System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Bob Hope, Legendary Comic
May 29, 1903 - July 28, 2003
Legendary comic Bob Hope, whose self-deprecating jokes about his ski-slope nose, ineptitude with women and bad golf swing delighted audiences for decades, died Sunday of pneumonia at the age of 100 years.
He celebrated his 100th birthday just two months ago on May 23rd.
He was born -- Leslie Towns in Eltham, England on Sunday May 29, 1903 and emigrated to the United States with his family in 1907, settling in Cleveland. He was a triple-threat radio, film and television star during the 1940s and 1950s.
Primarily a comedian, he also acted, sang and danced a little, hosted his own radio and television shows, and carried on a famous comic feud with crooner Bing Crosby.
He spent much of World War II traveling the world to entertain Allied troops, a service he also performed during later wars in Korea, Vietnam, and the Middle East.
Though his superstar years ended in the 1960s, Hope continued to make appearances well into the 1990s.
He never won an Oscar for a film performance, but received five honorary Academy Awards for his contributions to the motion picture industry.
He also collected scores of honorary degrees; special Oscars for humanitarianism and service to the film industry; the George Peabody Award; the National Conference of Christians and Jews Award; and the Medal of Freedom from President Johnson. He was a frequent host of the annual Academy Award ceremonies and was the author or co-author of 10 books, including his 1990 autobiography, "Don't Shoot, It's Only Me."
He amassed a fortune over his illustrious carrier, investing much of it in real estate in California's San Fernando Valley, Palm Springs and Malibu. Forbes magazine in 1983 estimated his wealth at more than $200 million, but he always denied it.
His love of golf is famous, and his annual golf tournament, the Bob Hope Desert Classic, is a regular stop on the PGA Tour.
When he turned 100 on 29 May 2003, he cracked the joke "I'm so old they've cancelled my blood type".
