Following a ruling by the censor for British theater forbidding the lampooning of current heads of state, Bob Hope satirized the Kennedys in a benefit performance in London before Queen Elizabeth (b. 1926). Earlier in the year, the censor had refused to allow the American improvisational troupe, The Premise, to perform skits satirizing the Kennedys despite White House permission. The benefit show, however, was exempt, and Hope’s quips delighted the Queen, while at the same time alienated some of his fans.