Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, August 26, 1994 TAG: 9409010014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB THOMAS ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Medium
The only thing that's changed is the size of the print on his cue cards. Indeed, as Hope himself is inclined to say, how about that?
"Bob Hope's Young Comedians: Making America Laugh," airing Saturday (at 10 p.m. on WSLS-Channel 10) launches Hope's 44th season on NBC.
Newcomers Henry Cho, Dana Gould, Anthony Griffith, Susie Loucks, Susan Norfleet and Gregg Rogell take the spotlight, with Crystal Bernard of "Wings" and Dave Thomas of "Grace under Fire" sharing the emcee duties with Hope.
As could be expected, Bob Hope at 91 isn't the firecracker of yore. Yet he recently returned from a four-week trip to Europe, entertaining aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2, taking part in the D-Day festivities, and performing in London and Glasgow.
"Next, I want to go to Australia, maybe next month," he said. "I'll stop in New Zealand on the way. There are a lot of great towns to play in Australia, and they love entertainment."
Hope was interviewed at his Toluca Lake mansion in his upstairs office, a sun-filled room overlooking his three-par golf course. The walls are lined with photos - and Hope has a comment for each.
He paused before the presidential wall, which includes autographed pictures from FDR to Nixon. Ford, Carter and the rest occupy another wall.
It all made Hope recall his first meeting with Dwight Eisenhower, when he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe.
"The war was still on, and Ike said to me, `I understand you've had trouble sleeping, the bombs get ya.' I said yeah, and he said, `You'll sleep well here tonight, we haven't had any bombing for a long time.' At 2 o'clock in the morning - barroooom! We all went down in the cellar," Hope said.
The squire of Toluca Lake sat at his desk, on which appeared the latest submissions by his gag writers, printed in giant type. All concerned recent news events. For instance, the cat lost on an airliner (``Now, your pet can earn frequent flier mileage'') and the marriage of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley (``If Elvis is still alive, this'll kill him'').
No O.J. Simpson jokes, however.
"I don't want to make jokes about him," Hope declared. "I knew him when he was at USC. He was a sweetheart. I just came across a picture with O.J." He hunted in his dressing room and came back with a shot of himself and a youthful Simpson taken at a Super Bowl special.
Up close, Hope belies his years. His face is pink and healthy looking. "I feel so damn good, I'm cheating," he boasted. "I should get sick now and then." Daily golf helps keep him fit, he said.
Despite the urging of his wife Dolores and his advisers, he refuses to use his hearing aid, and interviews are conducted at a shout. His recall of recent events can be vague, but remembrance of things past remains vivid. Sometimes, he fills the conversational gaps by humming an old tune, like a vaudevillian awaiting his cue.
The latest special is Hope's third with new comics, and he marvels at the abundance of funny men and women. Most have emerged from the hundreds of comedy clubs, today's equivalent of vaudeville as a training ground.
"They're pretty smart. They know what to do," Hope said. "They don't come to a TV audition with dirty material. They can do that in the clubs - that's what people go there for."
Comedy clubs teach newcomers to handle all audiences, including hostile ones. Hope, who started with NBC radio in 1938, was asked if he had ever bombed.
He sidestepped the question with the story of how he first saw Phyllis Diller perform in a Chicago joint 40 years ago:
"There were three other people in the audience, and she did her whole routine. Afterward, I found her in the hall, and she said, `Oh my God, were you here?' I admired her for doing her act to such a small house. You can learn from that."
He remarked on how self-assured the new comics appear. It's hard to imagine Bob Hope being nervous, but he recalled an incident in his early radio days.
"They kept hearing this noise during the show," he said, "and they couldn't find out where it was coming from. Finally a guy told me, `Stop kicking the mike stand; you're doing it after every joke.' "
Hope added slyly:
"I'm not nervous anymore. THEY are."
by CNB