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Life and Death of Bob Hope Biography: Wiki, Net Worth, Children, When and How Did He Die, School, Airport, Movies and TV shows
Life and Death of Bob Hope Biography: Wiki, Net Worth, Children, When and How Did He Die, School, Airport, Movies and TV shows can be accessed below
WOTHAPPEN reports that Bob Hope was a versatile entertainer, distinguished in a career spanning over 80 years in showbiz and media entertainment. The veteran entertainer made the Guinness World Book of Records most respected entertainer, receiving more than two thousand awards and over fifty honorary doctorates.
The Life and Times of Bob Hope
Bob was born Leslie Townes Hope on May 27, 1903, at Well Hall, Eltham, County London, United Kingdom to an English father, William Henry Hope, and a Welsh mother, Avis Hope. His father was a stonemason while his mother was a light opera singer and later served as a cleaning lady to make ends meet.
He was the fifth son of seven that his parents had. Hope spent his early years in the UK where he was born. In 1908, when he was four years old; The family immigrated to the United States, where he grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. All was not rosy for Hope’s family when they moved to the US, he wasted no time hitting the streets at the age of 12 when he started singing, dancing and joking in public and after to promote guns. He performed in dance and amateur competitions, winning a prize in 1915 after impersonating Charlie Chaplain.
Bob graduated from Boy’s Industrial School, Lancaster, Ohio. Before venturing into boxing in 1919, he chose Packy East as his ring name during his brief boxing career, where he won three fights and lost one. When he left boxing, he dabbled in all sorts of oddballs to make money.
Hope’s tentative entry into showbiz was with his girlfriend, they signed up for dance classes so he could improve his dance steps. After Bob’s progress, they played at local vaudeville theaters, one of which was at a three-day engagement club he teamed up with his dance school friend Lloyd Durbin. He met George Byrne and the Hilton sisters and did a few shows with them. In 1929 he changed his name to “Bob” after falling in love with an auto racer named Bob Burman.
Bob Hope later established himself as a solo artist, he began appearing on stage in variety shows and Broadway productions and established himself as the king of one-liners. Bob was active in radio until the 1950s when television became popular. He continued his exploits on television shows hosting the Academy Awards for nearly two decades. The first film the comedian starred in was called The Big Broadcast in 1938 and starred WC Fields. Subsequently, Bob starred in well over 52 films.
He was a nationalist who entertained American soldiers during World War II, he made radio shows to honor and support the soldiers and it didn’t end there. Hope toured with the USO cast to bring laughter and entertainment to the US military scattered across Europe and spent most of his Christmas days with the soldiers alongside his wife. After his selfless service to his country, particularly through the USO, the United States Military Academy presented him with the Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1968.
He was awarded several prizes around 2000 with honorary doctorates of up to fifty. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Bob Hope was the most honored entertainer in his life.
His capital
A successful entertainer and media guru with a long career, Hope saw wealth and commanded it. When he passed away in July 2003, his net worth was reported to be $150 million. Although the figure doesn’t include his property sold in 2016 for $13.
Family: wife and children
Bob married twice during his life; he married his first wife, Grace Louise Troxell, on January 25, 1933, when he was 30 years old. Grace was a secretary from Chicago, Illinois, born in 1912 to Edward and Mary Troxell. The marriage lasted a year when they divorced in 1934.
During his career he would be his second wife, in 1933, to meet a singer and actress, Dolores Reade, the following year; She was one of his co-stars on Broadway in Roberta. They reportedly married in 1934; performed together in showbiz and toured with US troops. The couple had a very happy marriage and became the talk of many people.
Dolores was born on May 27, 1909 in New York to Jack and Theresa DeFina. She is of Italian and Irish descent. Her father was a bartender while her mother worked as a clerk in a dry goods store. Delores started out as a model before turning to music when she met Bob Hope.
Bob Hope along with Dolores had a total of four children who they adopted; their first child (a daughter) named Linda was adopted in 1939, the second (a son) named Tony was adopted in 1940, the third child (another son) named Kelly was adopted in 1946 while the last (a daughter) was named Eleanora, but known as Nora, was adopted in 1946. Tony was President in the administrations of George HW Bush as well as in that of Bill Clinton.
However, Dolores died 8 years after her husband’s death on September 19, 2011 at the ripe old age of 102. Her children gave birth to many grandchildren to keep the family name.
During his lifetime, Bob Hope was among the small group of entertainers to celebrate their 100th anniversary. However, in 2000 he was hospitalized and treated for gastrointestinal bleeding, after which he was discharged. The following year; He spent nearly a fortnight recovering from pneumonia. On July 27, 2003, the legendary entertainer passed away at his home in Toluca Lake, California. His remains were interred in the Hope Memorial Garden grounds at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles.