How much would you pay for an autographed photo of Lucille Ball with some teeth blackened out or a money clip from Jack Benny? Would you shell out more if you knew the items once belonged to the legendary Bob Hope?
The late comedian’s family sure hopes so.
Bob Hope’s relatives are selling more than 800 of the funnyman’s prized possessions at a mid-October charity auction in Los Angeles.
“Dad was a pack rat,” daughter Linda Hope recently told reporters. “He loved to collect things.”
She isn’t kidding. The list of auction items left behind by the actor, who died in 2003 at age 100, is nearly a mile long. In fact, the auction is so gigantic it will be televised live and online by the Auction Network, to allow as many people as possible to participate. Proceeds from the Bob Hope Estate Auction will benefit charities and causes that were important to the late entertainer.
A preview of the auction items will be on display this September on a cruise to Hope’s native England on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2. The trip departs New York for London on September 4th. Prospective bidders can also get an advance look at Hope’s cherished items at Newbridge Silverware’s Museum of Style Icons in County Kildare, Ireland, one of Hope’s favorite countries to visit. All the items will then be returned to Los Angeles for the actual auction in October.
Some of the items going up on the block include:
A pair of red-and-white golf shoes marked “Made for Bob Hope.”
An outlandish, gigantic golf cap the size of a large pizza.
A letter from then-actors Ronald and Nancy Reagan, thanking Hope for appearing on a March of Dimes event and congratulating him on winning the Jonas Salk humanitarian award.
A letter from Bette Davis during World War II thanking Hope for entertaining GIs at the Hollywood USO.
A large sign for Hope’s parking space at NBC in nearby Burbank.
A desk plaque that reads: “Bob Hope. Thanks for the Memories.”
Will you be bidding?
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