Bob Hope was an entertainer and a comedian.
He died on July 27, 2003.
Born as Leslie Townes Hope in 1903, Bob Hope reigned as the king of American comedy for decades. He started out his life, however, across the Atlantic. Hope spent his first years of life in England.
In 1907, Hope came to the United States and his family settled in Cleveland, Ohio. His large family struggled financially in Hope's younger years, so Hope worked a number of jobs ranging from a soda salesman to a shoe salesman, as a young man to help ease his parent's finical strain.
By the early 1930s, Hope had gone solo. He attracted widespread notice for his roles in Broadway. Around this time, Hope met singer Dolores Reade. They married in 1934. He again showed off his comedic talents in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. Later that year, Hope landed a leading part in Red, Hot and Blue, with Ethel Merman and Jimmy Durante.
Bob Hope went around to different army bases and preform comedy acts. He would make the soldiers feel like they have hope during a bad time.
During World War II, Hope began to regularly take time out of his film and television career to entertain American soldiers. He started out with a radio show he did at a California air base in 1941. Two years later, Hope traveled with USO performers to bring the laughs to military personnel overseas, including stops in Europe. He also went to the Pacific front the following year.
Hope traveled the world on behalf of the country's servicemen and women, and received numerous awards for comical performances. His name was even placed on ships and planes. Perhaps the greatest honor was in 1997, U.S. Congress passed a measure to make Hope an honorary veteran of the U.S. military service for his goodwill work on behalf of American soldiers. He served Americans by bring happiness to a terrible places.
By the late 1990s, Hope had become one of the most honored performers in entertainment history. He received more than 50 honorary degrees in his lifetime.