Dolores Hope, Bob Hope's wife for 69 years who sang on his shows for U.S. troops and on his television specials, has died at age 102. She died at home of natural causes earlier today.
Bob Hope died at age 100 on July 27, 2003.
In 1933, when Bob Hope was appearing in his first Broadway show, "Roberta," his friend and fellow cast member George Murphy persuaded him to visit the Vogue Club to "hear a pretty girl sing." She was Dolores Reade, a dark beauty whose singing of "It's Only a Paper Moon" entranced the young comedian.
Hope returned every night, and soon he was escorting her to her hotel after her shows. They married Feb. 19, 1934, and she quit nightclubs to join his vaudeville act. Then she retired.
"Bob was the hot thing in New York then," she recalled in 1997. "I thought I'd better stay home and take care of Bob."
When they moved to Hollywood in 1938 for the beginning of his film career, Dolores stayed home and devoted her time to raising the four children the Hopes adopted: Linda, Anthony, Kelly and Nora.
She continued singing at parties, and in the 1940s she began accompanying Hope on his Christmas trips to entertain U.S. troops. In 1966, she sang "Silent Night" to thousands of hushed GIs who then rose and gave her a thunderous ovation, many with tears in their eyes.
In 1990, Mrs. Hope accompanied Bob on his last Christmas visit to American forces, visiting troops who were in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm. Marie Osmond, Ann Jillian and the Pointer Sisters did not perform, to avoid offending Saudi sensibilities about female entertainers. But Dolores Hope was approved and sang "White Christmas" to a rapt audience.
"She was the first lady of the USO," said Carol Channing. "They didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than Dolores."
She was born Dolores DeFina in 1909 in New York's Harlem to an Italian father and Irish mother, and grew up in the Bronx. Her diction faintly echoed the Bronx upbringing.
"My father died when I was very young, and there was just my mother, my sister and me," she remarked in 1982. "Were we a needy family? I always like what General Eisenhower said: 'We were poor and didn't know it.'"
She began singing early, worked as a model and a Ziegfeld showgirl, and at 20 sang with George Olson's band. She adopted the name Dolores Reade, borrowed from stage actress Florence Reed. In her 80s, Dolores revived her singing career, recording three albums of old and new standards and appearing at New York's Rainbow and Stars as a guest with Rosemary Clooney.
Aside from overseeing their two homes, Dolores Hope worked indefatigably for numerous charities. From 1969 to 1976 she served as president of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., then became chairwoman.
In 1982, she explained her philosophy: "I like being with people, but I also need to have my time alone. I think it's terribly important to have some time during the day when you stop and take all the energy that you have given out and pull it back in, find the source of your energy. Then you work from there."
Bob Hope died at age 100 on July 27, 2003.
In 1933, when Bob Hope was appearing in his first Broadway show, "Roberta," his friend and fellow cast member George Murphy persuaded him to visit the Vogue Club to "hear a pretty girl sing." She was Dolores Reade, a dark beauty whose singing of "It's Only a Paper Moon" entranced the young comedian.
Hope returned every night, and soon he was escorting her to her hotel after her shows. They married Feb. 19, 1934, and she quit nightclubs to join his vaudeville act. Then she retired.
"Bob was the hot thing in New York then," she recalled in 1997. "I thought I'd better stay home and take care of Bob."
When they moved to Hollywood in 1938 for the beginning of his film career, Dolores stayed home and devoted her time to raising the four children the Hopes adopted: Linda, Anthony, Kelly and Nora.
She continued singing at parties, and in the 1940s she began accompanying Hope on his Christmas trips to entertain U.S. troops. In 1966, she sang "Silent Night" to thousands of hushed GIs who then rose and gave her a thunderous ovation, many with tears in their eyes.
In 1990, Mrs. Hope accompanied Bob on his last Christmas visit to American forces, visiting troops who were in Saudi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm. Marie Osmond, Ann Jillian and the Pointer Sisters did not perform, to avoid offending Saudi sensibilities about female entertainers. But Dolores Hope was approved and sang "White Christmas" to a rapt audience.
"She was the first lady of the USO," said Carol Channing. "They didn't come any more patriotic, caring or talented than Dolores."
She was born Dolores DeFina in 1909 in New York's Harlem to an Italian father and Irish mother, and grew up in the Bronx. Her diction faintly echoed the Bronx upbringing.
"My father died when I was very young, and there was just my mother, my sister and me," she remarked in 1982. "Were we a needy family? I always like what General Eisenhower said: 'We were poor and didn't know it.'"
She began singing early, worked as a model and a Ziegfeld showgirl, and at 20 sang with George Olson's band. She adopted the name Dolores Reade, borrowed from stage actress Florence Reed. In her 80s, Dolores revived her singing career, recording three albums of old and new standards and appearing at New York's Rainbow and Stars as a guest with Rosemary Clooney.
Aside from overseeing their two homes, Dolores Hope worked indefatigably for numerous charities. From 1969 to 1976 she served as president of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, Calif., then became chairwoman.
In 1982, she explained her philosophy: "I like being with people, but I also need to have my time alone. I think it's terribly important to have some time during the day when you stop and take all the energy that you have given out and pull it back in, find the source of your energy. Then you work from there."
