Bob Hope was born on May 29, 1903 in London. He was christened Leslie Townsend Hope--nicknamed "Hopeless" combining his last and first name. He moved to the United States when he was five and from then on considered himself an American.

Like most aspiring performers of his time, Hope went into vaudeville and after trying on a few partners, he settled with George Byrne whom played major houses in Chicago. In 1927, Hope and his partner made it to the Broadway stage in "Sidewalks of New York"--a very successful with Ruby Keeler, but Hope wasn't the one getting rave reviews. He appeared in seven other Broadway productions until 1936 when he left New York for Hollywood.

Radio was a perfect venue for Hope and appeared on airwaves throughout the 1930's. It wasn't until 1937 that Hope had his own weekly show sponsored by Woodbury Soap. "The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope" was the broadcast that make records in ratings. The show ran for over ten years. It was the beginning of a love affair with NBC. Hope still holds the Guinness World Record for having the longest running contract with a single network spanning sixty-one years.

After doing a series of short musical comedies, Hope starred as an emcee in his first feature film The Big Broadcast of 1938. His most memorable moment in the film is a duet with Shirley Ross where he sang what would eventually become his theme song--"Thanks for the Memory." He made what are perhaps his best films teamed with extraordinary comedians and Mr. Harry Lillis (Bing) Crosby. Crosby and Hope created the perfect partnership in the Road series beginning with Road to Singapore in 1940. Hope would often give Crosby bit-parts in his own feature films playing on screen personas from the series.

Comedians don't win Academy Awards though--at least not very often. They only host them. Hope won over 1500 awards and also held the Guinness World Record as being the most honored entertainer. A full-blooded Oscar was definitely not among them. He did win two honorary Oscars, two special awards, and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Hope hosted and co-hosted the Academy Awards 16 times from 1940 to 1978.

Most people remember Hope best for his television specials and the work he did for the USO. He risked a lot to entertain the troops. BobHope.com says, "Throughout World War II, with only two exceptions, all of Bob's radio shows were performed and aired from military bases and installations throughout the United States and theaters of war in Europe and the South Pacific." His dedication was stunning. He did a show every Christmas from 1948 until the 90's.

Hope was introduced to his future wife Delores in 1934 by George Murphy. The two were married until his death.

Hope wanted to live until he was 100--it's very poetic indeed--100 years of Hope. He reached his 100th birthday and died just short of two months later on July 27, 2003.

Bob Hope respected work. He was rumored to be unbearable to work with by many, but he knew that his team of writers could pull him through anything if he treated them well. His one-liners are legendary. There are archives of them. His banter represents a history that lives on of the history of the United States in and out of wartime. That great ski-nose profile shall always be remembered as belonging to a man who was a staple of American history and entertainment--the one--the only--Bob Hope.

Sources:

BobHope.com
Wikipedia.com
imdb.com