Entertainer Bob Hope is unquestionably an American show-business icon and the facts surrounding his multi-decade, multi-generational success sustain the myth. Hope's entertainment persona has been evident in every decade of the twentieth century, from his 70 movies to celebrating an unprecedented 56 year-contract with NBC in 1993. He entertained American troops in both war and peace time and was hailed as "America's most prized ambassador of goodwill throughout the world" when presented with the Congressional Gold Medal by President Kennedy.

The fifth of seven sons, he was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England, on May 29, 1903. His father, William Henry Hope, was a stonemason who decided on an impulse to migrate with his family to Cleveland, Ohio. His Welsh mother, Avis Townes Hope, who had been a concert singer, instilled in him a love for music and entertaining. Hope would later claim that he first warmed to...