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• <html> <head> <title>Forget I'm Bob Hope. When I'm Wrong, Tell Me.</title> </head> <body bgcolor="#FFFFFF" leftmargin="0" topmargin="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0"> <h1>Forget I'm Bob Hope. When I'm Wrong, Tell Me.</h1> <strong>Author: Robert L. Mills</strong><br /> <p></p> <p>Unlike many entertainers who, once they achieve stardom, surround themselves with “yes men” -- aides whose job it is to constantly remind their celebrity employer how important and talented he or she is -- Bob Hope expected us to challenge him when we believed he was wrong. <br />  </p> <p><br /> Here’s a graphic example.  One day, the phone in my Burbank condo rang. It was Hope in need of a quick joke fix.  It was on a Friday afternoon about four, and he was scheduled to appear as a guest on the Tonight Show which in those days began taping at five-thirty.<br /> <br /> He was at home (a few blocks from NBC) in his makeup chair with Don Marando performing his usual duties. Hope had just learned that the guest following him — he always insisted that Carson bring him on first — was comedian Richard Pryor, making his first television appearance since his near-fatal encounter with an exploding crack pipe some nine months earlier.<br /> <br /> Pryor had undergone extensive skin grafts on his face, neck and chest performed at the Grossman Burn Center, and his slow and painful rehabilitation had been covered extensively in the press — coverage which Hope had somehow missed, I was about to find out.<br /> <br /> A member of the Tonight Show staff had called with a special request from Johnny that Hope remain for an additional segment — “move one down on the couch” as they used to say — during Carson’s interview with Pryor. Now Hope was to go on television in little over an hour. <br /> <br /> While we had already provided him with plenty of “ad-libs” to trade with Johnny, he had no lines relating to Pryor.  It was a situation in which he felt vulnerable. To him, having a few lines in his pocket was like an insurance policy. <br /> <br /> I assured him that Pryor’s appearance wouldn’t be packed with laughs since he’d be relating a near death experience, hardly a fun topic. Hope disagreed. He didn’t believe that Pryor’s injuries had been that serious, and he wanted something witty to say when the two shook hands.<br /> <br /> “Like what?” I asked, unable to envision anything even remotely appropriate to the moment.  “Something like this,” he said. “Tell me, Richard, how did it feel playing your own birthday cake?”<br /> <br /> I was nothing short of stunned. I knew he couldn’t get away with a line like that and told him so.  “You’re wrong,” he insisted. “His accident wasn’t that big a deal.”  Even if it weren’t, I pointed out, the public perceived it as life-threatening, and any flippant reference to it would make him appear heartless, unfeeling and worse, stupid.<br /> <br /> I stood firm. Hope was stubborn, but you could argue with him if you were sure you were on solid ground. Actually, he appreciated staffers standing up to him if they believed it was necessary. He detested the “yes men” who so commonly surround celebrities. <br /> <br /> Nonetheless, he continued to insist he was right about Pryor’s injury.  He appealed to Don whom I could hear in the background supporting my position.  Outnumbered, he begrudgingly gave up on the idea, but continued to insist that we were both wrong.<br /> <br /> That night I taped the Tonight Show and the next morning watched as Johnny finished with Hope — who managed to slip in a few of our jokes — and introduced Pryor who, slowly and obviously still in considerable pain, came through the curtain wearing a ball cap to hide his still-visible burns.<br /> <br /> Pryor appeared genuinely touched as the audience gave him a two-minute standing ovation. Hope applauded, too, as he glanced into the camera with a look that said, “What was I thinking?” He knew Don and I would be watching the show and was sending us an apology — telepathically.<br /> <br />  </p> <p> </p> <p>Excerpted from THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers (c) 2009 by Robert L. Mills and published by Bear Manor Media -- www.bearmanormedia.bizland.com/id370.html<br /> <br /> FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS + Photos:  www.laughmakers.blogspot.com   <br /> <br /> An unabridged audio version read by the author is available at:  http://teach.learnoutloud.com/Browse/Arts-and-Entertainment/Film_-Music_-Radio_-TV_-and-Pop-Culture/The-Laugh-Makers/33067</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>A native of San Francisco, Bob Mills served in the Navy from 1956 to 1959, graduated from San Francisco State University in 1962 and the University of California Hastings Law in 1965 and practiced in Palo Alto, California from 1966 until becoming a television writer in 1976, whereupon he ceased all contact with lawyers. He wrote for the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts" 1976-77; "The Bob Hope Show" 1977-92 In 1973, he married his wife, Shelley, with whom he lives in Studio City, California.</p> <p> </p> <p>He writes a daily topical blog entitled "Dr. Digit's Hollywood Memory Blog" on line at www.bereftontheleft.blogspot.com. He is a volunteer reader at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic in Hollywood and hosts a weekly program entitled "Inside Television" for Los Angeles Radio Reading Service for the Blind in Northridge, California, streamed online each Tuesday at 0820-0900 Pacific at www.larrs.org. Each New Years Day, he co-hosts a three-hour audio description of the Pasadena Rose Parade broadcast to 52 radio stations for the blind reaching 2.7 million listeners via NPR satellite. He's also a substitute co-host of "Access Unlimited" heard on Tuesdays 2:30 to 3:00 pm Pacific on KPFK, 90.7 fm Los Angeles, 98.7 fm Santa Barbara. Streamed live and archived at www.kpfk.org</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2009, his book THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind the Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers was published by Bear Manor Media in both a print and an audio version read by the author. Sample chapters: www.laughmakers.blogspot.com An unabridged audio version read by the author is available at: http://teach.learnoutloud.com/Browse/Arts-and-Entertainment/Film_-Music_-Radio_-TV_-and-Pop-Culture/The-Laugh-Makers/33067 He is an emeritus member of the Writers Guild of America and holds memberships in two organizations: Yarmy’s Army, a group of veteran writers and entertainers who meet monthly for dinner and produce fund-raisers for worthy causes including the Motion Picture and Television House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and in The Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, a social club made up of former radio and television professionals that meets bimonthly for lunch and a celebrity “roast.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Article Source: <a href="http://www.freearticleforyou.com/">Article Directory - http://www.freearticleforyou.com</a></p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p></p></body> </html>

• TEXT Version

  • Forget I'm Bob Hope. When I'm Wrong, Tell Me. Author: Robert L. Mills Unlike many entertainers who, once they achieve stardom, surround themselves with “yes men” -- aides whose job it is to constantly remind their celebrity employer how important and talented he or she is -- Bob Hope expected us to challenge him when we believed he was wrong.   Here’s a graphic example.  One day, the phone in my Burbank condo rang. It was Hope in need of a quick joke fix.  It was on a Friday afternoon about four, and he was scheduled to appear as a guest on the Tonight Show which in those days began taping at five-thirty. He was at home (a few blocks from NBC) in his makeup chair with Don Marando performing his usual duties. Hope had just learned that the guest following him — he always insisted that Carson bring him on first — was comedian Richard Pryor, making his first television appearance since his near-fatal encounter with an exploding crack pipe some nine months earlier. Pryor had undergone extensive skin grafts on his face, neck and chest performed at the Grossman Burn Center, and his slow and painful rehabilitation had been covered extensively in the press — coverage which Hope had somehow missed, I was about to find out. A member of the Tonight Show staff had called with a special request from Johnny that Hope remain for an additional segment — “move one down on the couch” as they used to say — during Carson’s interview with Pryor. Now Hope was to go on television in little over an hour. While we had already provided him with plenty of “ad-libs” to trade with Johnny, he had no lines relating to Pryor.  It was a situation in which he felt vulnerable. To him, having a few lines in his pocket was like an insurance policy. I assured him that Pryor’s appearance wouldn’t be packed with laughs since he’d be relating a near death experience, hardly a fun topic. Hope disagreed. He didn’t believe that Pryor’s injuries had been that serious, and he wanted something witty to say when the two shook hands. “Like what?” I asked, unable to envision anything even remotely appropriate to the moment.  “Something like this,” he said. “Tell me, Richard, how did it feel playing your own birthday cake?” I was nothing short of stunned. I knew he couldn’t get away with a line like that and told him so.  “You’re wrong,” he insisted. “His accident wasn’t that big a deal.”  Even if it weren’t, I pointed out, the public perceived it as life-threatening, and any flippant reference to it would make him appear heartless, unfeeling and worse, stupid. I stood firm. Hope was stubborn, but you could argue with him if you were sure you were on solid ground. Actually, he appreciated staffers standing up to him if they believed it was necessary. He detested the “yes men” who so commonly surround celebrities. Nonetheless, he continued to insist he was right about Pryor’s injury.  He appealed to Don whom I could hear in the background supporting my position.  Outnumbered, he begrudgingly gave up on the idea, but continued to insist that we were both wrong. That night I taped the Tonight Show and the next morning watched as Johnny finished with Hope — who managed to slip in a few of our jokes — and introduced Pryor who, slowly and obviously still in considerable pain, came through the curtain wearing a ball cap to hide his still-visible burns. Pryor appeared genuinely touched as the audience gave him a two-minute standing ovation. Hope applauded, too, as he glanced into the camera with a look that said, “What was I thinking?” He knew Don and I would be watching the show and was sending us an apology — telepathically.     Excerpted from THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers (c) 2009 by Robert L. Mills and published by Bear Manor Media -- www.bearmanormedia.bizland.com/id370.html FREE SAMPLE CHAPTERS + Photos:  www.laughmakers.blogspot.com   An unabridged audio version read by the author is available at:  http://teach.learnoutloud.com/Browse/Arts-and-Entertainment/Film_-Music_-Radio_-TV_-and-Pop-Culture/The-Laugh-Makers/33067     A native of San Francisco, Bob Mills served in the Navy from 1956 to 1959, graduated from San Francisco State University in 1962 and the University of California Hastings Law in 1965 and practiced in Palo Alto, California from 1966 until becoming a television writer in 1976, whereupon he ceased all contact with lawyers. He wrote for the "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts" 1976-77; "The Bob Hope Show" 1977-92 In 1973, he married his wife, Shelley, with whom he lives in Studio City, California.   He writes a daily topical blog entitled "Dr. Digit's Hollywood Memory Blog" on line at www.bereftontheleft.blogspot.com. He is a volunteer reader at Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic in Hollywood and hosts a weekly program entitled "Inside Television" for Los Angeles Radio Reading Service for the Blind in Northridge, California, streamed online each Tuesday at 0820-0900 Pacific at www.larrs.org. Each New Years Day, he co-hosts a three-hour audio description of the Pasadena Rose Parade broadcast to 52 radio stations for the blind reaching 2.7 million listeners via NPR satellite. He's also a substitute co-host of "Access Unlimited" heard on Tuesdays 2:30 to 3:00 pm Pacific on KPFK, 90.7 fm Los Angeles, 98.7 fm Santa Barbara. Streamed live and archived at www.kpfk.org   In 2009, his book THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind the Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers was published by Bear Manor Media in both a print and an audio version read by the author. Sample chapters: www.laughmakers.blogspot.com An unabridged audio version read by the author is available at: http://teach.learnoutloud.com/Browse/Arts-and-Entertainment/Film_-Music_-Radio_-TV_-and-Pop-Culture/The-Laugh-Makers/33067 He is an emeritus member of the Writers Guild of America and holds memberships in two organizations: Yarmy’s Army, a group of veteran writers and entertainers who meet monthly for dinner and produce fund-raisers for worthy causes including the Motion Picture and Television House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California, and in The Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters, a social club made up of former radio and television professionals that meets bimonthly for lunch and a celebrity “roast.”   Article Source: Article Directory - http://www.freearticleforyou.com