Bob Hope -Theater

 

Hope's first Broadway appearances were in “The Sidewalks of New York” and “Ups-a-Daisy”. It was minor walk-on parts.

 

In 1933, Hope starred as Huckleberry Haines in the Jerome Kern/Dorothy Fields musical “Roberta”. Hope did stints in the musicals “Say When”, the 1936 Ziegfeld Follies, and “Red, Hot and Blue” with Ethel Merman and Jimmy Durante. Hope’s performances were generally well-received and critics noted his keen sense of comedic timing. Hope reprised his role as Huck Haines in a 1958 production of “Roberta” at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

Hope rescued Eltham Little Theatre from closure by providing the funds to buy the property. He continued his interest and support and regularly visited when in London. The Theatre was renamed in his honor in 1982.