Famous Comedians and Comediennes Graves

Bob Hope. Comedian, Actor, Entertainer. Legendary comic performer whose career spanned from the 1930s to the 1990s. One of the most beloved in American History, he has earned over 2,000 awards and honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2 honorary Oscars, 2 Emmys, the National Medal of Arts (received from President Bill Clinton), 58 honorary degrees, and was knighted (honorary Knight Commander of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth II. He has four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, more than any other actor. He was famous for his USO Shows, where he entertained United States troops in every major conflict from World War II to the 1991 Gulf War. For his long career and efforts, he had been awarded a total of 5 special Academy Awards. He was named an honorary veteran of World War II by an act of Congress in 1997. He is the holder of two Guinness Book of Records: Most Honored Entertainer, and Entertainer with the longest running contract with a single network (NBC – 61 years). His signature song “Thanks for the Memories” was first sung in the film “The Big Broadcast of 1938” (1938). Born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, near London, England, he was the fifth of seven sons born to William Henry Hope and Avis Townes Hope. His English father was a stonemason, and his Welsh mother was an aspiring concert singer. In March 1908, he immigrated with his parents to Cleveland, Ohio. He reportedly changed his name to Bob, when his early classmates teased him over his first name. He became a United States citizen in 1920 and, after a variety of jobs, including boxer (under the name Packy East), dancer, and comedian on vaudeville, he worked for a while on Broadway, and made a number of comedy shorts in New York during the early 1930s. He starred on the radio show “The Pepsodent Show” in 1938, and made his first feature film debut that year, “The Big Broadcast of 1938” in which he and Shirley Ross sang “Thanks for the Memories,” a tune that would become his signature theme song. He continued making films all through his career, but some became notable in the public’s memory, including a series of “Road” films, starting with the “Road to Singapore” (1940) with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, which became a hit. Several additional “road” films were made, including “Road to Zanzibar” (1941), “Road to Morocco” (1942), “Road to Utopia” (1945), “Road to Rio” (1947), “Road to Bali” (1952), and “Road to Hong Kong” (1962). He tried writing films, but stopped at his first, “Paris Holiday” (1958), and produced four films, two in the late 1950s and two in 1976. Although continuing to make movies, Hope began a television career in 1950, with his first special, a run that would go for the next 40 years. He has worked in films and on TV with many of the industry greats, including Bing Crosby, Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Jimmy Durante, George Burns, Jackie Gleason, and even had a cameo on “Spies Like Us” (1985), with Dan Aykroyd and Chevy Chase. Beginning in May 1941, Hope became involved with the United Services Organization (USO), and organized entertainment to the troops during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Gulf War, giving it up only in 2001. He even organized entertainment for the troops between the wars, and served as the USO Entertainment Coordinator from 1941 until 2001, finally relinquishing his position to Wayne Newton. 

John Belushi. Actor. Comedian. Born John Adam Belushi in Chicago to Albanian immigrant parents. As a boy, his family moved to Wheaton, where John played on the high school football team and was homecoming king. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater where he co-founded an acting troupe. Belushi then auditioned for and won a spot with Chicago’s famous Second City ensemble. In 1973 John moved to New York City and landed a role off-Broadway in National Lampoon’s “Lemmings”. The part led to a job as a writer for the syndicated National Lampoon’s Radio Hour. In 1975 a new skit comedy program was being cast and John won a spot with an audition featuring his soon to be familiar Samurai character as a pool hustler. John formed a partnership with fellow cast mate Dan Aykroyd and together they introduced the Blues Brothers with a rendition of “Hey Bartender” in the spring of 1978 on SNL and followed it with the released of an album; “Briefcase Full of Blues”. That same year saw the release of “National Lampoon’s Animal House” and John became a huge star. John continued as a member of SNL until September of 1979. He and Aykroyd then threw themselves into the creation of “The Blues Brothers”. Released in 1980, it set a record for the most cars crashed in one movie and sparked a renewed interest in the blues. John partnered with Aykroyd again in 1981’s “Neighbors” and, in a departure from his usual persona, played the romantic lead in the comedy “Continental Divide”. Unfortunately, with his fame apparently came a cocaine addiction. John became known as a hard core party man. His last days were spent in West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont Hotel, with similar hard core users. Witnesses said that on March 5, 1982, John mainlined a cocktail of heroin and cocaine called a speed ball. The overdose caused a complete respiratory failure and killed him. On

Stan Laurel. Comedian. He found his greatest success when paired with Oliver Hardy. Born Arthur Stanley Jefferson in Ulverston, England, the second of five children. His father, A. J. Jefferson managed a number of vaudeville theaters, and his mother was an actress. He lived with his grandparents until age six, then moved in with his parents to begin his education. Young Laurel liked theater so much that he set up a small stage in his parent’s attic, and used the neighborhood children as actors. He went to school in Glasgow, where he finished his formal education, and went to work in the Metropole Theater, which his father owned. His father encouraged him to get into theater management, but at age 16, he decided to try acting. In 1907, he joined a traveling group of actors as a bit player, becoming the understudy of the group’s star performer, actor Charlie Chaplin. When the group broke up, he went into vaudeville, and in 1917, he won a small bit role in the Hollywood film, “Nuts in May” (1917), deciding to stay in the United States.