He headlined in so many war zones that he had a standard joke for the times he was interrupted by gunfire: "I wonder which one of my pictures they saw?" Through he said he was afraid of flying, Hope traveled countless miles to entertain servicemen in field hospitals, jungles and aircraft carriers from France to Berlin to Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Hope earned a fortune, gave lavishly to charity and was showered with awards, so many that he had to rent a warehouse to store them. Woody Allen called Hope "The most influential comedian for me." He was admired by his peers, and generations of younger comedians. "You never tire of talking with your best friends." "Audiences are my best friends," he liked to say. No matter that the joke was old or flat he was Bob Hope and he got laughs. When Hope went into one of his monologues, it was almost as though the world was conditioned to respond. His golf scores and physical attributes, including his celebrated ski-jump nose, were frequent subjects: "I want to tell you, I was built like an athlete once - big chest, hard stomach. He poked fun gently, without malice, and made himself the butt of many jokes. I said, 'Pardon me.' He said, 'I don't do that anymore.'" "I bumped into Gerald Ford the other day. He perfected the one-liner, peppering audiences with a fusillade of brief, topical gags. For decades, he took his show on the road to bases around the world, boosting the morale of servicemen from World War II to the Gulf War. The nation's most-honored comedian, a millionaire many times over, was a star in every category open to him - vaudeville, radio, television and film, most notably a string of "Road" movies with longtime friend Bing Crosby.
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