July 28, 2003

Columbia, SC – Here are some thoughts from Lou Holtz regarding Bob Hope:

“I knew Bob Hope very, very well and played golf with him many times. Beth (Lou’s wife) and I would often go out to his tournament. Several times he invited me to be part of the entertainment out there, along with Dinah Shore, the Gatlin Brothers and Foster Brooks … one of my fondest photographs is one of myself, Bob Hope, former President Gerald Ford and my two sons, Skip and Kevin taken at the St. Jude’s Golf Tournament. The reason I remember the photo so well is that it was taken the day after Kevin was diagnosed with diabetes …”

“When I was at Arkansas, we were playing Baylor on Homecoming and were getting beat something like 20-0 in the third quarter. We were undefeated at the time. We came back and won the game 29-20. We went to see Bob Hope perform that night and he met my mom and invited us back stage. I remember that because he did something special for my mom that evening …”

“I remember the first time I was going to appear on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I was a little nervous beforehand. I’m in the holding area waiting for them to call me on and all of a sudden I hear a familiar voice: “Where’s my good friend Lou Holtz?” It was Bob Hope, who was in a nearby studio, taping his Christmas special. He helped put me at ease that night and I wound up being on Johnny Carson’s show several times after that …”

“I was traveling to Milwaukee for a speaking engagement on July 22, 1983. My plane was late, the taxi cab didn’t have air conditioning and I arrived to the hotel somewhat scuzzy and in need of a shower. When I tried to open the door to my room, the key broke off and I couldn’t get in. They sent someone up with a screwdriver, but that didn’t work either. They said they didn’t have any more rooms. As I kept trying to open the door, I heard a voice from the above floor: “Hey, how about keeping it down.” It was Bob Hope. He asked me what I was doing, and I said I was trying to get in my room and take a shower before speaking later that evening. He invited me up to his suite and said that he had plenty of room, and that I could just stay there. We had dinner afterwards and I asked him if he would do me a favor and call my wife on the telephone and wish her a happy anniversary. He did just that. He called Beth and wished her a happy anniversary. He then asked her if he could speak to Lou and she said he was out of town. He then said, what do you mean he’s out of town. What kind of husband would not be with his wife on their anniversary. He went on and on. I’ll never forget that …”