Comic legend Bob Hope is in stable condition at a Rancho Mirage, Calif., hospital this afternoon, waylaid by “severe intestinal problems,” his publicist says. Hope, who marked his 97th birthday Monday, was admitted to Desert Regional Medical Center in nearby Palm Springs at about 11 a.m. for “emergency medical attention,” rep Ward Grant tells Hollywood.com. The entertainer woke up at his Palm Springs home today complaining of stomach problems.
Hope has since been transferred to Eisenhower Medical Center, in Rancho Mirage, where he remains and is said to be resting comfortably.
The comic recently returned to California after a three-week visit to the East Coast, Grant says.
Best known on film for his “On the Road …” stints with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour, Hope is best known everywhere else for being Bob Hope — ascerbic, slope-nosed and forever entertaining overseas troops.
