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BOBHOPEBob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29,1903 inEItham, London, England. His family moved to Cleveland,Ohio, when he was four years old, and Hope became a natu-ralized citizen in 1920. After a short stint as an amateurboxer, Hope joined the vaudeville circuit, where it didn't take

I THINKEDDIEMURPHYIS A SUPERBACTOR,AN EVENBETTERACTORTHANCOMEDIAN.

"COWARDLY"BOBHOPEHIDESFROMANINDIANIN PALEFACE(TOP)ANDDEFLECTSPATRICKNOWLES'SWORDINMONSIEURBEAUCAIRE(BOTTOM).

audiences long to appreciate the comedian's snappy patterand fancy footwork. In the 1930s Hope worked as a headlineron the RKQ vaudevillecircuit,appearedin variousBroadwayshows, established himself as a major radio star, and evenfound time to make.a handful of short-subject films. His firstfull-length feature was The Big Broadcast of 1938, in whichHope first sang his now familiar theme song, "Thanks forthe Memory."

Hope's movie career really took off, however, when he co-starred with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in The Roadto Singapore in 1940. The Hope/Crosby teaming was one ofthe most successful screen partnerships ever; and Hopeproved to be equally popular in the many comedies he madein which such beauties as Jane Russell (The Paleface), Made-leine Carroll (My Favorite Blonde), and Lucille Ball (Sorrow-ful Jones) replaced der Bingle as his costar. Although among

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the top ten box-office attractions throughout the 1940s andearly 1950s,Hope, as he often kids the world,has never beennominated for an Oscar.But the Academy has given him fivespecial Academy Awards; in 1940, 1944, 1952, and 1965 forhis many services to the motion picture industry and to theAcademy; and in 1959 the Jean HershoIt HumanitarianAward.

In 1962, Hope and Crosby made their seventh and last Roadfilm, The Road to Hong Kong. Hope continued to make filmsin the 1960s, but by then he was perhaps morefamous for hisfrequent TV specials and worldwide appearances than for hismovies. He remains today one of the most recognizable, mostlikable (and wealthiest) stars. Steve Dale recently talked toMr. Hope about his long career and his plans for the future.

VIDEOliMES:Thu've appeared in over sixty motion pictures. Doyou have any favorites?

BOBHOPE:All the Roadpictures,The Paleface,BeauJames,The Seven Little Foys, Monsieur Beaucaire; I suppose I have alot of favorites.

VT:Woody Allen once said that if he wanted to have a weekendof pure pleasure, he'd spend it watching a half dozen Bob Hopefilms. But do you think that perhaps because you've been inour living rooms for so long on television, and before that onradio, that your movies are taken for granted?

BN: My goodness, no. My movies play all over the world. Andthose films are constantly being shown to new audiencesthrough videotapes and the "late, late, late" shows. No matterwhere I go, outside China and Russia, they all know my mov-ies.

VT:Does it bother you that they don't know who Bob Hope isin China and Russia?

BN: No. They didn't show my pictures there, that's all. So howcould the people know me?

VT: Thu visited China in 1979. to film your television special,The Road to China. What was the reaction?

BN: The college kids in China just ate up Monsieur Beaucairewhen they showed it.

VT:Thur film persona combines bravado backed by sheer cow-ardice, an eye for pretty girls, and baseless egotism, withplenty of wisecracks thrown in. Would you say that is an accu-rate assessment?

BN:Yeah, that's it. I played the brave coward for a long time. Infact, it was so successful that after My Favorite Blonde I did

VIDEOTIMES/January 1987

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three or four pictures with the same formula: Where There'sLife, My FavoriteBrunette, and My FavoriteSpy. The criticsjust screamed, "How long are they going to give Hope thissame format?"

VT: Critics may have griped, but audiences loved it. How doyou explain that?

DR:It's just like Stallone. It doesn't matter if Cobra'sup tosnuff, audiences like to see him in a certain type of role, andthey'll pay to see it. See, I'm just like Stallone;it's hard to tellus apart!

VT: Did bad reviews or critics who credited your success to aformula ever bother you?

DR:No, because at that time, I was number one at the box of-fice. I just went ahead and did whatever Paramount asked meto do.

VT:In your films, you'd often wink directly into the camera andshare a personal joke with the audience, especially in the Roadseries with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Is this anotherBob Hope trademark?

DR: Sure, the audiences loved that stuff. In My FavoriteBlonde, I asked this old, grizzled guy for directions, and it wasCrosby. Then I looked directly into the camera and said, "Naw,it couldn't be:'

VT: We've heard that you and Crosby actually did very little re-hearsing and that your ad-libs drove directors crazy. Did youreally ad-lib? Is that what makes your films together so light-hearted?

DR:This great staff of writers would scribble notes in the mar-gins on my script. I'd go over the lines with Bing, but the direc-tor wouldn't know a thing about it. We'd deliver the lines as ifwe were ad-libbing. The crews would just love it. The publicseemed to sense the spontaneity. We really did have a ball.And, of course, Bing and I shared a magic.

VT:In your book Confessions of a Hooker: My Lifelong LoveAffair with Golf, you wrote that Bing once ran into his burninghome to recover $2,800 in race track money.

DR:He pushed all those firemen aside, reached into an oldshoe, and pulled out the money.What a character, huh?

VT: If you could choose two young actors to be in a modern-dayHope and Crosby Road picture, who would you pick?

DR:Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd. You know their movieSpies Like Us was supposed to have a Road picture feel. In

VIDEOTIMEs/January 1987

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fact, I appeared in one scene. I walked in and hit a golf ball.Chevyand Aykroydare both very talented.

VT: What other comedians do you admire today?

DR:I think Eddie Murphy is a superb actor,an even better ac-tor than a comedian. And I .loveSteve Martin because he'ssuch a nut.

YOU'VEGOTTAUSEYOURLAUGHLINES.I BELIEVEAGOODLAUGHIS GOODFORYOu.I LOVETOLAUGH.

BOBHOPESAILEDTHESEASWITHVIRGINIAMAYOIN THEPRINCESSANDTHEPIRATE(TOP).BUTHISBEST.KNOWNROADPARTNERIS BINGCROSBY(BOTTOM).

VT: Thu look great and you're in terrific shape. You must be theyoungest eighty-three-year-old in history. What's your beautysecret? Is there a possibility we might see you hosting a work-out video soon?

DR:Sure, I'd do a video for those who no longer care. Actually,it's funny you mention that because I'm working on a routineabout videos. You know, if God meant for you to touch yourtoes, he would have put your fingers closer to your knees. I'lltell ya what keeps me going, I'm interested and excited about.life. I'm too busy to get old.

VT:Does anything depress you?

DR:Peoplewho never laugh. You'vegotta use your laugh lines.I believe a good laugh is good for you. I love to laugh.

-STEVE DALE

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