And I've given him every chance in the world. SOME of it's funny, to be sure, but most of it isn't. And I wish he was b
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bobbyegrace — 19 years ago(February 17, 2007 10:51 AM)
For nydanny: yes, Bob Hope was a Republican and entertained the troops at WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and the first Gulf War. The reason that he did not go to this current war is that he was in his late nineties and probably not as healthy.
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coolhatproductions — 19 years ago(November 26, 2006 09:13 PM)
I liked it best when he displayed kid-like innocense, like at the beginning of The Princess and the pirate during the opening titles describing the bad pirate as menacing and merciless, his head pops out of nowhere and says, "That's not me. I come in later. I play a coward," with a big ol' grin on his face. That's the sort of stuff that draws me to him.
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captain-video — 18 years ago(April 20, 2007 07:22 AM)
Hi bushrod56,
Well put me on the list as one of those people who thought Bob was funny.
I'm 45 and have seen many of his films, TV specials, USO shows on TV etc
Was he funny everytime? No but he was pretty consistent, atleast in my opinion.
Thanks, you reminded me that I need to buy some more of his old movies. -
mkaise1 — 18 years ago(August 31, 2007 05:26 PM)
I think one reason why his films declined in quality in the 60s was because he probably believed that the audience would laugh at ANYTHING he does or says. Unfortunately that's not the case. Also, with the Vietnam war at it's height, Bob spent most of the 60s and 70s entertaining troops, and he was funnier doing that because he was a master at doing topical humor.
Not long after his death was wrongfully reported, he was interviewed by TV Guide, to clear up rumors that his health was declining. The reporter observed that Bob didn't look nearly as bad as he did in the tabloids, and that he was truly Bob Hope when telling his old "Bob Hope stories", although he did have to consult his daughter and his wife on some of the details.
One thing that's evident about Bob in doing the specials, especially from the 60s on, was that he sometimes squinted at the cue cards. Actually, his vision never that good, and the cue cards had to be in VERY large print. -
WishfulDreamer — 18 years ago(June 22, 2007 02:24 PM)
I'm 16- I looove Bob Hope. I know we all have our own opinions- and mine is that he is one of the greatest comedians ever! I found him much funnier than Bing (who I like but not as much). I can never get enough of him.
"Everything I do, I do it for you." -
CelticJen76 — 18 years ago(October 17, 2007 01:53 AM)
I love to listen to his old shows on Sirius. A lot of the jokes are corny, but I still find him to be charming. I love old radio shows and his is one of my favorites, even when he pimps the life out of Chesterfield cigarettes.
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rosiecadaverdog — 18 years ago(October 21, 2007 04:04 AM)
Agree. Strictly a cue card reader. Lame, unfunny one-liners. No wit or spontaneity. His success? We all process differently. Look at Adam Sandler, Gilbert Gottfried - loud is funny. Louder is funnier. Some people think that those Catskill comedians are funny. Walking into a wall and falling down? Some people find it hilarious. Buddy Hackett, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Jackie Mason? Some people find one-liners funny. Probably not the same people who appreciate nuance, paradox and situational cleverness. Then there are the people who's sense of humor requires jokes or stories involving toilets, genitalia, orfices, excreta and flatulence.
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patriotssbchmp02 — 18 years ago(October 23, 2007 08:02 PM)
I'm 27. While growing up I watched Bob Hope specials. This was back when families still only had 1 or 2 TVs still and cable wasn't a neccessity, so my options were kind of limited. I always thought his jokes were boring and unfunny, but I thought it was because I was too young to understand. Years later, when he was out of the public eye or dead, I watched some of his comedy routines. I still found his jokes boring and unfunny. It made me wonder how the hell he stayed popular for so long. Don't get me wrong. I very much admire all he did for our country. He always had good wholesome shows on TV. He made people forget their problems. He was just not a very good comedian.
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rk4 — 18 years ago(November 22, 2007 06:51 PM)
You wonder how he stayed popular for so long? He did everything from being on braodway, radio, televison, and movies. He also hosted the Oscars some 18 times either by himself or with others. He was the consumate entertainer, not just a commedian.
I've seen a lot of commedians who have done a funnier standup routine than Johnny Carson, but these people simply aren't in the same class as Carson when it comes to being an entertainer. I would also say that Carson isn't in the same class as Hope.
I recently watched Hope on an epsisode of "I Love Lucy" and he was hilarious.
Lucy and Hope were two of the best comedic actors ever. To judge Hope or Ball on some one-liners misses the whole point on what they were about. -
dragster-2 — 18 years ago(February 01, 2008 01:19 AM)
No hate mail from me, but to say that Bob wasn't funny is diabolical. If we measure his humour and jokes with today's funnies, Bob's repertoire seems dated, but that makes it even more wonderful.
"I have seen and heard things in my life that are best left UNTOLD!" -
classicmoviecomedy — 18 years ago(February 06, 2008 08:16 AM)
Interesting. The original OP, may I ask what specifically of Hope's work you've seen? You did mention his Road Pictures, which are among his best work. If you've mainly seen his post-1950s TV work, he certainly wasn't at his peak throughout most of that period.
What's interesting to me about Bob Hope is that, because of his age, he could have had a career in silent comedy as well, but didn't come to films until relatively late in the 30s. Some find him to be a little too old to play the types of roles he was doing in the 40s-50s (you'll notice in "Road to Morocco" when he asked his birth year, it is given as 1913, instead of Hope's actual birthdate of 1903, showing that even in 1942 Hope was a little "old" for some of these roles. That said, he does a magnificent job.)
Of course, Hope had a career for years on stage before coming to film and later TV, and as a result, we have no recordings to show us his work in the 1920s. By the time he really perfected his "vain coward" character with "Road to Morocco", he was certainly in the prime of his film work. If you can find "The Princess and the Pirate", "My Favorite Brunette", "Monsieur Beaucaire" and "The Paleface" films, those are probably his best work. Unfortunately, his post-1950s film work is quite weak in comparison. I would definitely not judge him on the basis of his "Tonight Show" appearances, where his heavily-scripted material just feels out of place in the conversational tone of that show. I would agree that much of his writing in these types of performances feels a little too forced. On the other hand, a natural wit like Groucho or Jack Benny can seem both completely natural and side-splittingly funny at the same time. Watch Groucho's guest spot on The Dick Cavett Show, and see how natural he makes the humor feel.
As far as America changing, that's certainly true. Try watching some of the comedies of the late 70s and early 80s and see how silly some of it seems. After the political and shock humor of the Vietnam era, there was a return to that kind of goofy, fun comedy personified by Steve Martin, John Candy, Chevy Chase, etc., much of which seems too silly now.
Hope stretched across so many decades (nearly the entire century, if we count his early stage work through his final public appearances), that's impossible to "peg" him in any one era. As a result, we as an audience don't know quite what to make of his humor, especially as it "snowballed" from decade to decade. It feels odd, in a sense, watching the same comedian who performed soft-shoe numbers with Bing Crosby in the Road Pictures and traded innuendo with Jane Russell in "The Paleface" making jokes about "Deep Throat" and Vietnam in the 70s, and Macauley Culkin and Iraq War in the 90s.
View my films at: www.youtube.com/comedyfilm