HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOB!

A Salute to Bob Hope’s 75th Birthday ~ May 29, 1978

James
Lipton ~ Executive
Producer, Writer
Gerald
Rafshoon ~ Executive
Producer
Robert
H. Wynn ~ Producer, Director
John
Hamlin ~ Producer
Bob
Arnott ~ Writer

Bob
Hope ~ Guest of Honor / Performer
Dolores
Hope, Bob Hope’s Wife ~ Guest / Performer
Gerald
Ford, former President ~ Guest
Rosalyn
Carter, First Lady ~ Guest
Betty
Ford, Former First Lady ~ Guest
Tip
O’Neill, Speaker of the House ~ Guest

Performers

• Lynn
  Anderson
  
• Pearl
  Bailey
  
• Lucille
  Ball
  
• Les
  Brown, Conductor
  
• George
  Burns
  
• Charo
  
• Bert
  Convy
  
• Kathryn
  Crosby
  
• Michael
  S. Davison, USO President
• Mac
  Davis
  
• Sammy
  Davis Jr.
  
• Redd
  Foxx (as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)
• Elliott
  Gould
  
• Jim
  Henson (as Kermit the Frog)
• Peter
  Jay, British Ambassador
• Morty
  Jacobs (George Burns’ pianist)
• KC
  & the Sunshine Band
  
• Alan
  King
  
• Dorothy
  Lamour
  
• Carol
  Lawrence
  
• Fred
  MacMurray
  
• Tony
  Orlando
  
• Donny
  Osmond
  
• Marie
  Osmond
  
• Frank
  Oz (as Miss Piggy)
• Charles
  Nelson Reilly
  
• Telly
  Savalas
  
• George
  C. Scott
  
• Shields
  & Yarnell
  
• David
  Soul
  
• Elizabeth
  Taylor
  
• Danny
  Thomas
  
• Fred
  Travalena (as Jimmy Carter)
• United
  States Army Band and Chorus
  
• United
  States Marine Band
  
• United
  States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps
  
• United
  States Navy Band
  
• United
  States Air Force Band
  
• United
  States Coast Guard Band 
  
• John Wayne

Archival
Footage

• Ann-Margret

• Alben W. Barkley, US Vice President

• William
  Bendix
  
• Irving
  Berlin
  
• Jimmy
  Cagney
  
• Madeleine
  Carroll
  
• Jimmy
  Carter
  
• Dick
  Collona
  
• Bing
  Crosby
  
• Lola
  Falana
  
• Redd
  Foxx
  
• Zsa
  Zsa Gabor
  
• Jackie
  Gleason
  
• Joey
  Heatherton
  
• Jill
  St. John
  
• John
  F. Kennedy
  
• Hedy
  Lamarr
  
• Dorothy
  Lamour
  
• Gina
  Lollobridgida
  
• Jayne
  Mansfield
  
• Marilyn
  Maxwell
  
• Steve
  McQueen
  
• Vera
  Miles
  
• Janis
  Paige
  
• Martha
  Raye
  
• Ginger
  Rogers
  
• Jane
  Russell
  
• Eva
  Marie Saint
  
• Connie
  Stevens
  
• Lana
  Turner
  
• Milly
  Vitale
  
• Raquel
  Welch
  
• Jane
  Wyman

---

This
three-hour special honors Bob Hope on his 75th birthday. The event
was taped on May 25th at the John F. Kennedy Center (Opera House) in Washington DC and
aired on NBC TV the following Monday from 8pm to 11pm EST.  It
included remotes from Las Vegas, Nevada, Newport Beach and Las
Angeles, California.

Although the broadcast took up three hours of prime time air (including commercials), some acts were left on the cutting room floor from the actual show. Via remote, Don Rickles plugged NBC’s already canceled “CPO Sharkey.” Fred Travalena’s three appearances on the show were trimmed to one. His imitations of Frank Sinatra and Clint Eastwood were omitted, but his Jimmy Carter survived the cut. 

While Bob Hope was in Washington, he was honored by a special session of
Congress, which he later said was one of the proudest moment
of his life.

In May 1983, Bob Hope was back in Washington to celebrate his 80th birthday at the Kennedy Center. Once again benefiting the U.S.O. and broadcast by NBC. Lucille Ball, George C. Scott, George Burns, Kathryn Crosby, Dolores Hope, and Kermit the Frog were again participating.  

On
May 14, 1993, NBC presented “Bob Hope: The First 90 Years.” Lucie
Arnaz appeared on behalf of her late mother, who was seen in archival
footage.  

On
April 20, 2003, NBC presented “100 Years of Hope and Humor,” a
celebration of Hope’s 100th birthday, which would be
Hope’s last appearance on television, just 95 days before his death.

In
1985, Bob Hope returned to the Kennedy Center for “The Kennedy
Center Honors.”  Perhaps because of scheduling, Hope was noticeably
absent when Lucille Ball received the same honor the following year.
In 1988, Hope returned to the Kennedy Center stage to tribute George
Burns on “The Kennedy Center Honors.”  

Of
those celebrities performing, Lucille Ball had appeared with Bob
Hope, George Burns, Sammy Davis Jr., Pearl Bailey, Elliott Gould,
Dorothy Lamour, Donny and Marie Osmond, Charles Nelson Reilly,
Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Danny Thomas.

---

“Happy Birthday, Bob” ~ The Show

George
C. Scott
outlines Hope’s life story and introduces the evening.

Pearl
Bailey
sings “Hello, Bobby” to the tune of “Hello, Dolly” (music by
Jerry Herman) and is joined by bands from various United States armed
forces divisions.

Kermit
the Frog (Jim
Henson)
and
Miss Piggy
(Frank Oz) make an appearance. Missy Piggy calls Bob “Roberto”
and hopes her attentions make Kermit and Dolores jealous. Piggy sings
“Secret Love” (by
Sammy
Fain
and
Paul
Francis Webster)
to Kermit as if he were Bob Hope.

Mac
Davis
sings "Stop and Smell the Roses” (by Mac Davis and Doc
Severinsen).

Comedian
Redd
Foxx
(“Sanford and Son”) appears in military costume as “the
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff” aka “the Head Dude.”

KC
and the Sunshine Band
perform “It’s the Same Old Song” (Lamont Dozier and Brian
and Eddie Holland).  

Elliott
Gould
performs a monologue about Bob Hope and introduces a montage from
Hope’s film work. Under the clips is Ethel Merman’s recording of
“There’s No Business Like Show Business.” The scenes also feature
actors like Jackie Gleason, Jimmy Cagney, and William Bendix.

From
Las Vegas, Donny
and Marie Osmond
perform a medley of songs from Hope’s films including
“Buttons and Bows,” “(We’re off on the) Road to
Morocco,” and “The Lady’s in Love With You.” The
medley is framed by “Thanks for the Memory,” Hope’s signature
song.

Charles
Nelson Reilly
and Fred
Travalena
perform a comedy sketch with Fred as Jimmy Carter. Rosalyn gives a
wave from the box!  Reilly interviews “the President” about his
role in Bob Hope’s success – mostly on the golf course.

From
Las Angeles, Sammy
Davis Jr.
sings a medley including “Gonna Build a Mountain,” “What
Kind of Fool Am I?,” and “Once in a Lifetime.”

After
a commercial, the show resumes with a clip from The
Facts of Life
(1960), starring Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. Lucille enters to the
theme from “Here’s Lucy.” She talks about the joy of being one of
Bob Hope’s leading ladies. 

She introduces clips of of Hope alongside
his famous female co-stars, including Hedy Lamarr, Vera Miles, Martha
Raye, Dorothy Lamour, Marilyn Maxwell, Madeleine Carroll, Eva Marie
Saint, Lucille Ball (in Fancy
Pants),
Milly Vitale, Jane Wyman, Jane Russell, and Phyllis Diller. Under the
montage is a Frank Sinatra singing “The Tender Trap” (by Jimmy
Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn).

Lucy:
“I
starred with Bob in four pictures and they were all fun, frantic, and
foolish.”

Lucy
sings
“Hey, Look Me Over” (music by Cy Coleman), the song she
introduced in Wildcat.
This version has specially written lyrics about Bob Hope and is
titled “Hey, Look Him
Over.”

Fred
MacMurray
remembers his time on Broadway with Bob Hope, in the musical Roberta
in 1933. 

MacMurray introduces Bert
Convy,
who sings
“Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” (by Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach)
from the 1935 film version of Roberta.
In the film, Hope’s role was assumed by Fred Astaire.

Carol
Lawrence
sings and performs in a tap dance to “It’s De-Lovely” by
Cole Porter introduced by Hope in the 1936 Broadway musical Red,
Hot and Blue.

Telly
Savalas introduces
Danny Thomas to
sing
Hope a special birthday song that he wrote himself.

Danny
Thomas:
“It’s
more than an honor to be here tonight. It’s a damn nuisance.”

Country
star Lynn
Anderson
sings “Feelings” (by Morris Albert). Anderson appeared on
three of Bob Hope’s television specials.

Married
mimes
Shields & Yarnell
perform a mime / dance routine in tribute to Bob Hope.

Dorothy
Lamour talks
about working with Hope and Crosby on the “Road” pictures. She
introduces a montage of the late
Bing
Crosby
in their various “Road” movies including The Road To
Bali and The Road to Utopia. Underscoring the sequence is
Hope and Crosby singing “The Road To Morocco” (by Jimmy Van
Heusen and Johnny Burke).

George
Burns
makes an appearance on a remote feed.  Burns is 82 years old. He
sings a 75 year-old song he introduced with the Pee Wee Quartet, but
abandons it half-way through. Morty
Jacobs
is Burns’ pianist.

David
Soul
sings “Tomorrow Child” (by Soul himself).

Alan
King,
historian of the Friars Club, presents
a humorous account of Hope’s life story: “The Book of Hope.”

Alan
King
(To Hope): “I
hope you live as long as this evening seems to me.”

Charo
appears on behalf of all foreign-born people living in the USA and
sings “America” (by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim) from West
Side Story.

A
special appearance by Kathryn
Crosby,
Bing’s widow, who talks about the special chemistry between Hope and
Crosby. She introduces a montage of film clips starring the duo,
underscored by Crosby and Hope singing “Put It There, Pal” (by
Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke) from Road
To Utopia
(1945).

Dolores
Hope, Bob’s wife, comes down from the box and joins Crosby on the
stage creating a female “Hope and Crosby.” After introducing
conductor Les Brown, Dolores sings “On A Clear Day” (by
Burton Lane and Alan J. Lerner).

After
a clip of John F. Kennedy with Hope, Elizabeth Taylor
talks about the previous evening’s reception at the White House.
There is a clip from the ceremony featuring President Jimmy
Carter. Taylor reads a birthday message from Prince Philip, The
Duke of Edinburgh. She then introduces the British Ambassador, Peter
Jay, who reads a birthday message from Her Majesty, the Queen of
England. Taylor talks about Hope’s contributions to the USO and
introduces General Michael S. Davison, the group’s president.

Tony
Orlando
talks about Bob Hope’s connection to his hit song “Tie A Yellow
Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree”
(by
Irwin
Levine and
L.
Russell Brown)
and
sings the song.

John
Wayne
appears via satellite from Newport Beach, California. Wayne, recently
out of open-heart surgery, introduces sepia-toned footage of Hope
working with the USO. The sequence is underscored by the Andrews
Sisters singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.”

Bob
Hope
makes his way from the box, down the aisle, and onto the stage as the
audience sings the traditional “Happy Birthday” song. Hope wishes
Wayne a happy birthday, having marked it two days earlier. Hope says
he hope he has “many, many, more.” Sadly, Wayne died 13 months
after this special was taped. Hope outlived him by a quarter century.
Bob Hope then treats the audience to a comedy monologue based on his
visit to Washington, his age, and playing golf. Naturally, he ends
the show by singing “Thanks for the Memory,” with special lyrics
about the occasion.  The stars who performed onstage join Hope. He
greets them as the credits roll.