The life of Bob Hope
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May 29, 1903: Born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England
1907: Immigrates with his family to Cleveland
1924: Lands his first full-time show business job with the Jolly Follies vaudeville revue
1927: Appears in his first Broadway show, “Sidewalks of New York”
1933: Plays band leader Huckleberry Haines in the Broadway musical “Roberta”
1934: Stars in his first comedy short film, “Going Spanish”
1938: Makes his feature film debut in “The Big Broadcast of 1938,” in which he introduces his signature tune, the Oscar-winning “Thanks for the Memory,” and debuts on the NBC radio series “The Pepsodent Show Starring Bob Hope,” which continues until 1950.
1940: Hope and Bing Crosby team for “Road to Singapore,” the first of seven successful comedy features also starring Dorothy Lamour, and he hosts his first Academy Awards ceremony
1941: Entertains U.S. troops at March Field in Riverside
1947: Serves as host of Los Angeles’ first commercial television broadcast over KTLA, then owned by Paramount
1950: Appears in his first network TV special, NBC’s “Star-Spangled Revue,” which is telecast live on Easter Sunday
1955: Stars in his first televised holiday tour for the troops, “Hope in Greenland”
1958: “Bob Hope in Moscow” is the first network TV show from behind the Iron Curtain
1970: “Bob Hope in Vietnam,” which chronicles his 1969 Christmas tour, ends up attracting the largest audience for any entertainment show in TV history to date
1972: Headlines his final feature film, “Cancel My Reservation.” Hope would later make cameos in 1979’s “The Muppet Movie” and 1985’s “Spies Like Us”
1978: Hope makes his final appearance as Oscar host
1993: Telecast of the star-studded “Bob Hope: The First 90 Years”
1995: Hope is presented the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton
1996: His final TV special, “Bob Hope: Laughing With the Presidents,” airs
July 27, 2003: Hope dies at age 100
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