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EXTRA: A Pizza for Bob Hope
HOLLYWOOD - What won't Bob Hope eat? Now we know. Since the legendary comic was hospitalized last Thursday for gastrointestinal bleeding, we had been inundated with daily reports of the rehabbing entertainer's diet. On Monday, some eggs (and butterscotch candy and pie and …); on Tuesday, a burger (and a shake and apple juice and …); and so on.
Fascinated by an intimate look into one man's eclectic eating habits, we wondered if we could insert ourselves into the story.
Since Hope appeared to be eating everything anyway, could we make him eat something that we provided? Could we help put the nation's favorite funnyman on the road to recovery?
To make a long story short, we ordered Hope a pizza today. Here's a log of what happened:
MMM: Pizza (© Domino's Pizza) 11:30 a.m.: Operation Pizza of Hope begins. We call the phone operator for numbers of pizza parlors and pizza chains in Rancho Mirage, Calif. (the desert city where Hope is laid up at the Eisenhower Regional Medical Center). Unfortunately, not a lot of Domino's in the retirement-friendly community. In fact, we can't find any.
11:45 a.m.: Restaurant Express, a delivery service in the Rancho Mirage area that specializes in delivering food from member restaurants, is located.
11:55 a.m.: Rusty at Restaurant Express hooks us up with Niccolino's in Cathedral City, Calif. Our order: One medium cheese pizza (light on the cheese), a side of zucchini strips and a 20-ounce Sprite. All are to be delivered to the Eisenhower Regional Medical Center in care of Mr. Bob Hope. We opt for a plain cheese pizza per the advice of a medical professional (i.e. our company's insurance provider). Earlier today, we called Betty at Aetna and asked what kind of pizza would be best for an elderly man recovering from, you know, gastrointestinal bleeding. Betty, a registered nurse, told us it was best to avoid greasy or spicy toppings, hence depriving Mr. Hope of the Pepperoni Lover's Special.