Legendary entertainer Bob Hope dies aged 100

Bob Hope, the legendary comedian and master of the one-liner, has died, aged 100, his longtime publicist Ward Grant announced today. The much-loved entertainer celebrated his centenary on May 29, although his health was too poor to attend many of the public celebrations in his honour.

His death, yesterday, was attributed to pneumonia. Hope's family was at his bedside at his home in Toluca Lake, California.

The fifth of seven sons, Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, England on May 29, 1903 to an English father, William Henry Hope, a stonemason, and a Welsh mother, Avis Townes Hope, an aspiring concert singer. The family emigrated to Clevelend, Ohio, in 1907. Hope began his professional career aged 18, as a dancer appearing at vaudeville houses for $8 a night. His first major success came in 1933, for his wise-cracking role as Huckleberry Haines in the successful Broadway musical, Roberta.

He appeared in more than 50 feature films, and although he never won an Oscar, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences honoured him five times - with two honorary Oscars, two special awards and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He was also intimately associated with the ceremony as one of its best-loved presenters.

The Guinness Book of Records cites Hope as the most honoured entertainer in the world - with over two thousand awards and citations for humanitarian and professional efforts to his name, including 54 honorary doctorates. He was made a Knight of the British Empire in 1998. On hearing the news, Hope is reported to have said, 'I'm speechless. 70 years of ad lib material and I'm speechless.'

He was also one of golf's most passionate enthusiasts. 'Golf is my profession. I tell jokes to pay my green fees,' he once quipped. He developed and hosted the Bob Hope/Chrysler Classic, a pro-am tournament held annually in Palm Springs, California, that has raised over $35m for the Eisenhower Medical Center and 70 other charities.