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I have never understood the appeal of Bob Hope.

posted 7 years ago by TMC-4 (20277)
8 replies | jump to latest

https://www.datalounge.com/thread/20785962-i-have-never-understood-the-appeal-of-bob-hope.-

His nonchalant delivery and creating the illusion of ad libbing (when he usually wasn't) was what made him distinctive in an era when people basically told jokes . It enabled him to make movies and he his self-depreciating humor (cheapness, cowardice) gave him a classic if not unique character. His material got old, and the delivery lost it's ease as well as punch--he just seemed like an old guy, in a bad way. Still, even in his 60s, he was great when he was in his element--one of the best and longest running emcees for the Oscars. But he had let himself get too close to the establishment, esp. during the Vietnam War. By then, there was a whole new style of comedy--more story driven (Bob Newhart, Bill Cosby) and less joke driven and more pointed and often really improvisational (Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Joan Rivers). Hope belonged to an earlier era although he influenced any number of people who grew-up with his humor--Johnny Carson, Woody Allen, Phyllis Diller etc. but he wasn't the only influence--those guys also admired the Marx Brothers, Jack Benny and others.

What I found odd was that when he was making the rounds in his 90s, he sounded like my father--he had the same working class Cleveland accent and idioms. In that sense he not only got old, but he also regressed.

—Anonymous

reply 54 Yesterday at 7:59 AM

https://www.npr.org/2014/11/24/366137941/the-rise-and-fall-of-comedian-bob-hope

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/17/laugh-factory

https://web.archive.org/web/20180117154639/https://splitsider.com/2013/04/timing-is-everything-the-comedy-of-bob-hope/

https://web.archive.org/web/20180118030119/http://splitsider.com/2014/12/hope-less-how-different-would-standup-be-without-bob-hope/

[–] brux (14761) 7 years ago

The appeal of Bob Hope is probably that he had a fan base from way back and he was familiar to them and beloved, and there was not much competition. As a kid I used to like to watch the "Road to ... " movies which I thought were pretty funny ... but mostly that was because there was not much else on. It was a different world back then.

[–] Sandoz (2021) 6 years ago

I can perfectly understand the "appeal" of Bob Hope--he fit in perfectly with what (for that time period) was considered the gold standard when it came to comedians. Even if his humor wasn't organic--all his jokes came from the myriad of writers he employed--he still had to stand up and make them work, which he flawlessly did.

Another big facet of his appeal was the good will he engendered with his USO tours during wars; my parents, relatives, and others of their generation practically thought of him as a saint for his efforts in that respect (kind of the same way that no-one can really "hate" Jerry Lewis due to his MD work).

However, I read a biography of Hope about a decade ago and was amazed to find out IRL what a petty, mean-spirited cad he really was when the cameras were off. He was also kind of a pervert, with stories of his exposing himself to his teen-age daughters friends when they came over, and also cheating on his marriage constantly (he kept actress Barbara Payton as a rent girl in a fuck-pad for many years on call for whenever he felt like getting a quick, no-strings BJ). He kind of joined the list of golden-age celebrities who turned-out to be as vile and corrupt behind the glamour and all-smiles persona as any Weinstein or other sexual predator of nowadays.

[–] marktayloruk (2555) 3 years ago

Nobody is perfect. Why shouldn't he have had a bit - or a lot - on the side?

[–] Poozer91 (614) 3 years ago

Jerry Lewis, while doing tremendous work for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation, was a bitter, cold, and hateful person. The more I find out about him the more I dislike him and glad that Martin dumped his ass.

[–] whoanelly (1589) a year ago

and Welsh beauty queen Rosemarie Frankland.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

[deleted]

[–] seagal72 (1988) 4 years ago

I cannot fathom the appeal of Bill Murray

[–] WilloughbyStain (195) 3 years ago

Is this your opinion or one from someone else from another site? What are we responding to here?

His appeal was that he told a lot of jokes at a rapid pace.