Trivia and Quotes
Quotes
 I do benefits for ALL religions. I`d hate to blow the hereafter on a technicality. [on Bing Crosby] A lot of people think that Bing was a loner, but Bing was a very loyal friend.
[on Dorothy Lamour] Dottie was fearless. She stands there before the camera and ad libs with Bing Crosby and me, fully knowing the way the script`s written, she`ll come up second or third best.
[on Jack Benny] He didn`t just stand on the stage. He owned it.
[on Jane Russell] Don`t let her fool you. Tangle with her and she`ll shingle your attic.
[on Katharine Hepburn] This dame is terrific -- and expert in her craft and so electrifying on set that if you don`t watch out, you`re likely to wind up as part of the scenery.
[on MGM chief Louis B. Mayer] Louis B. Mayer came out west with $28.00, a box camera and an old lion. He built a monument to himself -- the Bank of America.
[when asked why he didn`t run for President of the United States] I thought about it. But my wife said she wouldn`t want to move into a smaller house.
I was lucky, you know, I always had a beautiful girl and the money was good. Although I would have done the whole thing over for, oh, perhaps half.
People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.
They said I was worth $500 million. If I was worth that much, I wouldn`t have visited Vietnam, I`d have sent for it.
[1991] Remember me? The Macaulay Culkin of 1927.
[At the Academy Awards] To all you losers, remember there`s a bright side to all of this: you can still run for Governor.
[At the Academy Awards] We`re all here to celebrate Oscar -- or as he`s known at my house, The Fugitive!
[In reference to Macaulay Culkin] I remember when they handed out the Oscars in 1927; I was Home Alone, too!
[on Vincent Price] He always loved a good joke. Moreover, he was kind enough to laugh at jokes that weren`t so good.
[referring to both the film release of "Mommie Dearest" (Mommie Dearest (1981)), the biography of Joan Crawford written by her daughter Christina Crawford, and the equally scathing book about Bette Davis, written by her daughter] Now I know why tigers eat their young.
[referring to the Academy Awards ceremonies] Welcome to "You Bet Your Career."
Bing Crosby and I weren`t the types to go around kissing each other. We always had a light jab for each other. One of our stock lines used to be "There`s nothing I wouldn`t do for Bing, and there`s nothing he wouldn`t do for me. And that`s the way we go through life - doing nothing for each other!"
Golf is my real profession - show business pays my greens fees.
I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.
Welcome to the Academy Awards -- or as it`s known at my house, Passover.
You know you`re getting old when the candles cost more than the cake.
[at the height of the Cold War] We had a very successful trip to Russia. We made it back.
[on being told he was being awarded an honorary knighthood] What an honor and what a surprise for a boy born in England, raised in Cleveland and schooled in vaudeville.
[On his 100th birthday] I`m so old, they`ve canceled my blood type.
[referring to the Academy Awards ceremonies] Tonight we set aside petty differences, forget old feuds and start new ones.
[When asked by his wife where he wanted to be buried] Surprise me.
Trivia
Despite a well documented reputation for frugality, Hope is believed to have donated an estimated $1 billion to charity.
He bought several acres of prime real estate in Rancho Mirage, CA, to build a racetrack. He later decided a medical center was needed in the area instead, so he donated the land to build Eisenhower Medical Center, which is now rated as among the top 100 hospitals in America today. A medical building on the campus is named for him and contains statues of he and wife Dolores Hope in the lobby. Another medical building next door is called "Hope Square".
Hospitalized with gastro-intestinal bleeding in June 2000. Although he received a blood transfusion after the bleeding in his colon was stopped, no surgery was performed.
Hosted the Oscars 11 times.
In 1969, he was worth in excess of $150 million, largely as a result of shrewd business and real estate investments.
Republican
Retired from show business at the age of 93 after filming Bob Hope`s Bag Full of Christmas Memories (1993).
There is a major street in Rancho Mirage, CA, named after him. Bob Hope Drive crosses Frank Sinatra, Gerald Ford, Ginger Rogers and Dinah Shore Drives.
According to Hope`s biographer Arthur Marx, son of comedian Groucho Marx, Hope married his vaudeville partner of five years, Grace Louise Troxell, on 25 January 1933, although they divorced soon afterwards. Hope denied that they had actually married.
As a young comedian, he won a Charles Chaplin look-alike contest in Cleveland.
Attended the funeral of his friend of more than forty years, former President Richard Nixon. (27 April 1994).
Awarded a Congressional Gold Medal by President John F. Kennedy at the White House. (September 11th 1963).
Awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Lyndon Johnson on his last day in office. (January 20th 1969)
He and Bing Crosby were planning to make one last "road" picture in early 1977, but Bing died before filming. Bob was so broken up about Bing`s death that he couldn`t sleep for days on end. He stated that it was one of the worst times of his life and that his wife was his rock who got him through the tough time.
In November of 1948, when President Harry S. Truman scored his upset presidential re-election victory, Hope sent him a one-word telegram: "Unpack". Truman was so amused by it he kept it in his desk in the Oval Office.
Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983.
On his wartime USO tours he had one ironclad rule that he insisted his fellow performers follow: under no circumstances were they allowed to cry when visiting wounded soldiers in military hospitals. This was often difficult given the amount of suffering they saw, but he told his performers that it was their duty to always smile and provide laughs and good cheer for the troops. According to Hope, he broke his own rule only once. While visiting an army hospital in Italy in 1943, he stopped at the bedside of a wounded soldier who had been in a coma for two months. The soldier suddenly opened his eyes and said, "Hey, Bob Hope! When did you get here?" He had to leave the hospital room to keep the troops from seeing his tears, but he returned a few hours later to present the soldier with his Purple Heart medal.
Was briefly a professional boxer. He fought under the name Packy East.
At 69 years, his marriage to Dolores Hope holds the record for the longest Hollywood marriage.
Has a ship named after him: USNS Bob Hope.
His grandfather lived to age of 99 years, 11 months, and 25 days
His last appearance with Lucille Ball on television was March 28, 1989 on the The 61st Annual Academy Awards (1989) (TV) show. Hope and Ball introduced a musical number featuring "The Stars of Tomorrow," (which included Johnny Depp, Christian Slater, and Ricki Lake). They both received a standing ovation upon arriving on stage. Lucille Ball died 28 days later on April 26. 1989.
Hosted the Oscars 18 times, including the ceremonies in 1939, 1954, 1962 and 1968.
In 1999 he became the first to start the tradition of the official lighting of the Christmas Tree in Disneyland. Afterwards, he and wife Dolores Hope drove their own golf cart down Main Street, through Frontier Land to Club 33 for dinner.
In a mostly ad-libbed skit for a TV show, Hope joked with Jimmy Durante about the size of his own nose. Durante quipped "When it comes to noses, you`re a retailer. I`m a wholesaler!"
Spent his 99th birthday--29 May 2002--at home in Toluca Lake, CA. Wife Dolores Hope`s 93rd birthday was just two days before. Los Angeles National Cemetery dedicated veterans` chapel in his name to salute his lifetime of service entertaining U.S. troops.
Was a Master Mason.
Was incorrectly declared dead several times since retiring from the public eye. On the most infamous occasion in 1998, a wire service accidentally posted a pre-written obituary to a Web page. A member of the US House of Representatives saw this bogus news flash and announced Hope`s death during a session at the Capitol. Hope learned he was dead when a reporter called his home asking for a statement. According to family members, Hope took this mistake in good humor.
Awarded an honorary knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. (1998)
Has entertained the troops overseas in every war from WWII to the Gulf War
Has four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
He change his name from Leslie to Bob, because in school they would call the roll as `Hope, Leslie` and classmates shortened it to hopeless.
He entertained 11 different Presidents, beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and ending with Bill Clinton.
He was the only entertainer to have complete carte blanche to walk on whenever he felt like it on "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" (1962).
His golf buddy was Prescott Bush, the father and grandfather of presidents George Bush and George W. Bush.
In the 1950s, a part-owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team. His guest appearance in "I Love Lucy" (1951) centered around his attending a Yankees-Indians game at Yankee Stadium.
Received 58 honorary degrees.
Served as United Service Organizations, Inc. (USO) Entertainment Coordinator from 1941 - 2001. Retired his post at age 98 in favor of Wayne Newton.
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