Dear Diary,
Bob was at the air corp pre-flight school at Montgomery, Alabama, tonight. He was forced to swallow his own words about Skinnay Ennis, because after next weeks show Skinnay goes into the armed forces. Bob brushed it off by saying, “They’re really down to loose ends now.” Bob was in the restaurant business tonight. He said something about the mushrooms looking like toadstools, but for some reason it came out as “toadstools.” Bob laughed and yelled, “It’s the lights I tell you!” Vera Vague asked Bob tonight if he remembered when he was a boy and slipped into watermelon patches and put one under his shirt. He said he remembered, and Vera said, “Well take it out; it slipped.”
Today is the first anniversary of the third time I saw Bob in person.
Dear Diary,
Bob was at the Air Corps gunnery school at Kingman, Arizona, tonight, on the first stop in his latest tour of camps. He will broadcast from Camp Hood, Texas, next week. Virginia Bruce was Bob’s guest. Being in Arizona, they naturally did a western sketch. Bob and Skinnay sang a duet to the tune of “Jingle Jangle Jingle,” only instead of spurs, it was burrs. It seems that they backed into a cactus plant. Bob also said a lot tonight about Dorothy Lamour’s recent wedding. He said, “I guess Crosby and I will have to get a job now.” He also said that the pin which used to hold up Dottie’s sarong was in the Smithsonian Istitute with this placard, “Never before has so much depended on so little for so long.”
Dear Diary,
Bob was broadcasting from the air corps gunnery school at Las Vegas tonight. His guests were David Butler, director of “They Got Me Covered,” and Lenore Aubert, who is in the same picture. Dave Butler also directed “Road to Morocco,” so Bob asked him who he thought was the better actor, Bob or Bing. David said, “Well, Bob, after we finished ‘Road to Morocco,’ I rushed over to your house to tell you about that, but you weren’t home.” Bob said, “Are you sure you got the right house” You know, Bing and I live next door to each other.” Dave said, “You mean I set fire to the wrong house”? Bob announced that next week his guests will be Dorothy Lamour, Paulette Goddard, and Veronica Lake, and added, “Oh boy, good old southern-fried Hope!” He also said that they will sing the number they did together in “Star Spangled Rhythm.”
Dear Diary,
Bob and company were in Palm Springs tonight, entertaining the men of the glider pilot, air corps, and mechanized forces near Palm Springs. Rita Hayworth was Bob’s special guest. Frances Langford’s solo was “Constantly,” as Bob said, “From the Road to something. I forget what.” Frances paused just long enough to say, “On behalf of the entire cast, I’d like to dedicate this number to a guy we all make fun of, but whom we all love – our own Bob Hope.” Later Bob insulted Vera Vague when he referred to her childhood memories of Nathan Hale. Very indignantly Vera said, “You’re such a sweet bot. Our own Bob Hope!” Bob laughed and said, “Yeah, contantly.” Somehow I got the impression that V.V. didn’t mean a word of it. Jerry Colonna did a song “by special request,.” I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry himself requested it.
Dear Diary,
Sunset beat Amarillo 13-0 today, thus gaining the right to play in the state finals against Austin next week. I hope the team doesn’t slump off during the week after all the good football they’ve been playing, because Austin has a plenty good team, and our team will have to be in top shape to beat them. Listen to me! Old Sportscaster Windham talking.
I saw in the paper today that Bob Hope’s brother George, who’s in the air corps, has now been garnished with corporal’s stripes. I’ll bet Bob’s proud of his little brother, and he has a right to be. Bob’s ex-announcer, Ben Gage, stationed where George is, also became a corporal recently.
Dear Diary,
I’m becoming convinced that the “Soldiers With Wings” program might well be called “The Bob Hope Show.” Tonight one of the guests was George Murphy, a good friend of Bob’s and a co-star with him in the Broadway show, “Roberta,” a few year ago. Another of the acts was Brenda and Cobina, who were on Bob’s program season before last. The announcer was Ben Gage, who was Bob’s announcer last season up until the time he joined the air corps. The program was written by Private George Hope, Bob’s brother. If there was anything else on the show connected with Bob, I didn’t notice it.
Muriel Windham's Diary 