Bob Hope was one of America’s most celebrated and honored entertainers of the twentieth century, and his life spanned that entire century. A native of Cleveland, Ohio who ventured to the West Coast, Hope accomplished almost everything in the entertainment business, from vaudeville to radio, to film to television, as well as entertaining troops from World War II till the Persian Gulf War.
So why is Hope’s legacy forgotten among today’s youth? Bob Ethington from the Akron-Summit County Public Library’s pop culture division joined the Ray Horner Morning Show, guest-hosted by Tony Mazur, to talk about the life of “Ski Snoot.” Ethington believes Baby Boomers began resenting Hope for his war-hawkish commentary during the Vietnam War, as well as his refusal to fade into the sunset.
On the flip side, Ethington talked of Groucho Marx and the Marx Brothers and how they were embraced by the Boomers of the 1960s and ‘70s.
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WAKR RAY HORNER