Antiquaries Journal

Bob Hope in China: Antique Roadshow?

(Ed. note:  The author was a script writer for Bob Hope between 1977 and 1992.)

In 1974, soon after Richard Nixon opened relations with the People’s Republic, Hope began a behind-the-scenes campaign to become the first American entertainer to tape a television special there.  Leaning on a raft of influential government pals including Henry Kissinger and calling in markers he’d been collecting from the government since World War II, he finally received permission to take his show there as part of a cultural exchange program dubbed “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” by the press.

So on June 16, 1979, after a four-hour flight from Narita, Japan, a Chinese Airlines 707 filled with our merry band of mirth makers eager to get their first look at this hotbed of Communism, touched down at the Peking (now Beijing) Airport.  Our guest stars would arrive over the next several days — Mikhail Baryshnikov, Crystal Gayle, Big Bird from Sesame Street, mimes Shields and Yarnell and a popular disco-duo, Peaches and Herb.

We would spend the entire month — three weeks in Peking and a week in Shanghai — taping the 3-hour special that would air on NBC in the Fall.  On the rare days we weren’t busy shooting, we were allowed to shop — officially and accompanied by our government-assigned interpreter — only at government-sponsored retail outlets for tourists called “Freedom Stores.”  Here the prices were set and clearly marked — no dickering. Even so, they were reasonable, and I brought home three good-quality wool rugs which still serve admirably.

Longing for a little more adventure, one afternoon, my writing partner Gig Henry and I, along with Hope’s longtime makeup man, Don Marando, slipped away from our guide for a couple of hours.  In a narrow alley about a mile from the hotel, we discovered a small antique shop, obviously not intended for foreigners (of which there were few since the country had only recently been opened to the west).

The musty interior was piled high with artifacts from estate-sales — rugs, furniture, household utensils, silverware, paintings, photos, lamps, vases, family stamps called chops made of marble or ivory and decorated with dragons, lions, monkeys and other characters from China’s ancient mythology.  More items made of ivory — chopsticks, statuary, and finely-carved jewelry. Up a narrow flight of stairs was the clothing — kimonos, men’s suits, jackets, caps, sandals, shoes — all in a pile that said it hadn’t been disturbed in years.

Hanging on one wall of the dimly lit mezzanine, almost unnoticed, were 100 to 300 year-old costumes retired from the Peking Opera — multicolored capes, pantaloons, garments weighted down with gold embroidery. Here was a treasure trove that foreigners weren’t supposed to find!  We felt like Sydney Greenstreet stumbling upon the Maltese Falcon. We made a few purchases (mostly chops, jewelry and ivory chopsticks) and headed back to the hotel.

That night over dinner, we casually mentioned our find to Mikhail Baryshnikov — Mischa to his friends, thank you — and he went giddy with excitement. “Peking Opera costumes? Authentic ones?” Immediately, we had to draw him a detailed map so he could check them out next day.  A few days later, Mischa’s manager asked me if I’d be willing to lend his client some money. He had run out of cash (we were allowed to bring $3000 into the country and to strictly account for it when leaving) and he had arranged to buy five of the costumes for around $300 apiece.

I said to the manager, “Like I’m gonna lend money to a Russian defector who’s in show business? This is a joke, right?” Of course, I was joking. Actually, I had about tapped out too, but suggested he ask our production cashier, Wil Oborn — we were issued a daily per diem in yuan — for an advance.

I recently met a friend of Misha’s and was told the five priceless costumes are now on display in glass cases in his Manhattan brownstone.

 

Excerpted from 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.  To order:  http://bobhopeslaughmakers.weebly.com

Kindle e-book $2.99: www.amazon.com/dp/B0041D9EPO

About the Author

A native of San Francisco, Bob Mills served in the Navy after high school, graduating from San Francisco State University in 1962 and the University of California Hastings Law in 1965.  He practiced in Palo Alto, CA for ten years before moving to Hollywood to write for television.  He worked on the Dinah Shore Show, the Steve Allen Show and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts before joining Bob Hope as a staff writer  in 1977. He traveled the world with Hope for the next seventeen years. In 2009, his book The Laugh Makers: A Behind-the-Scenes Tribute to Bob Hope’s Incredible Gag Writers was published by Bear Manor Media and was named one of Leonard Maltin’s “Top 20 Year-End Picks.”  To order:  http://bobhopeslaughmakers.weebly.com

Kindle e-book $2.99: www.amazon.com/dp/B0041D9EPO

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