Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:07:19 — 30.8MB)
Bob “Thanksgiving” Hope jokes about giving you the bird, in this holiday rehearsal show. Topics include food, super markets, inflated prices, restaurants, farms, turkeys, and even Republicans. flubbed jokes mean re-reading lines, sometimes for bigger laughs.
With the Six Hits and a Miss, Francis Langford sings, Magic of Magnolia’s. Bob shows off his charm by bragging the whole cast has asked him to their houses for Thanksgiving. Betty Hutton joins Francis to give Bob a hard time. Betty lays out the hep cat, boogie, jive talk as she talks to Bob. She lists things she’s thankful for., then Francis teases Bob about charging guests to eat his Thanksgiving dinner. The girls learn about the Thanksgivings of fBob’s childhood.
They dramatize a comparison of how the holiday is spent on both sides of the tracks. Francis and Bob discuss wealth, abundance, political connections and all manner of comforts. Random topics include Pinball machines, Superman, and marriage proposals.
On the other side of the tracks, Bob is joined by Betty to discuss their turkey stuffed meal, with plenty of street wise angles. The tough talking duo share about the shady doings of family members, low class manners, Pilgrims and Indians, dodging the draft, and more. Betty Hutton sings, Old Man Mose.
In another chapter in the life of Bob Hope, Bob decides to become a prize fighter. In the gym with Skinny Ennis, they joke about weight training, cows, psych fitness, them mamager Jerry Colonna phones with a fight. The training continues with an electric horse. The first obstacle is convincing his mom. Bob recounts his first amateur fight with a blow by blow account. Jerry is back to say who Bob’s next opponent will be, Gargantua, the famous gorilla from the New York zoo. The day arrives, and the nervous Bob is in his dressing room. Bob needs his confidence built up, but nobody seems to extend much hope for him. The bell rings, and the play by play announcedncing begins. Who will be left standing?
