Bob Hope: The Sad Last Days of a True American Icon (Article) - 2/14/2016 8:43:33 AM
I read this article about Bob Hope with great interest. Never knew much of the detail that you put in this story. He was a great comedian, one of a kind. I am saddened to learn that this is what happened at the end of his life. Perhaps old soldiers should just drift away. Thank you for sharing. Very nicely written and very engaging.
John Herlihy
The Real Story of Bob Hope and Brooke Shields (Article) - 2/19/2014 7:29:58 AM
The icon that Bob Hope is and was, it seems almost unbelievable that Brooke would distance herself from him. I guess, in another generation, he will be forgotten altogether, but so will Brooke. My helper is into Hollywood gossip, but hardly knows who Brooke Shields is, although she fondly remembers Bob Hope (she's Vietnamese).
Back in the 90s, one of my office colleagues, divorced, announced that her daughter was going to Princeton. As a Stanford graduate, I was quite pleased. Later, Norma told me that she was in the same class with Brooke Shields. I was quite pleased that Brooke, a child model and actress, was pursuing a higher education. Later, Norma introduced her daughter to me in the office when she was a law student at the University of Houston after Princeton. She looked to be no more than 16 years old at the time, although she had to be at least 21.
Since that time, Norma has had several spinal surgeries, is an electric wheelchair, and is struggling financially to maintain her self and her home. I have helped her out, primarily with my advice. She gets most of her help from her sister and another friend of ours from work. Her daughter, now with the top law firm in Houston, appears to be estranged, and doesn't help her mother out at all. It's a real shame.
Ron
The Curse of the Bounty (Article) - 2/12/2014 7:19:13 AM
Too bad about the replica and the loss of lives unnecessarily. Tall ships are rare, replica or not. They need to be protected from sea disasters.
On the lighter side, I found your story about what happened in Tahiti quite entertaining, and do recall flight delays with failed 747s run by Pakistan International Airlines on my flight around the world. I like how you describe the disappearance of the electronic gear… priceless!
I recall that I told our mother that my twin brother and I were going to see "Mutiny on the Bounty" when it came to town. Instead, we went to another theater with some girls to see a "B" movie that was forgettable. Don't even think I got a kiss. When my mother asked me, "How was the movie?"
I'll have to admit, that I lied when I said, "Oh, it was very good!" I was sure glad she didn't press me for details.
Ron
Everyone's a Critic! (Article) - 2/11/2014 6:55:53 AM
I watched all those specials. I tended to like the down home spun low level humor. And Bob's deadpan facial expression never got old. The first time I heard that word "sophomoric," I was talking to a graduate student that was holier than thou. Never liked that term because it always came from someone who was highfalutin rather than part of "us."
I'll bet you felt the sting too because you wrote some of the material. I don't worry too much about pointed critique of my stuff. It helps me improve and if I know what the source is, I can sometimes ignore it. Hope I don't get famous and become a target for poison Facebook or Twitter chatter. I don't do Facebook or Twitter anyway.
Ron
How We Wrote Monologues for Bob Hope (Article) - 2/10/2014 11:53:57 AM
All comedians who reach national status have to seek help even if they continue writing lots of their own stuff. Just can't do it all.
Hope was the first in radio to even acknowledge that he had employed writers. Ed Wynn objected that he destroyed the illusion that the stars were just thinking things up as they went along. Hope thought people had more sense than that so mentioned his writers often and glowingly. Was a great perk of the job. Along with the fabulous salary writers in TV get.
BTW, it was Shirley Temple who didn't feel the prick until she was 21 and Judy Garland who went rooting around in Hope's pocket. Those line lived in infamy... all written in advance. That's part of the magic of it. Hope got taken off the air for such lines many times. They'd say "We are experiencing technical difficulties and play organ music.
Those were the days.BOB
How We Wrote Monologues for Bob Hope (Article) - 2/10/2014 11:43:35 AM
I have heard that Stephen King and other famous authors do not write their own work. And, I was aware that there were writers behind every major television show. However, I hadn't thought of comedians having others write their monologues.
Thanks for the behind the scenes view of Bob Hope's brilliance. That he was able to detect any rehashed joke and select jokes written by others without changing them is a sign of his brilliance that I didn't know about. He gave his writers a lot of credit for their skill. I think that was part of the reason that he was able to live so long. He didn't have major conflicts over the quality of work that he had paid for.
Every once in a while I write a poem on the same topic that I wrote before. However, I used to be able to spot a student assignment that I'd seen before.
Ron
The Day I Was Interviewed by Larry King (Article) - 2/9/2014 8:59:54 AM
Thanks for that bit of show business history. It is strange how shows like Larry King's starting from such small beginnings can become huge in the public eye. It must've been wonderful to work with Bob Hope. I don't think I could have taken the pressure to be creative on cue for someone like that depending on me to come up with the next great laugh.
Thinking of Bob Hope makes me think about that Elizabeth Taylor joke.
Ron
