BOOKS
THANKS FOR THE MEMORY
New Book Offers an Emotional Glimpse of Bob Hope’s WWII Correspondence
BY LEE VALENTINE SMITH
“A
Author Martha Bolton knew the comic for years during her tenure as his first female staff writer. She wrote material for Hope’s television specials, live appearances and military shows for fifteen years, from the ‘80s until his death in 2003. INsite spoke with the Emmynominated journalist from her home in Nashville.
NYWHERE WE WENT, WHENEVER WE landed, we would always do an impromptu show. We’d go into one of our little bits. Then we’d go to the next place. The troupe was constantly on, constantly entertaining-whether it was three people in the commissary or the entire unit.” - Bob Hope According to the press release, you’ve written eightyFans of classic comedy know Bob Hope from his series eight books. That’s an impressive amount of work. Is of television appearances and film roles. Baby boomers Dear Bob your eighty-ninth project? fondly remember his variety specials on NBC, often I think it’s the 89th. It’s interesting because once you highlighting his visits to war-torn areas during the start, you don’t really realize the number. If you’re doing Vietnam war. His travelling USO shows, with comedic three books a year, it adds up. foils such as Jerry Colonna and Joey Heatherton were consistently highly rated TV events on NBC. That could fill an entire library. Do you display them But Hope had been entertaining the troops for many all in order? years before his successful ‘Nam tours. Last year, as Right now, I’ve them sorted by size, I haven’t put them the 75th anniversary of the end of in order yet. But it’s from a long career. WWII passed, an intriguing new book I have a biography that’s pretty much ANYWHERE WE was being compiled. The resilient spread out over the course of doing all relationship between Bob Hope and “The WENT, WHENEVER WE these books. Greatest Generation” is examined in a LANDED, WE WOULD What a legacy of work and it mirrors new collection from University Press of Mississippi, Dear Bob… Bob Hope’s ALWAYS DO AN Bob Hope’s lasting heritage as well. He Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.’s a true pioneer of television, film and IMPROMPTU SHOW. was of World War II. Veteran comedy writer even stand-up comedy. Martha Bolton and Hope’s daughter Exactly. He’s credited with being one Linda have assembled a rare look at the personal of the first stand-up comics. It was just him and the communications between the comedic actor and the men microphone. and women who fought in World War II. People latched on him as a touchstone of a number of Personal letters, cards and packages were traded different genres. The book shows that bond in great between Hope, the troops and their families. Because detail. of his live appearances and radio shows, he became a That’s right and he was aware of it, too. He kept upvital link to home for many military members. Long to-date with all the generations. When he’d do a show, before email and texts, a letter was the main method of he’d have the legends on, but he’d also have the up-andcommunication for the deployed vets. coming stars too. The hottest stars of the day, no matter In a press release, writer-producer Linda Hope, Bob’s what day it was. He was very deliberate about that and eldest daughter, explains, “The people back home loved he had fans that just couldn’t get enough of him, or do hearing something from a base from where one of their enough for him, because of that connection. loved ones was stationed. Handwritten letters were cherished. Dad received an average of 38,000 letters a You can definitely see that admiration in the letters. week. He would often dictate responses to be typed and That was our goal, to bring out we saw in the letters. It mailed off by his secretary. The letters were amazing. became very evident that this wasn’t a typical celebrity/ They had to deal with a variety of topics, asking when fan relationship. It was far more than that. These were they were going to be coming home, could they visit with friends. They called him the GI’s best friend and he really him on the set or meet Lana Turner or Rita Hayworth.” was. They could tell him anything, they could ask for Though many of the letters frequently contained anything and he’d do his best to send it. They’d tease him lighthearted banter, some were much more serious. and he’d tease them right back. It went beyond anything Families of fatally wounded GIs would often write to any usual celebrity interactions with fans, before or since. Hope. The grieving relatives would note that the last They were like family to him. thing they heard from their loved one was that they had seen his show and were thankful he had given them a bit Even more remarkable is this wasn’t like today’s of a distraction from the war. instant-gratification, electronic communication, it was Dear Bob… resonates with the pathos of battle and old-fashioned snail mail. Equally impressive is the fact the humor of an era. The communications remain as that he actually kept the letters and replies. That was stirring today as they were when Hope received - and some thorough bookkeeping by his secretary. meticulously saved - each letter. Now preserved at the Right, I believe his secretary Marjorie Hughes had the Library of Congress, the thoroughly entertaining volume foresight to know that this was going to be of historic offers a rare perspective on the fragile, funny and often significance. Not only did she keep the soldiers’ letters, heart-wrenching correspondence. she saved Bob’s responses on onion-skin carbon copies. She saved it all, the air-letter and Bob’s response. At the height of the war, he was receiving 38,000 fan letters a week, can you imagine? He did his best to answer as many as he could. The soldiers, when they’d receive it on their end, not only did it make their day, but the other soldiers would follow them back to their tents so they could pass it around. Then they’d send him souvenirs from wherever they were stationed. It wasn’t like today’s instant mail, sometimes the letter would follow the soldiers around and it could take weeks, months or even years to get to them. It was a whole different world then you could go weeks or months without hearing any news from your family. On his tours, soldiers would sometimes slip him telephone numbers of their family and ask that he call them. When he got home, he’d sit by the phone and go through them one by one. How did the tradition start? He started entertaining troops before the war. His producers had suggested it. He found they were so PG 12 • April 2021 • insiteatlanta.com
ready to laugh they became his favorite audience and he started doing his radio show at military bases. He’d say something like, ‘Just drop me a line, and it started organically. It grew fast to get up to nearly 40,000 a week. It did and the responses are so touching. You see some that say, ‘This is the first fan letter I’ve ever written and you’ll probably never read it.’ But he did! It’s touching to see the level of gratitude that really comes through on the pages. He gave them Hope. Literally. And you knew him personally. What was he like as a boss? I did. It was a pleasure to know him. I wrote for him for fifteen years and he never said an unkind word to me in all that time. Growing up, I thought of comedy show writers as they were depicted on The Dick Van Dyke Show, but you were writing for Bob in the ‘80s. The times had obviously changed. When he’d have his television specials, we’d meet at his house and talk about what the show was going to be about, different sketch ideas. Then we’d go home and do our versions of what he wanted. Then he would put it all together, sometimes taking some or all of a sketch, sometimes combining them. For the monologues, he’d call us and give us topics or ask for our ideas. When we’d read the news, we could usually tell what could become a good Bob Hope joke. He famously used cue-cards on television. Did he ever memorize any of his bits? He used the cards on television, but when he was on the road, he’d call and we’d give him lines. Then he would go straight onstage and do them, having just heard ten or fifteen jokes on the phone. I don’t know how he did it. He must’ve had a photographic mind. In WWII, when he did his USO shows, he’d have a writer along with him and a team at home. They’d give him new jokes for wherever he was and he’d go right out onstage and do them all, no cue-cards. The man had a memory. Dear Bob… Bob Hope’s Wartime Correspondence with the G.I.’s of World War II is available from most retailers and from University Press of Mississippi upress.state.ms.us.
