C’mon Bob, bring it on

LOLITA HARPER

It is something my cousins and I used to do all the time when we were

little -- set up hypothetical matches and then argue the merits of

the victor-apparent viciously. Wonder Woman versus Captain America.

Hulk Hogan versus Macho Man Randy Savage. Han Solo versus Luke

Skywalker. (Still the subject of discourse at family gatherings after

a few too many cups of egg nog.)

But now I have one for you: John Wayne versus Bob Hope.

They are two iconic Americans, both who have contributed countless

memories and have been described as “great patriots.”

On the one hand you have local boy Wayne, who went to Glendale

High School and later moved to Newport Beach. Continuing the

tradition of academic excellence, Wayne attended USC, where he played

football and beat Notre Dame not once but twice. Mega points for the

Duke on that one.

Hope, who was born in England and raised in Cleveland, may not tug

at local heartstrings, but he worked his way into the hearts of all

Americans, making geographical boundaries practically meaningless.

Wayne arguable has the physical advantage, standing at 6 feet 4

inches. And while Hope donned a cowboy hat in some films, Wayne was

the guy you didn’t want to make mad -- that’s for sure. In a fist

fight, you’ve gotta bet on the Duke.

Then again, Hope did try his hand at amateur boxing, fighting

under the name “Packy East,” so he could have some fancy footwork and

fast hands that could garner a win in that aspect.

When it comes to wits, Hope is the front-runner. He always had a

sharp tongue and a quick delivery. While Wayne was no dummy, Hope was

known for his intelligent humor and way with words.

You could argue until death about who was more patriotic. Both

worked with the United Service Organization to entertained troops and

gave time and money to the people of this country in countless other

ways. Even Steven.

Both had oodles of success and popularity. Each was too honest to

be political. Both had arguably girlie birth names: Wayne was born

Marion Robert Morrison, and Hope, Leslie Townes Hope. Both are

Geminis, if you care about that particular detail.

Now it all comes down to one thing: Who has got the better

airport?

If you haven’t heard by now, the former Burbank, Glendale Pasadena

Airport was renamed in tribute of Bob Hope, who died in his Toluca

Lake home, which is very near Burbank, and had his offices in the

heart of downtown Burbank.

Politicians up there, many of whom grew up laughing at Hope’s

jokes (one even used to trick-or-treat at the Hope house) jumped at

the chance to have their own Hollywood-icon-named transportation hub.

“Orange County has their John Wayne -- we need our Bob Hope

Airport,” Burbank Councilman Todd Campbell told the Burbank Leader, a

sister paper of the Pilot.

The references to the Duke kept coming up as press coverage of the

name change continued.

“To me, I don’t mind if it’s called Bob Hope Airport, just like

John Wayne Airport was named after John Wayne,” Glendale Councilman

Bob Yousefian said.

It was Burbank Airport Commissioner Don Brown who inadvertently

gave Hope the upper hand in the Hope-Duke challenge.

“There couldn’t be a more deserving individual than Mr. Bob Hope,”

Brown said, adding that renaming the facility would be historic

because only a few airports in California are named after

individuals.

Oh yeah? We’ve got a cowboy down here who may just disagree with

that.

Both airports are the center of widespread public debate over

flight paths, noise caps and curfews, and each has a die-hard group

of citizens prepared to fight to the death to ensure neither one

grows another inch. The Airport Working Group in Newport Beach may

have more money, but having worked at the Leader before coming to the

Pilot, I happen to know firsthand that members of the Restore Our

Airports Rights organization, or ROAR, can make your knees shake with

a sideways glance. Much like Wayne in his tough-guy roles, come to

think of it.

So, who is the victor? Wayne or Hope? The cowboy or the comedian?

It may go down as one of those timeless debates. Right up there

with Superman versus Batman.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Wednesdays and Fridays. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.