Hope in Japan: “Bobba Hopa”
When Bob Hope brought a troupe of forty to entertain United Nations forces in Korea a few months after fighting had broken out, he stopped first in occupied Japan where he entertained Army, Air Force, and Navy personnel. Japanese fans greeted him as “Bobba Hopa.” In Osaka, at Hope’s request, Japanese were admitted to an Army show for the first time, and in Kyoto and Tokyo Hope made surprise appearances at local theaters.
When Bob Hope brought a troupe of forty to entertain United Nations forces in Korea a few months after fighting had broken out, he stopped first in occupied Japan where he entertained Army, Air Force, and Navy personnel. Japanese fans greeted him as “Bobba Hopa.” In Osaka, at Hope’s request, Japanese were admitted to an Army show for the first time, and in Kyoto and Tokyo Hope made surprise appearances at local theaters.