In 2002, Bob Hope and his family telephoned me, wanting to commission Hirschfeld to do a portrait, not only of Mr. Hope, but a portrait of his life. This drawing was to be one of Al Hirschfeld’s last major works. Hirschfeld’s pen captured: Bob and Delores marry in 1934; a 32-year-old Bob Hope first stands in front of the NBC Radio microphone in 1935; Hope joins the USO to entertain the Allies in World War II; he stars with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in one of their many On The Road movies, which premiered from 1940 to 1962, and are seen worldwide today; still with NBC, Bob Hope goes in front of live television cameras in 1950, and is depicted here with the peacock logo perched on his arm; avid about the game, Hope was dubbed “possibly Hollywood’s greatest golfer;” and, Bob Hope proudly becomes a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1985. Of course, the Hopes wanted Hirschfeld to include their dog, whom you will see if you follow the leash that begins at the top of the drawing in Bob Hope’s right hand. Both of these wonderful men — Bob Hope and Al Hirschfeld — were born in the same year, 1903. Both of them passed in 2003.