The passing of one of America's greatest entertainers, Bob Hope, at the end of July, drew attention to the Library's permanent exhibition "Bob Hope and American Variety," located in the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment in the Jefferson Building.
The week following Hope's death on Sunday, July 27, at age 100, fans flocked to the exhibition to pay their respects and remember his legendary career.
"I remember the first Bob Hope movie I saw was 'Pale Face,' in 1948," said Pat Frankenberg of Golden, Colo., who was visiting the Library while in town for a conference. "I was a small girl, 8 years old, and my dad would take me to the movies once a month. That movie was hysterical, and it is still very special to me."
Left, Bob Hope took a private tour of the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment in 2000; center, visitors of all ages paid tribute to Bob Hope in the Library's gallery following his death in July; right, a tale of two noses: Hope's support of the troops made him a favorite of presidents, including Richard Nixon, pictured in 1969. - Eddie Sanderson © Hope Enterprises Inc., Lauren Cunningham and others.
The exhibition, which features items from the Library's Bob Hope Collection, spans Hope's lifetime as an entertainer—in vaudeville, films, radio, television and on stage before the troops in theaters of war. The exhibition even displays one of Hope's honorary Oscars, which he received after many years of hosting the Academy Awards ceremony.
"He was so quick and sharp on the Academy Awards," said Susan Hirsch, a Kluge Fellow who accompanied her family to the exhibition. "It wasn't scripted; he came up with [his lines] on the spot."
Most people visiting the exhibition the day after Hope died remembered the comedian's years of entertaining American troops, beginning with the World War II and continuing through the Gulf War.
"My strongest memory of Bob Hope is watching him with the troops and seeing how much that connection with home meant to his audience," said Marge Kaiser, of South Dakota.
"I have many relatives in the military," said Port Ritchie, Fla., resident Barbara Newel, "so his USO shows were very important to me and my family and friends. In fact, that's one of my first memories as a child, seeing clips of him doing those shows. I was so sorry to hear about his passing, because he meant so much to so many people of every generation."
Hope's fans were not the only ones eager to visit the exhibition. On Monday the day after he died, television crews crowded into the exhibition, and the Public Affairs Office fielded 26 press calls from local, national and international news reporters and camera crews eager for information about the Bob Hope Collection and shots of his legendary joke file, which visitors can page through using a computer in the gallery.
The Library had paid tribute to Hope on his 100th birthday (May 29) with a gala concert on May 22, which was hosted by Dick Cavett and Boyd Gaines, with singers and dancers reprising many of the songs and dances that Hope made famous throughout his career. Son Tony Hope, along with dancers Fayard Nicholas and Patty Thomas, shared with the audience memories of the tours they made with the energetic comedian as he entertained American armed forces around the world.
