Bob Hope was one of the most popular and enduring entertainers in American history, a comedian whose career across vaudeville, radio, film, and television stretched over seventy years. Born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England, he emigrated with his family to Cleveland, Ohio, as a boy, and worked his way up through dancing and comedy in vaudeville before breaking into Broadway and radio.
With his rapid-fire delivery, jaunty self-mockery, and trademark ski-jump nose, Hope became one of radio's biggest stars in the late 1930s and a Hollywood favorite. He is especially remembered for the seven breezy "Road" pictures he made with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, and for hosting the Academy Awards a record nineteen times with his signature wisecracking monologues.
Above all, Hope is remembered for his decades of tireless service entertaining American troops. Beginning in World War II and continuing through Korea, Vietnam, and beyond, he led United Service Organizations (USO) tours to bases and combat zones around the globe, often at Christmas, becoming a cherished symbol of home for generations of service members.
Showered with honors over his long life, he was named an honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces by an act of Congress, a distinction granted to no one else. He remained a beloved public figure into extreme old age and died in 2003, two months after his hundredth birthday.