AMERICAN MASTERS: THIS IS BOB HOPE (TV)
Summary
One in this series that explores the lives and achievements of America's most celebrated artists and performers. This installment profiles comedian and actor Bob Hope. Born Leslie Towns Hope in England in 1903, he moved to Cleveland with his parents and five brothers in 1908. Young Hope, who grew up impoverished and spent time in a reform school, developed a knack for entertaining and found a career in vaudeville, initially as a dancer. Hope spent several years gaining experience in a variety of art forms, eventually changing his name to "Lester" and then "Bob," and found his niche in comedy, where he pioneered a fast-paced, conversational style now considered the foundation of stand-up. In 1933, he met Dolores Reade while performing in the Broadway musical Roberta and – after a hasty divorce from his stage partner, Grace Louise Troxell – the two were married around 1935. Hope starred in a series of short comedy pictures for Vitaphone and then landed a contract with Paramount while maintaining a Broadway career, and his big cinematic break came with "The Big Broadcast of 1938" (1938), in which he debuted what would become his personal theme song, "Thanks for the Memory."
Hope's radio series, "The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope," was popular during the Great Depression, and he enlisted a team of comedy writers to help him create his comedy persona, a skirt-chasing "not-quite-hero." He worked alongside a variety of "foils," including comedian Jerry Colonna, and Tom Selleck explains how his subsequent movies, including "The Cat and the Canary" (1939), were tailored to his "lovable coward, would-be ladies' man" character. Paramount also noticed Hope's effortless chemistry with crooner Bing Crosby, and the two eventually appeared in seven "Road to…" movies, where their characters bantered with one another as they fell into silly mishaps. Hope often turned to his radio writing team to punch up the scripts with additional jokes, and the movies, which often broke the "fourth wall" by addressing the audience, were considered revolutionary for the era's comedy.
When America entered World War II in 1941, many Hollywood stars took part in the war effort, and Hope joined the newly formed United Service Organizations and began performing comedy for the troops, traveling to dangerous places in his determination to give the soldiers a few laughs in the midst of their harrowing service. Conan O'Brien explains how Hope invented the way in which comedians address servicemen by assuming an "average soldier" point of view, noting that Hope was known to travel out of his way to perform additional shows for those who were stationed elsewhere. Daughter Linda Hope notes that his challenging role as lighthearted comic relief in the midst of suffering and death "colored" his life, affecting how he publicly displayed his emotions. Director Woody Allen explains how he borrowed heavily from Hope's faux-confident persona, both in his films and in real life, and Hope attempted to maintain his "likable loser" character by downplaying his own significant wealth, acquired through real estate and other business deals. Linda acknowledges that her father loved being famous and engaging with fans, adding that his public persona often eclipsed his true personality, rendering the real Hope something of a "cypher."
Hope displayed his dramatic acting talents with a "semi-serious" role as a cynical bookie in "Sorrowful Jones" (1949), and he and wife Dolores went on to adopt four children, though Dick Cavett notes that, in addition to his frequent absences from home, Dolores had to contend with his "Olympic philandering," including a well-publicized affair with actress Marilyn Maxwell. Hope made his television debut in 1950 and wisely opted to appear in a string of irregularly scheduled specials, rather than a regular series, in an attempt to avoid overexposure. Selleck recalls watching the live performances, in which Hope handled errors and flubs with entertaining ease, and Leonard Maltin explains how he became known for his flawlessly timed topical monologues, later emulated by Johnny Carson and other late-night television hosts. Hope was notably envious when pal Crosby won an Academy Award for "Going My Way "(1944), and when he became a frequent Oscar host – appearing a total of 19 times – his lack of an award became a frequent source of jokes.
In addition to a wide variety of charity benefits, Hope also made many post-WWII trips overseas to perform for U.S. troops, spanning all the way up through the Desert Storm conflict. During the Vietnam War, however, he received criticism for his unflinching support of the unpopular war, with many noting that the formerly rebellious comedian now represented "the establishment." Singer Connie Stevens recalls Hope's shock at a lukewarm reception from the soldiers, describing how she diffused the tension with a rendition of "Silent Night" on Christmas 1969. President Nixon was heard conversing with Hope about the war on his infamous Oval Office recordings, and Selleck notes that Hope always believed that the troops themselves did not deserve the blame for their leaders' decisions. Comedy became "dangerous" again when "Saturday Night Live" premiered in 1975, and Hope's friends and family admit that the old-fashioned performer may have stayed in the comedy scene too long, needing to be taken "kicking and screaming" from the limelight. Margaret Cho notes how Hope highlighted up-and-coming comedians, however, and veterans of all branches remained grateful to Hope for his continued support and his determination to bring cheer to difficult situations.
Details
- NETWORK: WNET / PBS
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:53:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 131741
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Biography; Comedians; Actors
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1986-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Michael Kantor … Executive Producer
- Junko Tsunashima … Supervising Producer
- Dave Harding … Producer
- Richard Gurman … Producer
- Richard Zoglin … Producer
- James Hardy … Producer
- John Scheinfeld … Producer, Director, Writer
- Peter S. Lynch II … Co-Producer
- Raquel Bruno … Senior Talent Producer
- Julie Sacks … Series Producer
- Joe Skinner … Series Associate Producer
- Mark Leggett … Music by
- Christopher Rife … Theme Music by
- Billy Crystal … Narrator
- Linda Hope … Interviewee
- Tom Selleck … Interviewee
- Conan O'Brien … Interviewee
- Dick Cavett … Interviewee
- Leonard Maltin … Interviewee
- Connie Stevens … Interviewee
- Margaret Cho … Interviewee
- Jerry Colonna
- Johnny Carson
- Bing Crosby
- Marilyn Maxwell
- Richard Nixon
- Dolores Reade (see also: Dolores Hope)
- Grace Louise Troxell