Free Republic

~On our Q&A last Wednesday, I played Debbie Reynolds' lovely record of "Tammy" by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. By coincidence, exactly three-quarters of a century ago - January 1949 - another Livingston & Evans song was the Billboard Number One record in America, and on its way to winning an Oscar a couple of months later. The last chart-topper of 1948 and the first of 1949 was the most successful version of a much recorded item that season - Betty Rhodes, Gene Autry, Betty Garrett, the Dinning Sisters and a bunch of others all took a crack at the...

On April 3, after Bud Light named trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvaney a spokesperson, Kid Rock responded with a video showing him firing an automatic rifle at a stack of Bud Light beer cases. Country star Travis Tritt announced that he was dropping the beer from his tours, and several conservative social media personalities launched a boycott of the brand. In Tennessee, the state legislature recently banned drag queen shows but, after the Covenant Baptist School shooting, expelled two Black legislators for protesting gun violence with demonstrators. And last month, the Republican Party of Texas censured GOP Representative Tony Gonzalez,...

It was a cold, solemn day on the Texas ranch. A biting, prairie wind was staved off with a thick, fur coat wrapped around an American music icon. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson had said before he died that at his burial he wanted the Rev. Billy Graham to pray and Anita Bryant to sing. Bryant, once Miss Oklahoma and a Miss America second runner-up, was known in 1973 as the vivacious spokeswoman for Florida orange juice and the Sunshine State. She nervously tried to get her voice ready to sing for a worldwide satellite television audience at the president’s...

A wonderful look at some special moments Bob spent with the troops during his many Christmas performances. 10 minutes

VIDEOLife really does imitate art!!! One of the funniest SCTV skits ever was "Play It Again, Bob" in which Woody Allen tries to convince Bob Hope to be directed by him. It was funny because it seemed to be highly unlikely. Or at least it seemed to be unlikely until Woody Allen himself confirmed it during his Instagram interview with Alec Baldwin. Oh, and Woody Allen also expressed a desire to have directed Jerry Lewis. If the SCTV writers had pitched the latter scenario, the producers would have probably nixed it since they already went out on the limb with...

Bob Hope’s eldest child, Linda Hope — who worked with her father for many years — says her dad made it to the ripe old age of 100 because of sheer willpower. “He was determined to do that,” Linda told Page Six. “His grandfather lived to be just short of 100 so Dad’s goal was always to beat his grandpa. I think it kept him alive towards the end.” SNIP Linda, who produced the documentary “Bob Hope: The First 90 Years,” has now co-authored a book with Martha Bolton called “Dear Bob: Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.s of...

Bob's Christmas Show-Long Binh, Vietnam 1967

Hello, it is the Fourth of July 2020. "Independence Day" or "Another Day In The Dictatorship Of Covid-19" There was a bicentennial in 1976 and Bob Hope entertained us for that occasion along with lots of stars..... No Meaningful Republican Party Opposition To DC 19, Instead Distraction With Cultural Warfare.... Burning The Muzzles (Masks) In Boise No tea to throw in the harbor this time around like 200 years ago but how about a mask burning to protest the chains we are in. The protest yesterday Friday over the mask order of the mayor in Boise Idaho...... Newsdump Update: Two...

Watch the Clip HERE The clip displayed above is more humor in a similar vein, a segment from the 1940 Bob Hope film The Ghost Breakers, synopsized thusly on the IMDb: Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard) inherits her family’s ancestral home, located on a small island off Cuba, and, despite warnings and death threats, decides to take possession of the reputedly haunted castle. She is joined by radio broadcaster Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) who, believing he has killed a mob gunsel, flees New York with his butler, Alex. Once on the island the threesome enter the eerie castle and, after viewing...

It was a cold, solemn day on the Texas ranch. A biting, prairie wind was staved off with a thick, fur coat wrapped around an American music icon. Former President Lyndon B. Johnson had said before he died that at his burial he wanted the Rev. Billy Graham to pray and Anita Bryant to sing. Bryant, once Miss Oklahoma and a Miss America second runner-up, was known in 1973 as the vivacious spokeswoman for Florida orange juice and the Sunshine State. She nervously tried to get her voice ready to sing for a worldwide satellite television audience at the president’s...

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...

The 10-bedroom estate, overlooking Coachella Valley, was custom designed the famous comedian and his wife Dolores by renowned Modern architect John Lautner. The unique UFO style home, which was completed in 1980, was first put on the market in March 2013 for $50 million. But the property proved a tough sell, and the price was dropped to $34 million just nine months later. By December 2014, the asking price had plummeted to half its original listing, at just $25 million. However, the new owner, reported to be investor Ron Burkle - worth an estimated $1.54 billion, snapped it up at...

Enjoy Bob Hope and James Cagney.

Something a little different tonight. The legendary "lost" episode of the Tonight Show (explanation in video). Guest stars include Bob Hope, Dean Martin, and Charlie Rich.

Tributes to two of the most famous American entertainers of the 20th century serve as a reminder of how fame flees. The entertainers are Bing Crosby and Bob Hope; the reminders are the documentary “American Masters: Bing Crosby Rediscovered,” which had its premiere last week (and will run again on Dec. 26 ) on PBS, and “Hope: Entertainer of the Century,” a new biography by Richard Zoglin. Neither Crosby nor Hope have much cachet with contemporary consumers of art and culture, but the accounts of their careers make convincing cases that their contributions still influence their respective fields, even if...