100 Years of Hope

Bob Hope is portrayed in 1925 when he was doing vaudeville, including song, patter, and eccentric dancing, with comedy added, in the Midwest and East.

Comedian Jerry Colonna poses with Bob Hope in this undated photo. Hope teamed up with Colonna when he started on NBC radio in 1938.

Bob Hope is seen dolled up in a satin and marabou negligee for the film "Nothing But the Truth," in this 1941 photo.

Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, and Bing Crosby, are shown in a scene from the 1942 movie "Road to Morocco."

Singer Dinah Shore reacts as comedian Bob Hope, right, hands the broken pieces of a plate to U.S. Vice President Henry A. Wallace as they wash dishes in the kitchen of the United Service Organization (USO) Hollywood Canteen in California on Feb. 7, 1944.

Entertainer Bob Hope, front center, autographs a $2 bill for Harry McNeer Jr., bottom right, in this handout photo taken in France in 1944. McNeer's son, Harry McNeer III, of Adrian Township, Mich., met Hope himself in 1969 while in Vietnam. The younger McNeer shared his story in an April 20 television special honoring Hope's 100th birthday.

Lou Boudreau, manager of the Cleveland Indians, looks on as Hank Greenberg, vice president, feels the muscle of comedian Bob Hope as Hope visits the team's training camp in Tucson, Arizona, March 5, 1949.

Bob Hope gets some practice in at the Pyle Kenfig Golf Course, May 25, 1951, near St. Donat's Castle, Wales, where he is staying for the British Amateur Golf Championship beginning at Porthcawl.

Bob Hope, left, prepares to spar with Jack Dempsey during rehearsal for Hope's TV debut scheduled for Oct. 14, 1951. Dempsey reported he was unable to lay a glove on the back-pedalling Hope, who says he's had lots of practice dodging tomatoes during his vaudeville days.

Widely grinning President John F. Kennedy, right, looks up toward comedian Bob Hope in New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, May 30, 1961. The President was principal speaker at the Salute to General Omar N. Bradley and the First Annual World Peace Through World Health dinner of the Eleanor Roosevelt Cancer Foundation.

Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the U.S. Commander in Vietnam, joins Bob Hope and the comedian's troupe on stage during a Christmas show for American Air Force men at Saigon's Tan Son Nhut Military Airport, Dec. 20, 1964. Hope holds commemorative plaque presented by the general. Entertainers in the troupe are, from left, Janis Paige, Anna Maria Alberghetti and Jill St. John.

In this 1969 photo, Harry McNeer III, left, during his tour of duty, poses in Vietnam with entertainer Bob Hope. Hope is holding a 1944 photo of Hope and McNeer's father, Harry McNeer Jr., when they met in France in 1944.

Comedian Bob Hope, right, looks over a custom-designed $12,000 golf cart reflecting his distinctive profile with Harry Von Zell, left, and Barbara Eden during the Desert Golf Classic he is sponsoring at Palm Springs, Calif., Feb. 4, 1970. The cart contains an instant replay device so that Hope can check his swing for flaws.

President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew present golf balls to comedian Bob Hope as the trio made jokes in Washington. Hope and a musical group, Up With People, entertained members of National Governors' Conference and other dignitaries at the White House, Feb. 24, 1971.

Bob Hope, master of ceremonies, stands between two huge replicas of Oscar statues during the Academy Awards show in Los Angeles, April 9, 1975.

Frank Sinatra, left, and Bob Hope break up over the sight, and sound, of John Wayne, second from left, and Bing Crosby pretending to sing a duet as the four stars prepared to tape a two-hour special, Bob Hope's Quarter-Century of Comedy, Oct. 16, 1975.

President Reagan and former President Ford flank comedian Bob Hope just before a dinner Saturday, Oct. 18, 1981, in Washington to honor Hope's work for the United Service Organization and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the USO. Hope, 78, has been the group's benefactor since his first appearance on its behalf in 1941.

Hollywood veterans from right: Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney and George Burns rehearse a number at NBC Studios in California in 1984.

Comedian Bob Hope and his wife, Dolores ,are shown in their Palm Springs, Calif., home in May 1998 as he was preparing for his 95th birthday.

Legendary comedian Bob Hope looks at the gallery after the Bob Hope Classic golf tournament in this Jan. 24, 1999, file photo taken in La Quinta, Calif. With Hope's 100th birthday approaching on May 29, 2003, a yearlong series of celebrations and tributes is scheduled including the unveiling of a plaque on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, declaring the entertainer "Citizen of the Century."