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Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope in Eltham, London, the son of a stonemason and concert singer. Here he is aged about six

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After spells on Broadway in the 1930s, he first made an impact on screen alongside Dorothy Lamour in The Big Broadcast of 1938

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Hope's first UK broadcast was on 17 July, 1943 - Yankee Doodle Doo at the BBC, alongside Frances Langford and David Niven

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His love affair with the BBC continued into the 1950s, with Denis Goodwin (l) and Bob Monkhouse in 1956 on The Bob Hope Show

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Hope always held his own with new generations of comic talent; here playing comic foil to Derek Nimmo on the BBC in 1970

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He became well known for entertaining US troops stationed overseas - here in Vietnam, at Cu Chu, near Saigon, December 1970

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Hope was a memorable chat show guest - never less so than when he was in conversation with Michael Parkinson during the 1970s

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Into his 90s, Hope was still making audiences laugh with his observations on a century of American life - pictured live, 1994

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Two of the US' best-loved entertainers: Aged 96 at Disneyland with a fellow American icon of the 20th Century

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He made one of his last public appearances in January 2000 with wife Dolores, his companion for 70 years