Many times during the almost two decades in the 70s and 80s that I traveled the world with Bob Hope as a script writer, I realized that I was enjoying a wonderful and unique experience that most people never get the opportunity to sample. And the word "wonderful" hardly does the experience justice. Traveling with an internationally recognized entertainment icon like Bob Hope has to rank among the most exhilarating experiences known to man. You’re chased after, fawned over, catered to and must keep reminding yourself that it’s not you who’s causing all the commotion.
Just by being physically near a well-known star who's liked and admired by the public (in Hope's case, almost beloved), those around him or her experience a fair amount of those same warm feelings the celebrity receives. One can, indeed, bask in their limelight and, as long as the celebrity who is causing the adulation remains in the immediate vicinity, you feel as safe and protected as the pilot fish you see on those nature shows swimming beside a shark. Herein lay the problem that almost left me high and dry in Red China -- in 1979, years before Chinese officials became our warm and friendly allies.
At the conclusion of our month-long shoot, when it came time to return home, Hope had departed Beijing a day early to complete a public appearance tour of the Far East. Suddenly, I was alone and on my own.
On getaway day, I reported to the airport and presented my passport and Chinese travel papers to the authorities — a group of guys in brown khaki uniforms with little Red Army stars on their caps. I was informed that my documents were virtually riddled with irregularities that likely would preclude my departure that day -- or any day in the forseeable future.
In this 5-minute excerpt from the audio version of THE LAUGH MAKERS, you'll find out what happened next and why it took the author 28 years to muster the courage to return to China.
You can hear and read about the China adventure in Chapters 8 and 9 of THE LAUGH MAKERS: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope's Incredible Gag Writers (c) 2009 by Robert L. Mills and published by Bear Manor Media.