Starting to watch a good, interesting documentary on PBS, This Is Bob Hope. Woody Allen is one of many guests praising Hope’s style and humor. The more you see of Hope, the more you realize how much Woody borrowed of the latter two–something Allen has acknowledged several times previously, stating that Hope was his favorite comic and main influence. Vey uncanny watching the Hope clips and remembering Woody’s delivery in Love and Death, for instance.
Yeah, Hope was very funny. I remember looking forward to his infrequent tv specials when I was a kid. In later years, he specialized in stand-up one-liners on American politics in his monologues or on his many military base tours which were hugely popular among soldiers serving overseas. Not to be forgotten too, were his many hostings of the Academy Awards during which he always bemoaned not winning an Oscar. He was all over the place on-air from the1950s till he retired. A very special comedian and personality. His kind of humor and that which Woody practised in his early films were totally unique, intelligent, and quick-witted. Now largely unknown and unappreciated by modern audiences who would not be able to keep pace with that nuanced, clever style.