Hope remembered fondly by seniors

Lolita Harper

She was dressed sharply in her navy blue uniform and cap. The air was

cool and the night was electric at Treasure Island in San Francisco.

Dorothy Montgomery, serving in the Navy as a Woman Accepted for

Volunteer Emergency Service in 1944, eagerly awaited the show.

It was nearly 60 years ago, but Montgomery recalled Bob Hope’s act

clearly.

On Monday, Montgomery and other seniors at the Costa Mesa Senior

Center recalled Hope fondly. Hope, who entertained on the big and

small screens for more than 50 years, died Sunday in his Toluca Lake

home from pneumonia. The comedian and actor was 100.

Montgomery smiled and glanced off in the distance as she told her

story.

“He was there with his whole ball of wax to entertain the

sailors,” Montgomery said. “Of course, the WAVES and the nurses got

to sit in the officers’ section. The rest of the sailors were farther

back. Boy, was that a show.”

Montgomery, who was working the front desk at the Costa Mesa

Senior Center, remembered Hope’s remarkable energy level.

“He did two- and three-hour shows and never tired,” Montgomery

said. “I don’t know how he did it. He was amazing.”

Colleague Dorothy Goeman agreed.

“There’ll never be another like him,” Goeman said. “The world has

lost one of the greatest entertainers it ever had.”

Although he was born in England, Hope won the hearts of Americans

with his witty humor, speedy delivery and poignant comments. Hope,

who famously performed for active military troops from World War II

to the Persian Gulf, received numerous decorations for his role in

military morale.

The country celebrated his 100th birthday two months ago, with a

huge party and various tributes to his laundry list of

accomplishments. Even a day after his passing, people were still

thanking him for the memories and remembering his role in the

country’s history.

Montgomery said Monday that she always knew the day would come

that Hope would pass, but she was still not prepared for it.

“I was shocked,” Montgomery said. “I knew he was bound to go, but

it was still ... just shocking.”

While Hope was always on the cutting edge, he never resorted to

“dirty” talk to make things funny. That is what made him even better,

the two Dorothys aid.

“He was funny as can be and never had to be dirty,” Goeman said.

“Yeah, I don’t know why it can’t be like that anymore,” Montgomery

added. “Young people don’t need all this vulgarity nowadays.”

A quick survey of the senior center lobby named Hope’s “road

series” of movies, with co-stars Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, as

his top work. Montgomery, Goeman and Paul Motlenski recalled their

favorite moments from the comedy.

“Remember when he was in bed, with that horse and the horse kept

stealing all the covers from him?” Motlenski said.

“What was the name of that movie?” Goeman asked.

“I know the one you are talking about, I liked that one, too,”

Montgomery said.

They never did remember the name.

“I never, ever, heard a bad word about him, and to me, that’s

pretty good,” Goeman said.

Goeman was not in the sun room, down the hall, where other members

were more tight-lipped about Hope.

“When I was a kid, I laughed at him,” said Rich Reiser, who was

more concerned with the TV remote than Hope’s death. “I think this

should be a positive community story, so I should not comment.”

Senior center member Gary Roseberry also didn’t have anything nice

to say, and so said nothing at all.

“He was a great entertainer, though, you’ve got to give him that,”

Roseberry said.

Senior center director, Aviva Goelman, said she could not disagree

more. Goelman, who used to draw caricatures of Hope in art class,

called him a wildly talented entertainer whom she remembers as a

generous person.

“I think he is a legend and it is a shame he is gone,” Goelman

said. “More seniors can learn from him how to have a totally positive

attitude.”

Hope’s connection to the Newport-Mesa area is stronger than just

memories. The comedian performed in front of a crowd of 6,000 at an

Orange Coast College fund-raiser at Labard Stadium in 1980 and was

honored at a Marine Corps. regalia in Newport Beach in 1985.

He also is among the famous people who were guests at the Balboa

Bay Club, along with John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall and

movie partner Crosby.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.