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CNN Live Today
Thanks for the Memories
Aired July 28, 2003 - 10:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go now live by phone to the author of the book "The Spirit of Bob Hope." He is Richard Grudens, speaking to us now from Stonybrook, New York.
Richard, thanks for being with us.
RICHARD GRUDENS, AUTHOR, "THE SPIRIT OF BOB HOPE": Hi.
KAGAN: How would you describe what the exact spirit of Bob Hope was?
GRUDENS: Well, Bob Hope was an absolute 100 percent hero. From his own tone, he could tell you that. When a man makes 54 trips to Europe, travels a million miles, more than Henry Kissinger did probably, to entertain troops, and his only satisfaction was his personal satisfaction. He didn't have to go. He didn't have to take these chances, but he did it because he believed it, he loved it, he wanted to be in the public eye, wanted to be referred, he wanted to be loved, and this is the way he did it. He did more in 100 years than some people would do in 400 years.
He was just a great person, and he was loved by all his fellow actors and actresses, the girls that traveled with him. Everyone wanted to go with him when they went overseas. They had a fight in Les Brown's band. The musicians would fight. They could only take so many musicians with them. and everybody wanted to go because it was such great stuff to entertain these young men at the time and bring home to them, and that he did he that.
KAGAN: In putting together your book, did you have an opportunity to interview the man himself?
GRUDENS: Oh yes, I interviewed bob hope a number of times.
KAGAN: And what did you take away from those encounters.
GRUDENS: I took away from those encounters an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things. One day I was walking with his dog from the hotel he was staying at, in Long Island, and we were walking past. He had a little cardigan on his new dog with him, and no one even noticed it was him, and he didn't look to see if anyone noticed him. He was just talking with me, and we were just buzzing up and down. I was taking little notes, and back and forth across the neighborhood. And it was a great thing, and you felt comfortable with him. He answered his own phone. He didn't have an entourage with him. He didn't have to have a lot of people fronting for him. He was his own man, and he was good. Who was it, William Westmorland (ph) said about it him, he said he did more for the morale of American troops in all those wars than any other living person. I mean, you earn something like that, you've done a good job.
KAGAN: You absolutely have, and it has been a life well spent.
GRUDENS: Oh sure.
KAGAN: Tom O'Neal from goldderby.com was with us last hour. He was making some interesting points. One that Bob Hope was successful in every medium. You just don't see that.
GRUDENS: Well, those mediums came along at the right time. There was vaudeville, and then radio came, he jumped into radio and did very well. from radio, he went to television, and in the movies with Bing and all new kind of comedy and so on. So he was just -- his timing was right, and he was not afraid to work. He didn't step back and take a vacation and retiring and all that kind of thing. If he could, he would work today.
KAGAN: Well, he had the timing thing down, no doubt. Understatement of the day.
GRUDENS: Yes.
KAGAN: And leaves us laughing even when he has left us. Richard Grudens, thank you for the book, and thank you for your recollections. Appreciate it. Thanks for joining us this morning.
GRUDENS: You're very welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 28, 2003 - 10:14 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go now live by phone to the author of the book "The Spirit of Bob Hope." He is Richard Grudens, speaking to us now from Stonybrook, New York.
Richard, thanks for being with us.
RICHARD GRUDENS, AUTHOR, "THE SPIRIT OF BOB HOPE": Hi.
KAGAN: How would you describe what the exact spirit of Bob Hope was?
GRUDENS: Well, Bob Hope was an absolute 100 percent hero. From his own tone, he could tell you that. When a man makes 54 trips to Europe, travels a million miles, more than Henry Kissinger did probably, to entertain troops, and his only satisfaction was his personal satisfaction. He didn't have to go. He didn't have to take these chances, but he did it because he believed it, he loved it, he wanted to be in the public eye, wanted to be referred, he wanted to be loved, and this is the way he did it. He did more in 100 years than some people would do in 400 years.
He was just a great person, and he was loved by all his fellow actors and actresses, the girls that traveled with him. Everyone wanted to go with him when they went overseas. They had a fight in Les Brown's band. The musicians would fight. They could only take so many musicians with them. and everybody wanted to go because it was such great stuff to entertain these young men at the time and bring home to them, and that he did he that.
KAGAN: In putting together your book, did you have an opportunity to interview the man himself?
GRUDENS: Oh yes, I interviewed bob hope a number of times.
KAGAN: And what did you take away from those encounters.
GRUDENS: I took away from those encounters an ordinary guy doing extraordinary things. One day I was walking with his dog from the hotel he was staying at, in Long Island, and we were walking past. He had a little cardigan on his new dog with him, and no one even noticed it was him, and he didn't look to see if anyone noticed him. He was just talking with me, and we were just buzzing up and down. I was taking little notes, and back and forth across the neighborhood. And it was a great thing, and you felt comfortable with him. He answered his own phone. He didn't have an entourage with him. He didn't have to have a lot of people fronting for him. He was his own man, and he was good. Who was it, William Westmorland (ph) said about it him, he said he did more for the morale of American troops in all those wars than any other living person. I mean, you earn something like that, you've done a good job.
KAGAN: You absolutely have, and it has been a life well spent.
GRUDENS: Oh sure.
KAGAN: Tom O'Neal from goldderby.com was with us last hour. He was making some interesting points. One that Bob Hope was successful in every medium. You just don't see that.
GRUDENS: Well, those mediums came along at the right time. There was vaudeville, and then radio came, he jumped into radio and did very well. from radio, he went to television, and in the movies with Bing and all new kind of comedy and so on. So he was just -- his timing was right, and he was not afraid to work. He didn't step back and take a vacation and retiring and all that kind of thing. If he could, he would work today.
KAGAN: Well, he had the timing thing down, no doubt. Understatement of the day.
GRUDENS: Yes.
KAGAN: And leaves us laughing even when he has left us. Richard Grudens, thank you for the book, and thank you for your recollections. Appreciate it. Thanks for joining us this morning.
GRUDENS: You're very welcome.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com