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Article: Bob Hope.(Obituary)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- August 2, 2003
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Leslie Townes (Bob) Hope, comedian, died on July 27th, aged 100
THE song most associated with Bob Hope was "Thanks for the Memory", which he first sang in a film called "The Big Broadcast" in 1938. He made it his theme tune, adapting its originally bittersweet words to the needs of the time. So in the second world war he was introducing his act with, "Thanks to our brave allies/ You gallant Russian bear/ You British everywhere..." As Russians became less gallant and British influence shrank, the words were changed. Topicality was always one of his strengths. But Bob Hope himself seemed to remain the same.
He belonged to a period that retains a persistent ...