Bob Hope entertained well on campus

“Bob Hope Entertains Navy Tonight; Students Invited To Attend Program” — This was the headline from an issue of “The Colonnade” dating all the way back to May 15, 1943.

The article went on to say that Hope’s entire radio cast would be broadcast over the National Broadcasting Coast-to-Coast network from Russell Auditorium on the upcoming Tuesday night.

This was a special edition of a nationally broadcasted NBC radio program that Hope was featured on weekly during that time. The Colonnade said it was to be “a personal appearance for the entertainment of the military personnel stationed here.”

Breezy Winn, a writer for “The Colonnade” in 1943, had the opportunity to interview Hope during his visit to Georgia State College for Women. The interview was published in the May 22, 1943 edition of The Colonnade.

Winn opened her article by describing Hope’s well-known appearance and pleasant demeanor.

“Brown eyes, dark brown hair, grey temples, long nose, heavy beard, protruding chin, broad shoulders, and long legs all go to make up the comedian we know as Bob Hope,” she wrote. “On Tuesday night clad in light brown pants, tan shirt, brown and cream dotted tie, red and grey plaid socks, and brown spectator shoes, he greeted us with a smile and a warm hand clasp.”

Winn didn’t ask him as much about the performance he gave; instead, she asked about his background, hobbies and motivation.

“It’s an old story about how he started out as a comedian,” she wrote. “Once, when he was giving a serious recitation about which he cared a great deal, everyone laughed and as he put it, ‘They’ve been laughing ever since.’”

At the time, Hope had been married for nearly nine years and had two children. Winn observed that he wore his wedding band on the little finger of his left hand.

“Concerning the match he recently played in Alabama, he doesn’t like to talk,” Winn wrote. “The match he does like to talk about is the one he played with Bing Crosby in Louisiana where according to him, he mopped up.”

He was to travel to England and Africa later that summer. In 1943, he had been traveling for nearly two years entertaining service men and women.

Winn wrote about Hope’s kind nature. She said “there wasn’t the indifference in his voice you usually find in most celebrities.” His motivation was not to gain celebrity status; it was simply to do his part.

“With a complete lack of conceit in his tone, Mr. Hope said that he felt he was doing his part to help the morale of service men and women in various camps, and that it gave him quite a great deal of satisfaction to know he could help in the war effort.”

Winn also wrote that Hope’s favorite hobby was golf; apparently he had his good days and his bad days.

Hope even revealed the epitaph he chose for his tombstone, which was to be: “Here Lies BOB HOPE Resting at Last.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 10 2003. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry