THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES, BOB

As a Gen Xer, my memories of Bob Hope don't go back to his "Road" pictures, or even to his top rated radio program. When I was growing up, all I saw of Bob was the variety specials and footage of his USO work. I recall his cameos in "The Muppet Movie" (as the ice cream vendor) and as a bemused hotel clerk in an episode of "Get Smart." By the 70s, Bob evidently worked when and how he wanted.

I also have strong memories of one particular Bob Hope special, circa 1976, in which all of Bob's all-star guests were getting bumped off in his mansion (any collectors out there with a copy of this, please e-mail me), even Ellery Queen (Jim Hutton) who was sent to investigate.

I recall that Bob's humor, to me, often seemed forced, even corny. And he would gleefully steal from any and all of his contemporaries, to their apparent delight.

But now, as Jack Benny, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck, Buddy Hackett and all their ilk begin to fade away, Hope's achievements begin to truly tower in my mind. No man gave so much to his country than did Bob Hope. Sure, Jack Benny entertained the troops with his radio program, visiting several military bases each year that he was on the air during World War II. But Hope didn't stop there. He visited troops when he DIDN'T have a show. He visited troops when we didn't have a war. And he did his last military junket for the troops of Operation Desert Storm when he was a spry young lad of 87.

It was 1998 when Bob Hope's death was first reported on WDUN. In our defense, the actual news bulletin came from ABC News, and apparently took Bob, who was eating his breakfast with wife Delores by surprise. Reportedly, his response was something along the lines of "I was feeling pretty lousy when I got up this morning. Now that I've heard the news, I feel pretty good, considering."

This time, ABC was the last network to report on this legendary comedian's demise. It checked, double and triple checked, before sending out a bulletin at about 9:20 eastern time. Up by the pearly gates, Bob probably stopped in mid-putt and smiled.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/8/174837