Bob Hope

Sir Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS (born Leslie Townes Hope; May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel. Throughout his career, he was honored for his humanitarian work. In 1996, the U.S. Congress honored Bob Hope by declaring him the "first and only honorary veteran of the U.S. armed forces." Bob Hope appeared in or hosted 199 known USO shows.

Hope's first wife was his vaudeville partner Grace Louise Troxell, whom he married on January 25, 1933. When the marriage record was unearthed some years later, Hope denied that the marriage had any substance and said they had quickly divorced. There were rumors that he fathered a daughter with Troxell and that he continued to send generous checks to her despite a widely documented reputation for frugality. In 1934, Bob Hope married Dolores Reade, and adopted four children at The Cradle in Evanston, Illinois: Linda, Tony, Kelly, and Nora. From them he had several grandchildren, including Andrew, Miranda, and Zachary Hope. Tony (Anthony J. Hope), who served as a presidential appointee in the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations and in a variety of posts under Presidents Ford and Reagan, died at age 63 in 2004.

Hope had premature obituaries on two separate occasions. In 1998, a prepared obituary by The Associated Press was inadvertently released on the Internet, prompting Hope's death to be announced in the U.S. House of Representatives.[42][43] In 2003 he was among several famous figures whose pre-written obituaries were published on CNN's website because of a lapse in password protection.

Beginning in 2000, Hope's health steadily declined and he was hospitalized several times before his death. In June 2000, he spent nearly a week in a California hospital after being hospitalized for gastrointestinal bleeding. In August 2001, he spent close to two weeks in the hospital recovering from pneumonia.

On July 27, 2003, Bob Hope died at his home in Toluca Lake at 9:28 p.m. According to the Soledad O'Brien interview with Hope's grandson Zach Hope, when asked on his deathbed where he wanted to be buried, Hope told his wife, "Surprise me." He was interred in the Bob Hope Memorial Garden at San Fernando Mission Cemetery in Los Angeles, where his mother is also buried.