Bob Hope Lights Up Holiday

He's not able to share Thanksgiving dinner with U.S. servicemen abroad any more, but 96-year-old entertainer Bob Hope shared the holiday with our uniformed men and women in Disneyland -- as well as others visiting the theme park.

With Mickey Mouse by his side, the actor-comedian appeared on Main Street USA, took a short swing with a golf club and lit up the hundreds of thousands of holiday lights that decorated the theme park. It was the park's first official lighting ceremony, CBS station KCBS-TV reports.

Hope was joined by his wife, Dolores, at the ceremony, which the Disney company hopes to turn into an annual event.

Hope who has performed before audiences in nearly every decade of this century, was best known for creating the holiday tradition of entertaining the overseas troops. He spent every holiday season abroad from World War II through Operation Desert Storm.

Before the Thanksgiving week ceremony, a group of veterans thanked Hope for his years of effort. This year, Hope has asked honorary Hollywood Mayor Johnny Grant, accompanied by movie star Salma Hayek, to visit troops in Kosovo, Bosnia and Macedonia. He told Grant, "It's your turn to entertain the troops - I'm going to Disneyland."

Hope's professional career began in vaudeville and included performances for Broadway, the Ziegfield Follies, radio, motion pictures and television.

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