When you think of Bob Hope, you probably picture the ski-slope nose, the rapid-fire jokes, and the ever-present golf club. He was the king of the one-liner, a man who seemed to spend more time on USO stages than in his own living room. But for a guy who spent nearly a century in the spotlight, there is one question that still pops up more than you’d expect: how tall was Bob Hope? Physical presence matters in Hollywood. In the Golden Age, studios were notorious for "adjusting" the stats of their leading men. They wanted everyone to look like a towering hero. Bob Hope, however, wasn't your typical brooding leading man. He was a comedian, a dancer, and a song-and-dance man who could trade barbs with the best of them.
The Official Number: Bob Hope’s Height Explained
Let's get right to it. Bob Hope stood 5 feet 10 inches tall. In today’s world of 6-foot-5 Marvel actors, that might sound average. But back in the 1940s and 50s, 5'10" was a very respectable height for a man. It’s actually taller than many of his contemporaries. If you compare him to his "Road to..." movie partner Bing Crosby, who was roughly 5'7", Hope was clearly the taller of the two.
You can see this height difference play out in their physical comedy. Hope often used his slightly larger frame to act "tough" or superior to Bing, only to have the joke blow up in his face seconds later. Honestly, their height dynamic was part of why the duo worked so well. Hope had a certain athletic grace—don’t forget, he was a professional boxer in his youth under the name "Packy East"—and his 5'10" frame gave him the reach he needed in the ring.
Why Do People Question How Tall He Was?
People often think old-school stars were shorter than they actually were. Maybe it’s because the screens were smaller or the film quality was grainier. Or maybe it’s because Hope often hunched over during his monologues, leaning into the microphone to deliver those iconic zingers.
There’s also the "Hollywood Lift" factor. Many actors from that era wore lifts in their shoes to appear taller than their leading ladies. While Hope wasn't known for being particularly insecure about his height, he was a vaudevillian at heart. In vaudeville, you did whatever you had to do to make the silhouette look right from the back of the theater.
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The Boxer Frame and the "Ski Nose"
Before he was the highest-paid entertainer in the world, Hope was a kid in Cleveland trying to make a buck. His 5'10" height and 128-pound weight put him in the featherweight division as a boxer.
He didn't stay in the ring long—he famously quipped that he was the only boxer who had to be "carried out of the ring and into the dressing room"—but that athletic background defined his movement. Even at 90 years old, he had a specific, rhythmic walk. He carried his height with a certain "sashay" that came from years of being a professional dancer.
A Quick Look at Bob Hope’s Physical Stats
- Actual Height: 5 feet 10 inches (approx. 178 cm)
- Boxing Weight: 128 lbs (Super featherweight)
- Shoe Size: Reported around a 9 or 10
- Defining Feature: The "Ski-Slope" Nose (caused by a car accident and later boxing injuries)
Comparing Bob Hope to Other Icons
To really understand how Bob Hope’s height fit into the Hollywood landscape, you have to look at who he was standing next to.
Bing Crosby: As mentioned, Bing was shorter, around 5'7". This made Bob the "big guy" in their partnership, which served as a constant source of meta-humor in their films.
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The Presidents: Hope entertained every president from FDR to Bill Clinton. When you see photos of him with John F. Kennedy (6'0") or Lyndon B. Johnson (6'3"), he definitely looks like the smaller man. However, standing next to Harry Truman (5'9"), they looked almost eye-to-eye.
The USO Stage: On the USO tours, Hope often stood next to tall, young soldiers. Even then, he didn't look "short." He had a sturdy, broad-shouldered build that made him look like a man of significant stature, regardless of the tape measure.
Why We Still Care About These Details
It’s kind of funny that we’re still talking about the height of a man who was born in 1903. But Bob Hope represents an era of entertainment that was larger than life. Knowing his actual height helps ground the legend. He wasn't a tiny guy, and he wasn't a giant. He was an "everyman" who just happened to have the most famous face on the planet for about five decades.
He lived to be 100. Over a century of life, a person’s height actually changes—most people lose an inch or two as they age due to spinal compression. By the time Bob reached his 90s, he likely wasn't the full 5'10" he was during the filming of The Paleface. But in the minds of the public, he will always be that briskly walking, golf-club-swinging powerhouse of comedy.
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What You Can Learn from the Legend
If you're looking for the "actionable" takeaway here, it’s all about presence. Bob Hope’s height didn’t make him a star; his timing, his work ethic, and his ability to connect with an audience did. Whether he was 5'5" or 6'5", the "Hope style" would have translated.
If you're curious to see his height in action, go back and watch the early "Road" movies. Look at the way he carries himself next to Bing Crosby. You'll see that 5'10" was plenty of height to command a room, a movie set, or a battlefield full of thousands of troops.
Check Out These Bob Hope Resources:
- The Library of Congress: They hold the "Bob Hope Collection," which includes his joke files and personal papers.
- USO Archives: Look for footage of his Christmas specials to see him interacting with troops of all sizes.
- The Hollywood Walk of Fame: You can actually visit his stars (he has four!) and get a sense of the scale of his career.
Instead of just wondering about the numbers, take a Saturday afternoon to watch Sorrowful Jones or The Ghost Breakers. You’ll see that the man’s talent was way taller than any measurement could ever capture.