Bob Hope was determined to entertain American troops and give back to the country he loved, says...

Full title: Bob Hope was determined to entertain American troops and give back to the country he loved, says daughter

From vaudeville to Hollywood, Bob Hope conquered it all as a beloved showman — but his greatest achievement was entertaining the troops.

At the time of his death in 2003 at age 100, the New York Times reported the film, TV and stage star performed nearly all of his 400 radio programs at military bases and embarked on annual tours where he delighted American servicemen with his sidesplitting monologues. Hope even took time to befriend weary soldiers and, as his name implies, deliver hope to those fighting for their country.

His eight-decade career is the subject of a new PBS documentary, titled “American Masters: This is Bob Hope…,” which explores his contributions as a comedian, actor and proud patriot. And the unabridged director’s cut features over 35 minutes of footage just for fans.

Fox News: What are some of your favorite memories involving your dad?
Linda Hope: The fun of his homecomings. When he would go away usually for several weeks at a time and finally come home, we anticipated it for days. Particularly right around the holidays because my mother had a rule that when dad was away at Christmas, we would only be able to open just a few presents on Christmas Day.

The unabridged director’s cut of “American Masters: This is Bob Hope…” premieres Friday, December 29 on PBS.

Bob Hope was a great American and a great patriot. So were all of the other old-time stars who entertained the troops over many wars - up through the entertainers of the present day.

But Bob Hope wasn’t the first to do so. The man who actually was the first chosen by the War Department in early 1942 to entertain the troops, after he personally went to Washington DC to lobby his cause, wasn’t “The World’s Greatest Comedian” (as Hope was then known).

More can be found on Jolson’s very good Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Jolson

It was the man known as “The WOrld’s Greatest Entertainer” - AL JOLSON.

Jolson was the first star sent overseas to the Aleutians, and then the Caribbean to entertain the troops in early 1942. In between he played hundreds of Army camps all over the US.

He followed the troops to England, North Africa, and Sicily in 1943, at which time the malaria than he had caught while doing so caught up with him, and he had to be medevaced back to the States. In 1945 a relapse cost him part of one lung that had to be removed to stem the infection.

After the war (and the Columbia Pictures movies “The Jolson Story” and “Jolson Sings Again”), he enjoyed the biggest comeback in entertainment history, becoming once again the most popular singer in America - after age 60 (!).

In 1950 when Korea kicked off, Jolson - although visibly aged beyond his 64 years, and suffering from an undiagnosed arterial blockage near his heart - contacted the White House (President Truman had entertained him and Mrs Jolson in 1949 and even played piano a bit as Jolson sang at the White Hosue) and offered to pay his own way to Korea to entertain the troops. (The USO had been disbanded after WW2 and it took awhile to get it going again).

Paying thousands out of his own pocket for the privilege, Jolson flew to Japan, then Korea, in September 1950.

Although suffering from a severe bronchial infection caught during an overnight stay on monsoon-swept Wake Island due to engine trouble on his USAF flight, Jolson performed 24 shows for troops in just 16 days.

Exhausted, he died of a heart attack a short month after returning from Korea. President Truman posthumously awarded him The Presidential Medal of Merit (he was the last individual ever awarded this WW2-era honor), and called him “a casualty of the war in Korea”.

He too, deserves to be remembered for his own patriotism and sacrifice for “the boys” - in addition to his pioneering efforts in recording, radio, stage, screen - and civil rights (for he was an opponent of discrimination in all its forms and championed the cause of, and supported, African American artists over his entire career).

Make sure to read “Hope - Entertainer of the Century,” by Richard Zoglin.

My two biggest takeaways from this book, which I read in 2015:

1.) Hope and his troupe encountered a number of close calls flying to the various war zones. He endured real risks and hardships to entertain the troops.

2.) He was a real ladies’ man (read: philanderer). But he always kept whatever he had on the side far, far from home. Dolores, Zoglin reports, seems to have known all about it, but was also quite aware that being Mrs. Bob Hope had certain benefits.

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