DATE=7/28/03

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BOB HOPE OBIT (L)

NUMBER=2-305901

BYLINE=MIKE O'SULLIVAN

DATELINE=LOS ANGELES

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

Intro: The legendary entertainer Bob Hope has died just two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. Mike O'Sullivan reports, he was one of America's best-loved entertainers, whose career spanned much of the 20th century.

Text: Bob Hope was a star in vaudeville, on radio and television, and in the movies. A master of the one-liner, he honed his comedy skills performing in live theater in the 1920s.

In 1938, he headed west to Hollywood, where he hosted a radio show and appeared in scores of movies. Among the most notable were seven comedies with singer Bing Crosby, which included "Road to Rio" and "Road to Morocco."

///EST. ROAD TO RIO THEME AND FADES///

Bob Hope also became a fixture on American television.

He brought a lift to generations of men and women in the U-S military, stationed far from home.

/// HOPE ACT ///

This is Bob Hope wishing you a Merry Christmas from Iceland, the Miami Beach of the north.

/// END ACT ///

Bob Hope's military shows began in 1941, even before the United States entered the Second World War. His last was in 1990, on the eve of the Gulf war.

Bob Hope was a friend of presidents, and Monday, President Bush called the entertainer a great citizen.

/// BUSH ACT ///

Bob Hope made us laugh and he lifted our spirits. Bob Hope served our nation when he went to battlefields to entertain thousands of troops from different generations. We extend our prayers to his family, as we mourn the loss of a good man.

/// END ACT ///

Bob Hope was the world's most honored entertainer, granted an honorary knighthood by Britain's Queen Elizabeth and named an honorary veteran by the U-S Congress.

When Bob Hope turned 100 just two months ago, his longtime publicist, Ward Grant, looked back the entertainer's long career.

/// GRANT ACT and THANKS FOR THE MEMORY ///

This is a celebrating of a remarkable life, a remarkable man, a remarkable career. And a man who has enjoyed every single minute of it.

/// END ACT ; ENDS WITH MUSIC FADE UNDER NARRATION ///

Bob Hope died of pneumonia Sunday evening at his home in Los Angeles, with family members by his side. (Signed)

NEB/MO'S/MEM/FC