He was one of comedy's most prolific performers - whether one liked him or not, writes Brian Boyd
Bob Hope's long-suffering secretary once said that in 30 years working for the comedian she had typed out about seven million jokes - and had never laughed once.
Hope's work was distinguished by an enviable gag-per-minute ratio - he could hit five or six in a minute where other comics struggled for two or three. Within those seven million odd jokes you'll find a lot of stale, derivative and mediocre material - but also some of the best one-liners ever uttered on a comedy stage.
It was never any secret that Hope didn't write his material. He employed a small army of talented joke writers who wrote to order. His delivery and timing though were all his own work.
Much imitated, Hope's jaunty manner, dramatic use of the "beat" (comedic pausing) and vocal inflections were never bettered.
Hope originally began as a tap-dancer on the US vaudeville (music hall) circuit but soon found he got a better reception telling jokes. It was on those early stages that he learnt that if he didn't squeeze as many gags as possible into his allotted time-slot, he would be booed off.
The rough and tumble of the vaudeville stages very much shaped him as a comic - learning, as he did, that he had to reach all sections of the audience, young and old.
"Those were really tough times," he once said of his vaudeville days. "I wouldn't have had anything to eat if it wasn't for the audience throwing stuff at me".
As vaudeville disappeared, Hope transferred to radio, then television, and then film - the well-known Road series of films. He hosted more Academy Award ceremonies than anyone else and was known for entertaining US troops from the second World War right up to the first Gulf War.
Although a national institution, some reviewers noted that his appeal was based on "a kind of strenuous averageness" rather than an individual comedic style. "He seems to be part of the landscape, rather than the limelight," wrote one critic.
It was this very "Everyman" status which facilitated such a lengthy career and such a pan-generational appeal. Never a comic who was going to break boundaries, he never felt the need to change his style or delivery to accommodate prevailing trends.
Although extremely proficient at what he did, he never had the depth of a Charlie Chaplin or Laurel and Hardy.
Opinions about him ranged from Marlon Brando referring to him as an "applause junkie" to Woody Allen saying he had a "huge well of natural joy".
With more than seven million jokes served up to countless happy customers, Bob Hope, although not to everyone's taste, will be remembered as one of comedy's most prolific and popular performers.