pressed forward with the war in Vietnam.

It was an association for which Hope suffered when cultural tastes began to shift after the war ended. John Lahr, who wrote a corrosive profile of Hope several years ago in The New Yorker, says the comedian's influence began to wane in earnest when Hope's conservative politics alienated the ''Saturday Night Live'' generation, turning Hope into something of a cultural dinosaur.

''He was the first to hit the trifecta of popularity as number one in radio, film, and television,'' acknoweldges Lahr, the son of actor-comedian Bert Lahr. ''My real issue with Hope is that he paid for his jokes, he didn't write them. Anyone worthy of the title `comedian' thinks against the culture. Comedy is not about sniffing the hem of power, yet Hope used laughter to reinforce the forces of power. He bet the mainstream would prevail after Vietnam, and he lost.''

Adds Lahr, ''He became the dispenser of distraction in an era when America needed it. But you can't put him in the same league with [Charlie] Chaplin, [Buster] Keaton, Woody Allen, or my father.''

patricia · May-29th-2003, 10:08 AM

I was never a big fan either, Gentle, but what the hell, as you say, how many times does a person turn 100????

Happy Birthday Mr. Hope.

May-29th-2003, 10:25 AM

Bob Hope's humor never appealed to me--in fact, it totally eluded me, but I admire him for boosting morale when that was needed.

Chris D · May-29th-2003, 10:31 AM

I thank Bob Hope for bringing Joey Heatherton so regularly onto my TV screen.

hornplayer · May-29th-2003, 10:52 AM

for me the best thing about Bob Hope was his partnership with Bing Crosby. Bing Crosby was my Dad's favorite singer.

I also like his theme sone, "Thanks for the Memories" especially as sung by Sassy!

clinthopson · May-29th-2003, 12:27 PM

Hope is the last of the old vaudeville comics.

Their humor is dated in today's hipper than thou environment but Hope, George Burns, Uncle Milty, Jack Benny, Henny Youngman and a few others entertained generations.

Hope's overseas visits to the troops meant a lot to the dogfaces in WWII and Korea. By the time Viet Nam rolled around, Hope's shows to the troops were staged for tv.

And then there's the stories about Marilyn Maxwell and Hope on the Paramount lot. . .

moneyp · May-29th-2003, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gentle Giant
Adds Lahr, ''He became the dispenser of distraction in an era when America needed it. But you can't put him in the same league with [Charlie] Chaplin, [Buster] Keaton, Woody Allen, or my father.''

Yeah, geez, the great Bert Lahr. "C-hourage!"

Ron Thorne · May-29th-2003, 01:44 PM

Bob Hope's predicatable, corny humor never appealed to me either, but I've always admired his career and generosity.

He and Bing Crosby were quite a team, indeed.

Happy 100th Birthday to an American icon, Bob Hope!

walto · May-29th-2003, 03:26 PM

Hey, Mone, don't be dissing Lahr. Did you know he was in the American premier of "Waiting for Godot"? (He was a drunken mess, apparently.) Love that guy.

Also, FWIW, I guess I'm the only guy around here who actually likes Hope. Don't know why really. I just always have. Maybe it's because his movie persona was always so humble. He seems so nice. Or maybe it's his excellent timing. I don't know. And I'm particularly taken with the song "Thanks for the Memories." Generally makes me teary.

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Sergio Zamora · May-29th-2003, 03:38 PM

Bob Hope is still alive? I didn't know that.

I remember watching his specials when I was a kid. They seemed fairly entertaining, but I was always waiting for George Burns. I also kinda liked those "Road to..." movies he did with Bing Crosby, but don't really remeber them anymore.

I don't think I've seen him in 20 years, though.

It's kinda funny how Lahr contrasts Hope's humor with the "Saturday Night Live generation". In the mid 70's, SNL might have been somewhat radical and its viewers noncomformists, but that's just no longer the case. SNL is as complacent and pro-establishment now as Bob Hope was in 1976.

steve(thelil) · May-29th-2003, 04:03 PM

I always felt I owed Hope a reevaluation when I read what an inspiration he was for woody allen.