I recently got a most pleasant surprise, as a Lifelong fan of Bob Hope, I was at a antique shop last month with tons of old books, only a couple dollars each. I came across a copy of Bob's book "The Last Christmas Show" he shows off here with Johnny Carson. I bought for $2.00. When I got home, I found there was a note inside written in black ink. "To Mr. & Mrs. Peterson, best wishes, Bob Hope" The original owners must have went to a book signing with Bob in 1974, now I have an original Bob Hope autograph.
I remembering watching this live back in 74. Johnny HATED Bob Hope as everyone knows, but NBC demanded that he have him on regularly. Cringeworthy to watch Johnny pretending to enjoy the visit and be entertained by Hope, who was never very funny or interesting.
I met Bob Hope while working security at the Waldorf Astoria Towers in NYC in the late 80's & early 90's. He was a frequent guest in one of the two penthouse apartments whenever he was in town. Hope was in his 90's, had a nurse who wheeled a oxygen tank around in case Hope lost breath, and the rest of his entourage. He was always a very friendly man, on & off stage
Bob just shy of 120 years old and Johnny just shy of 100 (if both were still with us.) and still legends. Thank God we experienced them in our lifetime because we shall not see the likes of them pass our way again.
Bob Hope was funny in his movies as the wisecracking, cowardly ladies man but other than that, ALL canned fake laughter at his horribly unfunny corny standup routine
@@djf750 Amen! I never found him to be the least bit funny. I attended, briefly, one of his shows in eastern Thailand in 1968. Talk about a losing proposition! Oddly enough, I did an interview with him (over the phone) in Palm Springs years later, not that that was a significant event in either his life or mine.
@@djf750 Yeah! I did. Thanks. That's exactly my opinion of Hope. Everything was so scripted, so formulaic. The guy really had no sense of humor. He wasn't a funny guy, like, for example, Bill Burr, Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, the late Mitch Hedberg, etc. I'll tell you, though, I think they had a LOT of unfunny comedians 40 years ago. Guys like Henny Youngman, Rodney Dangerfield. Jonathon Winters was funny, though, in his own unique way. But anyhow, thanks for sharing the tip about Hitch.
reportedly Johnny Carson hated having Bob Hope because Bob was a very poor improvisational comedian and that meant that his time on the show had to be heavily scripted. Johnny didn't like that.
you are right, and here is an example of his memory for details.....Heard Bob Hope on a Cleveland talk radio show in the 1980s when he was back in his hometown promoting an appearance...he was taking calls and a woman said to him "Mr. Hope you were our butcher's delivery boy when i was a girl, we were in the aparment above the Hough Bakery on Superior Avenue by Wade Park"....Hope thought for a moment then he said "Oh boy, that was well over 60 years ago, i was a kid working for my big brother then.Your mother was Mrs.--------. Very nice lady, i remember your family and you very well. Hope the years have been good to you.".....He also said one time "I have never forgotten when i was just a poor kid on the streets of Cleveland. But i was happy. i didn't know we were poor. It wasn't important."
Seen Bob Hope hundreds of times on tv over those decades but on this segment he was on and quick like I had never seen him before. I truly enjoyed it!!
I miss this era too. I always thought my grandmother tended to live in the past, as she often talked about the ‘good old days’ and now I’m doing the same thing! Watching Carson in the 70s and 80s are my good old days. 🙂
Hope isn't any more History than the other 6 names that land has had. You mean the United Airport, Union Air Terminal, Or the Lockheed Air Terminal? Hope's was just one that came late in 2003 so it's still the old Lockheed land in my mind. In WWII that land was jammed with bombers and fighters being built with "aluminum overcast" all the time. That's History. Besides, Hope lived in Toluca Lake not Burbank.
I have a lot of family from Hays, Kansas and the surrounding area and just found out that at least three of them got to see the performance at Fort Hays State University that Bob Hope mentioned in this video clip. I can attest that certain times of the year it is extremely windy in Hays (~40 mph or so).
This man was a gift, not only on the screen but for entertaining the service men as well. Count less times u always see or hear about the shows and specials he gave. He was a talent and a hero for our soldiers serving overseas. Plus him and Bing Crosby had some funny movies. Robin Williams took over the mantle after Bob, both are missed for what they did. Bless them both.
I managed a theater (3400 seats) in Vancouver B.C. in 1986 which booked Bob Hope and the show sold out in literally minutes so we added another night which again, sold out in minutes so we kept adding nights (total five in a row) until Bob said he had earlier commitments and couldn't add any more. If I ran the football stadium (60,000 seats) I'm sure it would have been the same result. A truly well-loved guy.
My brother and I never skipped school, but when WTBS Superstation played Bob Hope movies all day during the middle of the week. We both stayed home that day in the late 70s to watch all the movies that day.
Always loved Bob Hope. “Paleface” with Jane Russell is one of my favorite films, and one of Bob’s best. And I have to say, Richard Harris’ son Jared is a fine actor.
A good lesson for many in our modern sit-on-your-butt society, keep moving and your brain won’t shut down when you’re 71. There are people in their 90s who are still sharp as a tack and I know this because they were my great-relatives.
Good lord, the man lived to be 100, so I hope he was sharp at 71. Btw, most people are still sharp at 71. From my experience it wasn't until my parents reached their late 70's/ 80's when decline started happening.
@@jude8223 As a 71 year old myself, I could not agree more. On a side note, I had the good fortune to see this legendary performer in my home town of Melbourne, Australia in July of 1983. He was on stage for about an hour and a half, and cracked one hilarious one liner after another. And he moved around that stage like a man many years younger than the 80 years old that Bob had just become just a few months earlier.
@@jakartaman3365 I remember Bob Hope growing up as a child and my parents always saying “Can you believe he’s doing all the stuff at his age!” Christmas specials, non-stop entertaining the troops…so many good things and such a good person. So wonderful that you were able to actually see him in person! Activity really does keep a person young. I remember as a child my great-aunt & uncle were really good dancers and they went dancing every weekend; they looked so useful on the dance floor.
I read about this. Indeed, Bob Hope enjoyed a decades long career with NBC and thus he had enormous clout with the network. Apparently he sold some property he owned to NBC so the network was more or less beholden to him to cater to his whims, much to Johnny Carson's chagrin.
Bob Hope hardly known in Turkey.We Turks grew up with the movies of Jerry Lewis.I was able to watch a few films of Bobe Hope.I don't know why.Danny Kaye is much more popular in Turkey.Although I have watched very few films, I think Bob Hope is an extraordinarily gifted and great comedian.He is a legend for me...I love old American movies.Now movies have more sexuality, swearing, violence and gloom.
I met Bob Hope when he was filming a Christmas special at a place I worked. He was quite old and moved slowly. When they said "Action" he snapped up, did his lines flawlessly. When done, he slowed down again and was quickly swept out.
Bob NEVER came on Carson just to hang out. He was ALWAYS pluggin somethin. Bob had major clout with NBC cuz hes been with them b4 they had TV sets! He could come on Carson whenever he wanted and do whatever he wanted. He was a big star in every facet of show business: broadway, radio, films, and TV.
@@ghanasoul that and he was a lousy interview according to Johnny. Johnny would ask something like "So I heard you played golf with the President?" Bob would just reply "Yeah, how about that?" And Hope had enormous pull at NBC, he got whatever he wanted. Which Carson being NBC's biggest consistent moneymaker rubbed him the wrong way. A case of two big egos going head to head over the same turf.
Hope was such a master, utterly takes command as soon as he sits down, includes everybody as he speaks, reaches out and touches Harris and Carson at just the right moments. Super high functioning human being.
Bob Hope Is Completely 100% Always, Going To Be Remembered In America. And Gosh He Was Such A Great Comedian. And All Of You, Have A Happy Holidays. And Enjoy Walking Into A New Year 2021.
@@chriholt Yes, I Understand Chris Holt. That I Capitalize Each One Of My Words, As I Will Always Be That Way. But Each Single Person Is Different, Then Anyone Else. So Other Then That, Have A Nice Day.
Bob did a lot of great things for our troops overseas as well as for us hear at home in the US. Sure do miss these days & the cast of characters we were so fortunate to see regularly. Just don't make them like they used to.
Unreal, and some slices off life Bob Hope endured. Would have loved to hear his take down on Our Lock Down Culture. Like:" I won't have my lunch past by me!! This time. " I am the Lunch!". That would have been him 🌠God Bless him. I can still Laugh!" 🦅🗽🇺🇸🙏🇩🇰📫
Bob Hope's Toluca Lake home was only a few miles from NBC's Burbank Studios... My dad dropped Bob Hope of at Paramount Pictures on Melrose & N. Bronson Ave in 1949, where Hope was filming 'Sorrowful Jones' with Lucille Ball... 'Was a Kick for my dad'...
It's funny: I saw interviews with both David Letterman and Conan O'Brien in which they both said that Carson told them (independently) that Hope was "the worst guest he ever had," because Carson told them he'd feed Hope lines/questions and Hope would just let them drop: he'd reply with a terse "Isn't that something" or "Wasn't that great" and wouldn't ad lib, etc. Seeing THIS, I have to assume that what Carson told them didn't happen until MUCH later when Hope was older, because in this clip he's the Bob Hope I remember: a great guest, sharp, quick, engaging. Great interview!
Conan and Letterman both said Carson would complain about Bob Hope as a guest. Carson would say stuff like- “I heard you performed for the president” and Hope would reply “yeah”. Carson would try to get more like “how was it” and Hope would reply with a one word answer like “fine”. This particular episode Bob Hope seems to be a great guest.
At this point, it was clear Johnny still enjoyed having Bob as a guest. Bob had some 'non- canned' jokes here. In later years, Bob just wanted to plug his specials, do the scripted jokes, and leave, which Johnny resented. The real trouble began in the early 90s,when Hope (who had cancer surgery that went undisclosed at the time) began to go downhill mentally, as well as physically, from 1991(still sharp) to '92 (feeble).
It was not publicly known, but Carson and Hope were not the best of friends. Hope insisted on pre-canned jokes, and no real interview questions. Later on when his mental state deteriorated, there was to be no veering from a scripted set of questions which Carson had on his desk. Carson resented being nothing but a shill for Hope's shtick.
@@brianoneill7186 - No doubt Hope's deterioration and his hanging around too long was one of the factors in Carson deciding to hang it all up when he did in 1992. He wanted to go out while still in his prime before he too went downhill.
Bob Hope always made me laugh so hard he Bing Judy were funny with Bob Hope !!! Johnny Carson was funny too !!! Sad that Bob Hope and Johnny Carson died!!!
