Page 10 - The Military Reunion Network Sept Oct 2017 Issue

Military Reunion Network | SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 | #militaryreunionsmatter

BobTHHE LoEGpAeCY OF ON
LIVES

When you think of inspirational The reunion was a great success. Unfortunately,
heroes, Bob Hope should be at a short time later Mr. Hope passed away; and the
the top of the list. His pride in dinner show closed. It took some time to generate
our troops was infectious. His interest again. Immediately after his death, people
support of them unwavering. were not interested in seeing an impersonator,
For those serving overseas, probably out of respect. It gave me time to do some
he was a symbol of home. His research. I read books; and watched lots of clips
USO Shows allowed soldiers to get his mannerisms down. I had a few years to
to forget the horrors of war get going.
if only for a few moments.
In 1997 at the age of 94, he Continued on page 12
was the first and only person
to receive the designation
of Honorary Veteran of the
Armed Forces by the United
States Congress.

If you are going to
impersonate Bob Hope,
you better get it right!
For over fifteen years,
Bill Johnson has been
doing just that. During the
Educational Summit this
year, Bill brought him to life
once again, sharing history
and humor as only Bob
Hope could.

I had the chance to sit
down with Bill and talk
about how he got started
as well as what it is like
to impersonate this great
American icon.

How did this come about?

I was doing a dinner show in Las Vegas, and you
could play the character any way you like; so, I
played mine like Bob Hope in one of the road
pictures, kind of a wise acre if you know what I
mean. A lady came up to me after one of my shows
and asked if I would show up and be Bob Hope at
her WWII reunion. I just needed to take pictures
with them. I really liked Bob Hope so after a bit of
research, I worked up a little comedy sketch.

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