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fabrisseIt's easy to write a paean to Katharine Hepburn. Even those who don't love her, or even like her, can recognize that she had a huge influence on American fashion if nothing else.
Bob Hope is more problematic. The very things that made him a minor hero to the people who fought in World War II or Korea are the things that harmed his reputation for the Viet Nam generation and afterward.
I know more about Hope than most people my age because I shared his birthday. So did John F. Kennedy, and I always said that it told you everything you needed to know about Kennedy's presidency.
Maybe Hope only went to war zones because he liked the applause or the awards. I don't know. What I do know is that he was often closer to the front lines than the generals ever were, and that he did his best to give a good show whether the audience was eight or eight thousand.
Some of his jokes were used over and over. But they were mostly still funny, and, especially during Viet Nam, he was there when others refused to be.
Bob Hope portrayed himself in monologues as a coward. I don't know too many people who will walk into a radio studio that's under bombardment in order to give soldiers a Christmas broadcast -- Hope did that during the North Africa campaign -- but I can't call the man who did it (and his engineer and crew, bless them) a coward.
There were many contributions by Hollywood to the Second World War. David Niven, who'd trained at Sandhurst, helped found the British commandos. Fairbanks, Stewart, and Gable also served directly. According to one of the obituaries today, Bob Hope tried to enlist and was told that he could do more good as an entertainer.
Fred Astaire took one accompanist and performed at hospitals and medical stations. Marlene Dietrich took one accompanist and travelled the front lines -- at one point she was ahead of the Army. Others worked the Hollywood Canteen or its New York sister the Stage Door Canteen. But Bob Hope took a full show closer to the front than anyone else. More than that, who else went to Korea? How many went to Viet Nam? How many thought of the service men and women who were far from home in peace time? Bob Hope did. I believe his last troop show was in the Persian Gulf. That's quite a ride.
Among his greatest accomplishments, in my opinion, is that Bob Hope never played in Las Vegas. Right up to the early 90s, the businessmen of Vegas said that they'd pay him more for a one week engagement than anyone else. When asked why he'd never headlined there or at Reno, Tahoe, or Atlantic City, Hope replied that he wouldn't deal with the mob.
He used to make jokes about his movies being bombs, but many of them are excellent and many more were in the top ten box office draws for their year. Like so many others, I love The Road to Morocco with its immortal line, "Like Webster's Dictionary we're Morocco bound." But he gave a great dramatic performance in Beau James, and some of his funnier movies have some heartbreaking moments.
In the best of worlds, someone else will notice the lack now that Bob Hope's gone. Somehow, I don't think it will happen.
The jokes may not all have been funny, but they were plentiful. His humor was more political than many remember or realize and his social commentary was mostly in his early years. But Bob Hope made alot of people laugh in the middle of situations that were far from funny. I'm sorry that I never got to see him live. I'm going to miss him.
Bob Hope is more problematic. The very things that made him a minor hero to the people who fought in World War II or Korea are the things that harmed his reputation for the Viet Nam generation and afterward.
I know more about Hope than most people my age because I shared his birthday. So did John F. Kennedy, and I always said that it told you everything you needed to know about Kennedy's presidency.
Maybe Hope only went to war zones because he liked the applause or the awards. I don't know. What I do know is that he was often closer to the front lines than the generals ever were, and that he did his best to give a good show whether the audience was eight or eight thousand.
Some of his jokes were used over and over. But they were mostly still funny, and, especially during Viet Nam, he was there when others refused to be.
Bob Hope portrayed himself in monologues as a coward. I don't know too many people who will walk into a radio studio that's under bombardment in order to give soldiers a Christmas broadcast -- Hope did that during the North Africa campaign -- but I can't call the man who did it (and his engineer and crew, bless them) a coward.
There were many contributions by Hollywood to the Second World War. David Niven, who'd trained at Sandhurst, helped found the British commandos. Fairbanks, Stewart, and Gable also served directly. According to one of the obituaries today, Bob Hope tried to enlist and was told that he could do more good as an entertainer.
Fred Astaire took one accompanist and performed at hospitals and medical stations. Marlene Dietrich took one accompanist and travelled the front lines -- at one point she was ahead of the Army. Others worked the Hollywood Canteen or its New York sister the Stage Door Canteen. But Bob Hope took a full show closer to the front than anyone else. More than that, who else went to Korea? How many went to Viet Nam? How many thought of the service men and women who were far from home in peace time? Bob Hope did. I believe his last troop show was in the Persian Gulf. That's quite a ride.
Among his greatest accomplishments, in my opinion, is that Bob Hope never played in Las Vegas. Right up to the early 90s, the businessmen of Vegas said that they'd pay him more for a one week engagement than anyone else. When asked why he'd never headlined there or at Reno, Tahoe, or Atlantic City, Hope replied that he wouldn't deal with the mob.
He used to make jokes about his movies being bombs, but many of them are excellent and many more were in the top ten box office draws for their year. Like so many others, I love The Road to Morocco with its immortal line, "Like Webster's Dictionary we're Morocco bound." But he gave a great dramatic performance in Beau James, and some of his funnier movies have some heartbreaking moments.
In the best of worlds, someone else will notice the lack now that Bob Hope's gone. Somehow, I don't think it will happen.
The jokes may not all have been funny, but they were plentiful. His humor was more political than many remember or realize and his social commentary was mostly in his early years. But Bob Hope made alot of people laugh in the middle of situations that were far from funny. I'm sorry that I never got to see him live. I'm going to miss him.
no subject
Date: 2003-07-28 08:02 pm (UTC)