| Centennial Hope |
2 June 2003
|
Bob Hope at 100
Bob Hope is, with apologies to George Burns, the funniest old man in the country. He has been an icon, not without some baggage, since his film days with the late Bing Crosby. Last week, he turned 100 years old. His life has been rich, and the cultural life of America enriched by his talents.
There is, for those in their 40s and 50s, an unpleasant memory of Mr. Hope -- that of Vietnam War Hawk. However, those who remember his support for the war must (no matter who wrong he was) acknowledge that by entertaining in a helmet, joking in the jungle, he put his money where his mouth was. For the record, he was in greater danger of getting killed in that war than George W. Bush or Dick Cheney (who had other priorities than serving his country).
Outside the US, he is best known from his "On the Road" films with Bing Crosby, which were formula Hollywood at a time when American culture was first being exported. To Europeans of a certain age, he and Mr. Crosby were American humor, and their films were eagerly anticipated.
The days are growing short for Mr. Hope, who is not as well as his performances suggest, but then, his days in the sun were many, and well deserved. Like all entertainers, he should not be judged by any personal mischief (of which there was quite a bit) but rather by the body of his work. By those standards, it has been a life well lived.