Bob Hope (May 29th, 1903 – July 27th, 2003) was a British-American stand-up comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, and author. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 54 feature films with Hope as star, including a series of seven "Road" musical comedy movies with Bing Crosby as Hope's top-billed partner. In addition to hosting the Academy Awards show 19 times, more than any other host, Hope appeared in many stage productions and television roles and wrote 14 books. The song "Thanks for the Memory" was his signature tune. Hope was born in the Eltham district of southeast London, arrived in the United States with his family at the age of four, and grew up near Cleveland, Ohio.
After a brief career as a boxer in the late 1910s, Hope began his career in show business in the early 1920s, initially as a comedian and dancer on the vaudeville circuit, before acting on Broadway. Hope began appearing on radio and in films starting in 1934. He was praised for his comedic timing, specializing in one-liners and rapid-fire delivery of jokes that were often self-deprecating. He helped establish modern American stand-up comedy.
Between 1941 and 1991, Hope made 57 tours for the United Service Organizations, entertaining active duty American military personnel around the world. In 1997, the United States Congress passed a bill that made Hope an honorary veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces. He also appeared in numerous television specials for NBC during his career and was one of the first users of cue cards.
Hope retired from public life in 1998 and died on July 27th, 2003, at the age of 100 in his Toluca Lake home.
History with the Macy's Parade[]
Hope made his first parade related appearance at the 1960 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He and his wife Dolores would later take a ride on the "Statue of Liberty" float in 1994 while being encased in a glass box to protect the couple form the cold weather.
When Hope passed away at the age of 100, Macy's decided to a special tribute to the famed comedian for the 77th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with a performance from Camp Broadway and The USO Troupe of Metropolitan New York on the "Statue of Liberty" float as they all sang "When Hope Was There". Dolores Hope was also present during the performance.
Since his passing, the staff at Macy's along with Dolores Hope founded "The Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation" in which every Thanksgiving Parade since 2003, a band member from one of the high school marching bands would be awarded with "The Bob Hope Band Scholarship Award". The scholarship is designed to honor one outstanding band member and their school band program participating in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.