HOPE & CROSBY

FORMATION: Bob & Bing were never really a team, hearsay. Both of them were big stars and putting them together in a film was dynamite. Also contrary to other partners, neither one of them was the straight man. Both of them could make you laugh, have their own musical number, and steal the girl in the end.

The truth is that their duo was more of a trio with Dorothy Lamour playing the love interest. She was the straight man in a sense and had her moments in the sun on screen. With the making of their last film with all three together, "Road to Bali" (1952), she found her success waining as her two other stars kept rising to the top.

STUDIOS: All seven of the "Road" films, with the exception of their last picture, were made at Paramount Pictures. In the "Road to Utopia" (1946) they look off to a mountain that is suddenly surrounded by stars to indicate the Paramount trademark. "The Road to Hong Kong" (1962) film is owned by United Artists.

ENDING: Since they never began as a partnership, they technically never ended as a partnership. Their last film together was "The Road to Hong Kong" in 1962. Another picture was written for them called the "Road to the Fountain of Youth" in 1977 with the original three. Sadly, Bing Crosby died on October 14th of that year and it was abandoned.

Who could of ever thought that guys who seemed to hate each other were the best of friends. There comedy technique was unique. While other duo's ran slapstick routines and play on word monologues, they were playing around with the fourth wall. The fourth wall is what separates a story from the audience and more importantly reality. They were notorious for making wise cracks on the studio, the script and each other on the screen. There jokes get even funnier when you know a little bit more about their personal lives. Even apart, their funniest jokes included some snide remark about the other.

This is a classic scene from the most famous film they made together, "Road to Morocco" (1942).

Here are some of their cameos in each others pictures.

This was on a PBS special titled "The Legendary Bing Crosby."

BOB HOPE (1903-2003)

SIR LESLIE TOWNES HOPE

Born: May 29th, 1903 ( London).

Died: July 27th, 2003 (pneumonia).

Marriage: Dolores Hope (1934-His death).

Children: He & Dolores adopted four children: Eleanora Hope, William Kelly Francis Hope, Anthony J. Hope & Linda Hope., Maureen Hope

Interesting Fact: He is the only civilian to be classified as a US Veteran by Congress. This was done in 1996 for his almost 200 USO shows that he hosted or performed in during war time.

Awards: With Bob Hope, I will need to add a little disclaimer. This section of the post, which lists their awards, was intended to present the celebrities achievements in relation to their contributions to Motion Pictures themselves. At times, I have taken certain liberties by listing achievements such as knighthood and political honors on other individuals to spruce up this area. For Bob, this would be impossible to list without a thorough study that could take a few weeks. For interest of time, I will avoid those awards in order to not belittle one over another in importance. If you would like to see a complete list of his accomplishments, I would refer you to the sometimes inaccurate Wikipedia.

Though he had never received an Academy Award for his acting alone, he had been awarded five honorary Oscars throughout his life. He has received twenty-nine other awards for his performances with an additional eight nominations.

My Favorite Film: Any film that starts with the words "My Favorite" or "Road to" have a special place on my favorite list. Each one of them just keep on bringing more and more laughs. The one film that I really love is "The Ghost Breakers" (1940). It presents his cowardice character perfectly. It also gives lenience to an almost macho Hope you don't see much of in other pictures. This film was remade by Martin & Lewis in 1953, under the title "Scared Stiff." Bob has a cameo at the end, in honor of the remake, with Bing by his side. Though Crosby was not in the original film, they were shown together, since they just completed "Road to Bali" (1952) the year before.

As frugal as Bob was, no other star gave as much time & money as he did. From performing for our troops to golf, he kept himself pretty busy, making an occasional film now and then. He is the ultimate ad-libber & the most well known comedian to ever grace the silver-screen. He walked among some of the greatest of this country, whether it was in an Oval Office or a Barracks. He spread his medicine of laughter through Radio, Television, Motion Pictures and even the Stage. For the 100 years of his life, he gave America just what it needed, HOPE!

Here is the song that summed up the friendship of Bob & Bing in "Road to Utopia" (1946). Bob said of the friendship himself: "There's nothing I wouldn't do for Bing, and there's nothing he wouldn't do for me. And that's the way we go through life - doing nothing for each other!"

This is one of my favorite dance routines. Cagney relives his timeless portrail of the original "Yankee Doodle Dandy" (1942) with Bob in his film of the real-life depiction on "The Seven Little Foy's" (1955). My Mom always had me watch how often the the camera position would change, in order to see how much a routine they had to dance for. I invite you to see how long they last in this seguence. Quite impressive!