The things you find on the internet. From a Bob Hope special broadcast on 10/25/63. Hard to imagine two comedians whose styles were more different than Griffith and Hope. Interesting meeting of contrasts.
Andy Griffith and Bob Hope
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
A quibble. I think the term ‘comedian’ is appropriate for a performer who has a history in stand-up. Don’t think Andy Griffith ever did stand-up, so he’d be described as a comic actor or (in variety) a comic performer. Griffith also took on dramatic roles and his most famous film performance was a dramatic part. Don’t believe Hope had a history in drama, but his career was so long and he was so tightly scheduled that he may have done just about anything at least once (he made over 1,100 film and television appearances over a period of just shy of 70 years in addition to his live performances, radio performances, work as a producer, work as a real estate developer &c).
Good times.
Can still see my grandmother sitting in a dining room armchair by the kitchen door just smiling watching Bob Hope – a rarity for her with constant Italian kitchen orchestrations.
There was an episode on ‘Matlock’ when Ben said that there were a “lot of people need to go to church”.
I think Mrs. Hope was a great supporter of Mother Angelica’s effort for the Lord, at the time when comedy was waning. Mother’s sense of humor didn’t wane.
Thank you for this post on the first day of summer.
Hope did at least one dramedy: The Seven Little Foys. He did a straight drama, Beau James, a biopic of Mayor Jimmy Walker of New York. Griffith got his start recording comic monologues.
I stand corrected.
Art, he did stand-up. One of his breakout routines was a skit called ‘What it was was football’. He relays his experience as a naïve hillbilly bumpkin who had never heard of the game on his way to a church revival. They stop at a stadium for refreshments and see, in his words ‘the awfullest fight I ever did see in my life!’ It’s very funny, and was a favorite of my mom and dad’s when I was growing up.