Dolores Hope
{{Short description|American singer, entertainer, philanthropist (1909–2011)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2012}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix = DC*SG
| image = Dolores Hope USO Christmas Tour DF-ST-92-07522 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Hope in 1990
| name = Dolores Hope
| birth_name = Dolores L. DeFina
| birth_date = {{birth date|1909|05|27}}
| birth_place = New York, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|09|19|1909|05|27}}
| death_place = Toluca Lake, California, U.S.
| resting_place = Bob Hope Memorial Garden, Mission San Fernando Rey de España, L.A.
| spouse = {{Marriage|Bob Hope|1934|2003|end=died}}
| alias = Dolores Reade
| years_active = 1929–2011
| occupation = Singer, philanthropist
| children = 4
}}
Dolores Hope, DC*SG (née DeFina; May 27, 1909 – September 19, 2011) was an American singer, entertainer, philanthropist, and wife of American actor and comedian Bob Hope.
Early life and career
Dolores L. DeFina was born on May 27, 1909, in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood of Italian and Irish descent, and was raised in the Bronx. After the death of her bartender father, Jack DeFina, in 1925, her younger sister Mildred (1911-2014) and she were raised in the Bronx by their mother, Theresa DeFina (1890–1977), who worked as a saleslady in a drygoods store.Mother's profession and sister's name from 1930 U. S. Federal Census, accessed on ancestry.com on September 20, 2011
During the 1930s, after working as a model, DeFina began her professional singing career, adopting the name Dolores Reade on the advice of her agent.Occupation as model cited in 1930 U. S. Federal Census, accessed on ancestry.com on September 20, 2011 On October 26, 1933, she appeared as vocalist on two Joe Venuti and His Orchestra recordings of 'Heat Wave" and "Easter Parade". (It was issued on Banner 32879, Melotone M-12828, Canadian Melotone 91649, Oriole 2783, Perfect 15838, Romeo 2156, and "Heat Wave" was also issued on British Decca F-5202.)
In 1933, after appearing at the Vogue Club, a Manhattan nightclub, Reade was introduced to Bob Hope. The couple reportedly were married on February 19, 1934, in Erie, Pennsylvania.Reportedly best, since no published source agrees the exact day or has uncovered a marriage certificate. What is known is that he married his vaudeville partner Grace Louise Troxell in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1933, but no divorce papers have been located, either. They later adopted four children from The Cradle in Evanston, Illinois: Eleanora, Linda, William (Kelly), and Anthony (d. 2004). "She was a woman of her words and a fine singer. Bob and Dolores were the talk of many people back in those holy days," says a friend, Malory Thorn. Bob and she celebrated their birthdays on May 28 every year – splitting the difference between their respective real birthdays.{{Citation needed|date=September 2018}}
File:Campaign event in California - NARA - 194741.jpg and Judy Agnew, Bob and Dolores Hope, Richard and Pat Nixon, Nancy and Ronald Reagan during a campaign stop for the Nixon-Agnew ticket in California, 1971]]
In the 1940s, Dolores began helping her husband on his tours entertaining U.S. troops overseas, and she continued to do so for over 50 years. In 1990, she was the only female entertainer allowed to perform in Saudi Arabia.
At age 83, she recorded her first Compact Disc, Dolores Hope: Now and Then. She followed this with three additional albums and also recorded a Christmas CD with Bob titled Hopes for the Holidays.{{cite web|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117927630|title=Nick Perito Obituary|date=August 16, 2005|publisher=Variety|access-date=March 30, 2011}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=F7oyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_-cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6474,3841408&dq=nick+perito&hl=en|title=Dolores Hope renews singing career with 3rd album|author=Thomas, Bob|date=June 8, 1997|publisher=Lawrence Journal-World|access-date=March 30, 2011}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6QkEAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA56|title=Drive Shifts To High Gear To Reach Military, Over-50 Crowd With Dolores Hope Album|author=DiCostanzo, Frank|date=November 15, 1997|publisher=Billboard|access-date=April 12, 2011}}
Later years
Hope was an honorary board member of the humanitarian organization [http://wings-of-hope.org Wings of Hope.] On May 29, 2003, Dolores was at her husband's side as he celebrated his 100th birthday; he died two months later on July 27, 2003. They had been married for 69 years, which at the time was the longest Hollywood marriage on record.[http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/28/obit.hope/index.html "Bob Hope dead at 100"] July 29, 2003, CNN {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311040625/http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/28/obit.hope/index.html |date=March 11, 2007 }}[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5gZRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GL8MAAAAIBAJ&pg=6652,17899&dq=book+of+record+dolores+bob+hope+longest+lived+hollywood+marriage&hl=en "Hope Remembered as Patriot, Humanitarian"]. Telegraph Herald (August 1, 2003) The following year, Bob and Dolores' younger son, Anthony Hope, died at the age of 63. He was father to two of the Hope grandchildren, Miranda of Washington and Zachary of Santa Monica.[https://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/02/us/anthony-j-hope-63-head-of-panel-and-bob-hope-s-son.html "Anthony J. Hope, 63, Head Of Panel and Bob Hope's Son"] The New York Times. July 2, 2004.
On October 21, 2008, at 99, she was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital in Burbank, California, after suffering a suspected stroke. Her publicist released a statement indicating that she spent less than four hours at the hospital, where she underwent routine testing.[http://www.mydesert.com/article/20081023/NEWS10/810230317/1026/news12 Report on Dolores Hope's health scare in 2008]
In 2009, Dolores Hope became a centenarian; her birthday was featured on The Today Show, with her elder son saying in an ABC interview, "I think of her as love."[https://abc7.com/archive/6850969/ "Dolores Hope Celebrates Her 100th"] KABC Los Angeles. May 28, 2009.
On May 29, 2010, she was quoted as saying to local press, of her 101st birthday, "I'm still recovering from my 100th birthday bash, so I'm going to keep this year's celebration much quieter." On May 27, 2011, she celebrated her 102nd birthday at her California residence.
Death
She died of natural causes at her home in Toluca Lake, California, on September 19, 2011.{{cite news
| last = Gates
| first = Anita
| title = Dolores Hope, Bob Hope's Widow, Dies at 102
| work = The New York Times
| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/arts/music/dolores-hope-bob-hopes-widow-dies-at-102.html?_r=1&hp
| access-date = September 19, 2011
Honors
Dolores received numerous honors during her lifetime.
Religious
- Dame of St. Gregory with Star (one of a very select few women named Dame of St. Gregory with Star)
- The President's Medal from Loyola College in Baltimore
- The Outstanding Catholic Laywoman Award from St. Louis University
- The Elizabeth Seton Medal Award from Seton Hill University
- Terence Cardinal Cooke Humanitarian Award from Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center
- Patronal Medal from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and the Catholic University of America
Secular
- Hollywood Walk of Fame star for her contributions to live theatre
- A street named after her in the Bronx (her hometown)
- A permanent installation of the Tree Peony Collection bearing her name
- Chancellor Medal from the University of California, Riverside
- Winnie Palmer Humanitarian Award (from the Metropolitan Golf Writers Association)
- Patty Berg Award (2008) for contributions to women's golf
- In 1997, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her.{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20121013165655/http://www.palmspringswalkofstars.com/web-storage/Stars/Stars%20dedicated%20by%20date.pdf Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated]}}
References
External links
- {{IMDb name|id=1052625}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20070204014355/http://bobhope.com/dolores.htm Dolores Hope Biography]
- A collection of arrangements performed by Dolores in the 1990s is housed in the [http://www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org/Great-American-Songbook-Inititative/Archive-Gallery Great American Songbook Foundation archives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125001554/http://www.thecenterfortheperformingarts.org/Great-American-Songbook-Inititative/Archive-Gallery |date=January 25, 2018 }}
{{Bob Hope|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hope, Dolores}}
Category:American women centenarians
Category:American women singers
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of Italian descent
Category:Philanthropists from New York (state)
Category:Dames Commander with Star of the Order of St. Gregory the Great
Category:People from the Bronx
Category:People from Toluca Lake, Los Angeles
Category:Burials at San Fernando Mission Cemetery