“I THOUGHT I was Gerald Ford there”, quipped Bob Hope as he lost his footing on the steps leading to the first tee at Turnberry in September 1980. The US president had famously fallen down the steps of the presidential plane, Air Force One, five years earlier, and was renowned for a series of stumbles.
Police officers and bystanders gave Hope a helping hand and, none the worse for wear, he was able to tee off in fine style.
The comedian had arrived in style by helicopter from Culzean Castle, five miles up the road, where he had been staying in the Eisenhower Suite. At Turnberry he was greeted by a pipe band and by Hercules, the celebrity bear, who was making his first official public appearance since going missing for 24 days after escaping while filming a TV commercial on Benbecula.
It was an interesting day, this STV Show-Am tournament over Turnberry’s Ailsa course, which had organised with the intention of raising money for charity. Hope was the star of the show, ever-ready with a joke. Introduced to his caddie, Tom Keltie, he told him: “You’re going to visit places you’ve never been before”.
Hope was partnered by his long-time golfing buddy, the American multi-millionaire Alex Spanos, playing against comedian Dickie Henderson and sports commentator Arthur Montford.
Martyn Lewis, the ITN newscaster who was host for the day, ushered Hope into pole position. The comedian raised an eyebrow. “Shouldn’t one of the amateurs go first?”, he asked.
The round proceeded nicely, even if Hope’s electric cart, which was chauffeuring around the course, broke down at the 12th hole.
After the match, Hope was scheduled to meet Hercules outside the clubhouse. Bob’s manager tested the bars of the bear’s cage and agreed that the meeting could take place, but because of what was said to be his long-standing fears of bears, Hope and Hercules never came within handshaking distance.
As thousands of people watched, he explained: “Bing Crosby and I were nearly killed by a bear while we were making Road to Utopia”, the Oscar-nominated comedy that he had filmed in 1943.
“I wish Hercules all the best in the film career that I gather is being lined up for him, but in the meantime let him get his own laughs”. (Hercules appeared in the 1983 James Bond film, Octopussy).
Read more: Herald Diary
As for Bob Hope, he hosted an end-of-play cocktail party in the Turnberry Hotel, then returned to Culzean Castle for dinner with the Marquis of Bute.
“Playing golf for fun and raising money for good causes is what life is mainly about for Bob Hope these days”, noted the Herald’s entertainments writer, Andrew Young. Two days on from the Show-Am, Hope would be in Epsom, Surrey, for the Bob Hope British Classic.
There, he would be playing with the Spanish great, Seve Ballesteros. “His divots”, remarked Hope, “go further than my drives”.
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