Leslie Townes Hope (1903 - 2003)

Born 29 May 1903 in Eltham, London, England

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 27 Jul 2003 at age 100 in Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, United States

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Biography

Bob Hope is Notable.

Bob Hope was a centenarian, living to age 100.

“When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.” - Bob Hope.

Leslie Townes Hope^[1] or Bob Hope as he was more famously known, was born 29 May 1903 in Eltham, London, England. Bob was the fifth of seven sons born to his English father, William Henry Hope, a stone mason, and his Welsh mother, Avis Townes, an opera singer and later a cleaning woman. The family immigrated to the United States in 1908, when Bob was almost 5, passing through Ellis Island on 30 March 1908 then on to Cleveland, Ohio.

Starting at the young age of 12, Bob earned pocket money by busking on streetcars, dancing, singing, and performing comedy. He entered several amateur dance and talent contests and in 1915 won a prize for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin.

In his teens and early twenties, Bob worked as a butcher's assistant and a lineman until he decided he wanted a career in show business. He and his girlfriend signed up for dance lessons and by the mid-1920s, he'd formed a partnership with friend Lloyd Burman and later formed a dance group called Dancemedians with George Byrne and the Hilton sisters (conjoined tap-dancing twin sisters).

In 1929, Hope informally changed his name to Bob. At one point, it was said he named himself after race car driver Bob Burman, but another version was that he wanted a name with a friendly "Hiya, fellas!" sound to it.

Bob went on to perform in numerous movies, radio broadcasts, theater, and NBC comedy specials. He starred with other notables such as Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Katherine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Rosemary Clooney.

In his personal life, Bob had one brief marriage to his vaudeville partner, Grace Troxell. They married in 1933, but by 1934, Bob was married to Dolores Reade, a costar from one of his movies. They adopted four children and from them had several grandchildren. Bob had a reputation as a womanizer and continued to see other women despite being married. In fact, his affair with actress Marilyn Maxwell was so open, that the Hollywood community referred to her as "Mrs. Bob Hope".

Bob Hope had a brief stint as a boxer, fighting under the name Packy East, with three wins and one loss. An avid golfer, Bob would play sometimes as many as 150 charity tournaments a year. The Bob Hope Classic, founded in 1960, made history in 1995, when Bob led the opening round in a foursome with Presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

Just two months after his 100th birthday, Bob passed away in his Los Angeles home on 27 July 2003.

The USO

Equally, if perhaps not more important than his Hollywood career, is the work that Bob Hope did for the military and veterans.

Bob performed his first USO show on 6 May 1941 at March Field in California. After that he continued to travel to entertain the troops for not only the rest of World War II, but also during the Korean War, the Vietnam War, part of the Lebanon Civil War, the Iran-Iraq War and the Persian Gulf War. He headlined in 57 tours that spanned a USO career of over half a century.

A 1997 Act of Congress, signed by President Bill Clinton named Bob Hope an "Honorary Veteran", for which Bob remarked, "I've been given many awards in my lifetime — but to be numbered among the men and women I admire most — is the greatest honor I have ever received."

Awards and Honors

Besides the "Honorary Veteran" act mentioned above, Bob Hope was awarded over 2,000 awards and honors including 54 honorary doctorates. He was given the Congressional Gold Medal by U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1969, both for his service to the men and women of the Armed Forces. In 1982, he received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen. In 1995, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts and was given the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award in 1997. In 1980, Bob became the only civilian recipient of the United States Air Force Order of the Sword. He's had numerous buildings, a Navy ship and an Air Force plane named after him. Though he was never nominated for an Oscar, Bob Hope was award five honorary awards by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. Nancy Reagan called him "America's most honored citizen and our favorite clown."

He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1983.

Sources

1. ↑ The change in spelling of Towns to Townes happened sometime later. Probably after the family moved to the USA

• Wikipedia:Bob Hope
• Space:DBE_568
• "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2FDQ-6V4 : 1 October 2014), Leslie Towns Hope, 1903; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Lewisham, London, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
• "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MD1F-JXJ : accessed 27 February 2017), Leslie T Hope in household of William H Hope, Cleveland Ward 19, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United States; citing ED 384, sheet 1B, line 72, family 19, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1370; FHL microfilm 1,821,370.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9H2-NJX : accessed 27 February 2017), Lesley Hope, Councilmanic District 1, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Township, Los Angeles, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 60-52, sheet 61A, line 31, family 216, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 376.
• "Brasil, Cartões de Imigração, 1900-1965," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KNG6-8VC : 1 December 2015), Leslie Towns Hope, Immigration; citing 1947, Arquivo Nacional, Rio de Janeiro (National Archives, Rio de Janeiro).
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK7B-JHRK : 21 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Colorado, United States, 29 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Denver Post, The, born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW3-S2LC : 21 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Texas, United States, 29 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Houston Chronicle, born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKWD-3TB3 : 22 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Ashland, Wisconsin, United States, 31 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Daily Press, The, born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKW6-LCMQ : 22 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Madison, Wisconsin, United States, 29 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Wisconsin State Journal, born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKWJ-BSR7 : 22 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Georgia, United States, 18 Aug 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Marietta Daily Journal, born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV55-1VTZ : 20 July 2016), Bob Or Leslie Townes Hope, Nebraska, United States, 28 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing , born-digital text.
• "United States, GenealogyBank Obituaries, 1980-2014," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVR5-SMRM : 20 July 2016), Leslie Townes Or Bob Hope, Montpelier-Barre, Vermont, United States, 28 Jul 2003; from "Recent Newspaper Obituaries (1977 - Today)," database, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : 2014); citing Times Argus, The, born-digital text.
• Find A Grave: Memorial #7716821