29 May: Bob Hope

Bob Hope was born on this date in 1903. 10 things you might not know about Bob Hope:

1. He was actually British. He was born in Well Hall, Eltham, now part of the London Borough of Greenwich. The family moved to the USA when Bob Hope was four years old and settled in Cleveland, Ohio.

2. He wasn’t christened Bob, or even Robert. The name his parents gave him was Leslie Townes Hope. He started calling himself Bob in 1929. In one version of the story, he named himself after racecar driver Bob Burman. In another, he said he chose the name because he wanted a name with a "friendly 'Hiya, fellas!' sound" to it. There’s yet another version in which he changed his name because as a child, other kids would tease him by calling him “Hope, Leslie, Hope Less”.

3. From age 12, he entered numerous dancing and amateur talent contests as Lester Hope, and won a prize in 1915 for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. He also went by the name Packy East for a while, during his brief career as a boxer.

4. His first film appearance was in a short comedy film called Going Spanish in 1934. He hated it, and quipped, "When they catch [bank robber] Dillinger, they're going to make him sit through it twice."

5. His signature song was Thanks for the Memory, which was composed by Ralph Rainger with lyrics by Leo Robin and was introduced in the 1938 film The Big Broadcast, sung by Bob Hope and Shirley Ross. In the movie, Ross and Hope's characters are a divorced couple who encounter each other aboard a ship. They sing the song, recalling the ups and downs of their relationship, and then they decide to get back together. The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

6. Talking of Academy Awards, Hope never won one, nor was he ever nominated, despite a career spanning 8 decades and 54 starring film roles. However, he was given five honorary awards by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

7. His love life was complicated. He married twice, first briefly to a fellow vaudeville performer named Louise Troxell. They actually married in secret in January 1933, and divorced in November 1934. Not long after the secret wedding, a new girl named Dolores Reade joined their vaudeville troupe and Hope was immediately smitten with her. Hope would later claim that he married Reade several months before he divorced Troxell, which means he was a bigamist for a few months. It’s possible, too, that he never actually married her at all, although they remained together for 69 years and adopted four children. That said, Bob carried on having affairs with other women until he was in his 80s.

8. He was a keen golfer and once beat Tiger Woods in a round of golf, which might not be as impressive as it first sounds, as Tiger was just two years old at the time.

9. He didn’t spend Christmas at home for 48 years. Instead he would spend the holiday from 1941-1990 entertaining US troops stationed away from home.

10. He died a few months after his 100^th birthday, but never lost his sense of humour. "I'm so old, they've cancelled my blood type," he quipped on turning 100. Even on his deathbed, he cracked a joke, according to his grandson Zach. When Dolores asked Bob where he wanted to be buried, he allegedly replied, "Surprise me."

Character birthday

Creeper, aka David Randall, a photographer with the genetic variant ability to climb walls and blend into the background like a chameleon. He would use his unique climbing and concealment ability to get exclusive shots of celebrities and events. It was only when he managed to secure shots of a jewellery heist from a seemingly impossible angle that his powers came to the attention of the police. He was offered a place in the Chain Gang, who were recruiting following the departure of Jade and Gloria. Randall, uncomfortable with the fact that the Chain Gang were essentially controlled by the police, refused. He was subsequently offered a place on the Ultra League by Superwil, which he accepted on assurance that the League was an independent body and that he could continue working as a photographer.