Bob Hope dies

Pneumonia claims comic at 100

Bob Hope has died in his sleep, just weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday

The iconic comic died at his home in Lake Toluca, California, on Sunday night, with his family at his side.

President George Bush said America had lost a "great citizen".

"We mourn the passing of Bob Hope. Bob Hope made us laugh. He lifted our spirits," he said. "Bob Hope served our nation when he went to battlefields to entertain thousands of troops from different generations. We extend our prayers to his family."

And a Buckingham Palace spokesman said: "The Queen is very sad to hear the news and is sending a private message to his widow."

Hope's granddaughter Miranda, who last saw the veteran comic on his 100th birthday, told CNN: "He wanted to make people happy, to bring joy to whatever room he came into."

Jackie Mason said: "I really think he was by far the most brilliant comedian that ever lived. Any comedian who knew anything about comedy had to admit he was the greatest comedian of all time."

And chat show host Michael Parkinson described him as "the ultimate all-round entertainer". "He wasn't just a comedian, he was an institution and deservedly so," he told the BBC.

Hope was best known for his Road movies, for entertaining troops from the Second World War to the first Gulf War - and for his love of golf.

He had vowed never to quit showbusiness, joking: " I'm not retiring until they carry me away. And I'll have a few routines on the way to the big divot."

But in recent years, his health deteriorated. He had hearing and vision problems and became too frail for public appearances. But again, this was all a source of comedy for him.

"I've got a hemorrhage in the right eye now, and I used to have one in the left eye," he once said. "I'm a walking hemorrhage."

The London-born king of the wisecrack was too ill to attend any of the scores of birthday celebrations held in his honour in May, but he reportedly joked: "I'm so old, they've cancelled my blood type."

Though his style was old-fashioned one-liners, he also inspired a younger generation of comics, too. Woody Allen once called him "the most influential comedian for me".

Hope leaves a wife of 69 years, Dolores, who is 94.

Biography