Hollywood Legend Bob Hope’s Beloved Wife, Delores, Has Died at Age 102 (video)
Posted By Vicki McClure Davidson on September 20, 2011
Bob and Delores Hope - Delores has passed away at 102 of natural causes. She and the famous comedian were married for 69 years.
The amazing woman behind the amazing man — so much has been written about the remarkable marriage of Bob and Delores Hope, one of the longest, happiest marriages in Hollywood that lasted up until Hope’s death in 2003 at age 100.
Yesterday, Delores joined Bob in heaven, at age 102.
Thanks so much for the memories, Bob and Delores. Rest in peace, Delores.
Funeral services for Delores will be private and burial will be at the Bob Hope Memorial Garden, San Fernando Mission — next to her greatest love, Bob.
From Fox News, Hollywood Remembers Dolores Hope, wife of Bob Hope, Who Died at 102:
Hollywood royalty remembered Dolores Hope, the sultry-voiced songstress who was married to Bob Hope for 69 years and sometimes sang on his shows for U.S. troops and on his television specials, who died at age 102.
Hope family spokesman Harlan Boll said Hope died Monday of natural causes at home in Los Angeles. He did not elaborate.
“Both the entertainment world and the church have lost a woman of profound faith, gifted musical talent and dedication,” said Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez. “The death of Dolores Hope leaves a huge void in Southern California.”
Bob Hope died at age 100 on July 27, 2003.
At her 100th birthday party, Dolores Hope appeared little changed: Her white hair was richly coiffed, her skin smooth and her voice deep and warm. She was brought to the party in a wheelchair but was alert and happy as she greeted old friends and posed for photographs.
Hope mused, “I thought it was going to be just another birthday.”
In 1933, when Bob Hope was appearing in his first Broadway show, “Roberta,” his friend and fellow cast member George Murphy persuaded him to visit the Vogue Club to “hear a pretty girl sing.” She was Dolores Reade, a dark beauty whose singing of “It’s Only a Paper Moon” entranced the young comedian.
“I’ll never forget what a wonderful singer she was,” said Rip Taylor. “In fact, that’s how Bob and Dolores met. It seems to me that they were always laughing.”
Hope returned every night and soon he was escorting her to her hotel after her shows. They married Feb. 19, 1934, and she quit nightclubs to join his vaudeville act. Then she retired.
“Bob was the hot thing in New York then,” she recalled in 1997. “I thought I’d better stay home and take care of Bob.”
When they moved to Hollywood in 1938 for the beginning of his film career, Dolores stayed home and devoted her time to raising the four children the Hopes adopted: Linda, Anthony, Kelly and Nora.
[...]
Aside from overseeing two homes— the 18,000 square-foot mansion in North Hollywood and the 25,000 square-foot hilltop home in Palm Springs — Dolores worked indefatigably for numerous charities. From 1969 to 1976 she served as president of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., then becoming chairwoman.
In 1982, she explained her philosophy: “I like being with people, but I also need to have my time alone. I think it’s terribly important to have some time during the day when you stop and take all the energy that you have given out and pull it back in, find the source of your energy. Then you work from there.”
Delores Hope on her 100th birthday
From TV Week, Dolores Hope, Wife of Bob Hope, Dies at 102:
Dolores Hope, who was married to comedian Bob Hope for 69 years, has died, reports the Los Angeles Times. She was 102.
Throughout their marriage, which ended with Bob Hope’s death in 2003, Dolores Hope oversaw the couple’s charitable giving, including helping to establish the Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., the story says. Hope died of natural causes at her Toluca Lake home, which she and her husband had bought in 1938, the article adds.
Hope was born Dolores DeFina in 1909 and grew up in the Bronx, meeting Bob Hope when she sang in nightclubs and he attended a New York City Show, the story says. They married in 1934 and soon performed vaudeville together, although later her husband’s career skyrocketed and he often traveled.
“When we were celebrating our 50th anniversary, people would say, ’50 years?’ And Bob would say, ‘Yeah, but I’ve only been home three weeks,’” Dolores said in a 1995 interview. Bob Hope credited Dolores, who was a devout Catholic, for judging whether his jokes were appropriate for family audiences, the story says.
BOB HOPE BACKSTAGE: “Silver Bells” (Bob and wife Dolores Hope, 1978 Christmas TV special)
From the Bob Hope website:
Dolores soon left the supper club circuit to join her husband in his vaudeville act. The couple toured the major stages together until Dolores exchanged her professional singing career for a role as mother, singing lullabies to her children. She also kept in good voice entertaining friends at parties.
In the late 1940s Dolores returned to the stage when she began helping her husband entertain U.S. troops around the world. She became one of the most loved performers in the show. She sang and the soldiers loved her. In Vietnam, Christmas 1966, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Dolores sang SILENT NIGHT. She sang to a hushed audience and when she finished she was treated to thunderous applause and a standing ovation.
Dolores continued to tour with Bob. One of their trips was to Saudi Arabia in 1990 to entertain the troops in Operation Desert Storm. She was the only female entertainer allowed to perform in Saudi Arabia. Dolores has also made 18 guest appearances on Bob’s NBC television specials over the years.
Dolores attributes her recording career to the persistent encouragement of friends like Rosemary Clooney and family, especially husband Bob, who quiped, “I wish she’d get steady work.”
YouTube summary from contributor rphull on the next video:
Here is the legendary Bob Hope at the age of 91, making his final appearance in the land of his birth in June 1994. He returned to England for a final show to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Normandy D-Day landings, which took place on June 6th 1944. An added bonus is to hear his talented wife Delores who appears with him.
Bob Hope and Dolores Hope in England 1994
Patriotic and devoted, comedian Bob Hope entertained thousands of our US troops overseas for several decades
Delores and Bob Hope... rest in peace.
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