BOB HOPE
Bob Hope sends a typed letter of thanks for being on the stage in Cleveland.
Typed Letter Signed: "Bob H.", 1p, 7¼x10½. No place, 1953 November 6. To Socialist leader Norman Thomas, New York, New York. In full: "This is just a note to thank you for sitting on the stage at my television show (such as it was) in Cleveland. I hope you weren't too disappointed. We had a tremendous problem in putting on the show in that old hall. The acoustics and lighting were both bad and the producer was thrown off completely in his timings. You saw what happened. I am very grateful to you for consenting to be up there. Thanks, again. Sincerely," NORMAN THOMAS was the Socialist Party's presidential nominee six consecutive times from 1928-1948. BOB HOPE (1903-2003) was born in England, moving with his family to the U.S. when he was four. A popular vaudeville performer from the 1920s, he starred in Broadway musicals of the 1930s, including Roberta and Red, Hot and Blue. Among the most popular of his 53 films were the "Road to ..." movies with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, beginning with The Road to Singapore (1940). He won three honorary awards from the Academy of Motion Pictures (1940, 1944, and 1965). Seven months before Pearl Harbor, he appeared in the first of his shows for American servicemen, a tradition he would continue through a Persian Gulf tour in 1991. His success as a comedian continued unabated from radio to television with the long-running Bob Hope Show (1950-1967) and with guest appearances continuing through 1992. A well known philanthropist, friend to Presidents, and avid golfer with his own tournament (the Bob Hope Desert - later Chrysler - Classic, begun in 1960), Hope has made an enduring contribution to American culture. Fold creases not near signature. Staple holes at upper left blank corner. Fine condition.