Biography: Bob Hope - America's Entertainer

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A&E reviews the life and career of America's most beloved comedian, Bob Hope. Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Hope began performing in vaudeville in the 1920s. He made his Broadway debut in 1933 and appeared in the 1935 production of the Ziegfeld Follies.
He co-starred in the 1940 film Road to Singapore, the first of seven "Road to. . ." movies he would make with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope was a huge hit in Hollywood, and remained one of the top 10 box office stars throughout the 1940s and 1950s. In the early 1950s, he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson and alongside Lucille Ball on her hit sitcom I Love Lucy. Beginning in 1953, Hope hosted an annual Christmas television special, many of which were broadcast internationally for the sake of U.S. troops stationed around the world. During World War II and the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
His annual Christmas specials aired every year from 1953 to 1994. He won the People's Choice Award for Favorite All-Around Male Entertainer from 1975 to 1979, and again in 1985. Also in 1985, he was awarded the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors for Lifetime Achievement.

~ John Patrick Sheehan, Rovi