FOOTNOTES: Bob Hope and the USO

He was already his own slice of Americana — the London-born, Cleveland-raised vaudeville comedian turned radio and film star — and everybody loved him.

Quick and irreverent. Unfailingly up-beat. The master of gentle sexist humor and good-natured ribbing.

His act was slap-stick with words. Political jabs without snark. Patriotism without the melodrama,…