"Today America lost a great citizen. We mourn the passing of Bob Hope. Bob Hope made us laugh and he lifted our spirits. 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 we'll mourn the loss of a good man. May God bless his soul. Thank you all."
Woody Allen
Hope was "the most influential comedian for me. It's hard for me to imagine a world without Bob Hope in it."
Dick Van Dyke
"Bob Hope, like Mark Twain, had a sense of humor that was uniquely American and like Twain, we'll likely not see another like him."
Phyllis Diller
"He was very much at home in the TV studio or on stage live anywhere; that is where he really lived. And, you know what, it was never a chore for him. It was never nerve-racking. He was always so completely prepared by his tremendous organization that he had put together."
Mickey Rooney
"Isn't it strange that he gave everybody 'hope' all the time? That meant he was giving himself... Life was a laugh and a memory for Bob Hope."
Jay Leno
"The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno said Hope was a jester "who made the entire world his stage."
Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby compared Hope's life to a high-stakes poker game: "He played the heck out of his hand, and I tip my hat to him."
Steve Martin
"Bob Hope not only entertained millions for decades, but we could also see that he was entertaining himself."
Kofi Annan
Said the U.N. Secretary-General: "I never met him, but he was a great man and he made lots of people happy."
Gerald Ford
Former President Ford lauded Hope for his "untiring devotion" to American servicemen. From World War II to Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm, Hope swaggered fearlessly through battle zones as if strolling the back nine of a golf course."
Sid Caesar
"Nobody did what he did. He went to every front line, trench, and foxhole in every major war. In the history of entertainment, no one gave back so much. There wasn't anything Bob Hope wouldn't do for someone wearing an armed forces uniform."
Jackie Mason
"As soon as you mention Bob Hope, people would just melt. And if they didn't think he was the funniest guy in the world, they found him the most lovable guy in the world. And thats something that nobody could compete with."
Patti LaBelle
"I performed maybe 10 years ago at his home. Very nice man... It's just been a bad bout, with Barry White, Celia Cruz, with so many people, Katharine Hepburn. It's just time for to us recognize that we can't take the day for granted. So many legends are gone."
Dick Cavett
"He was given the most astounding array of gifts for a comic. Mostly people talk about his timing, his delivery, which were impeccable. He had a distinct voice... It was a bright, almost silvered sound, metal. And also he was almost unparallelled in the world of show business. He was so artfully and naturally perfect."
Ed McMahon
"He was a monument. When he turned and came out, there was a monument... When you were with him, you really felt the enormity of his presence. He was just an incredible man."
Wayne Newton
"Mr. Hope off stage was exactly the same Bob Hope as he was on stage. And I think that is the biggest compliment that any performer can get."
William Robert Smith
Smith, a friend of Hope's who has written a biography of the entertainer: "The audience was the main thing for him. He had to have an audience. He couldn't just look into a camera. Even when he was making movies, he wanted people on the set so he could play to them."
Ward Grant
Hope's publicist: "This is one of his great achievements: To make the small man feel big and important and, through his humor, bring down the mighty and the powerful to a delightfully common and acceptable...level of life."
Mort Lachman
Lachman, a comedy writer: "There were only two requirements for a Bob Hope joke: Short, and get a big laugh."