Photoplay (Jan-Jun 1948)

If You Were Bob Hope's House Guest OW 9d tB ^ Continued from page 67) showing at the throat. You note that the handkerchief she carries is monogrammed in the same manner, with a faint thread of black and red outlining the large initials, and you wonder why these white touches always look so much cleaner and crisper on some women than on others. Arm in arm with Dolores, you go up the path to the house, a wide-spread white Tudor dwelling. On one side is an opendoored garage, with bicycles sprawled against the walls, and around the corner ambles an aged but agreeable Great Dane. Already you know that you are entering a home devoted to children and comfort and living. The entrance hall is distinguished by an old-fashioned high-backed bench, upholstered in a quaint print. In a small alcove stands a huge grandfather clock. Later you learn that the clock was a wedding gift from that favorite Uncle Frank of Bob’s who died several years ago. It is one of the most venerable looking timekeepers you have ever seen — and was made at least a hundred and fifty years ago. “You have an idea it will go on ticking for centuries after we’ve stopped,” its present owner will tell you. Right now, however, Bob is springing up from a divan in the living room with outstretched hand. The hand has a copy of his next Tuesday’s radio script in it, which increases the naturalness. “So you made it!” he says, in a way that makes you feel you’ve accomplished something especially commendable. And then, “Hello, stockcompany,” he adds, his eyes going past you with a special Hope look rarely seen in public. Tony, aged six, and small, blonde Linda, aged eight, have followed you in the front door. A daddy who’s been confined to a script conference all Saturday morning is a daddy who’s been away a long time — at least several hours — so you remove yourself from the path of stampede. THE thing that strikes you about the living room is that it has nothing intended to strike you. No inescapable color scheme to burn itself on your eye — no labored period furnishing to make a guest feel like an anachronism. There’s an ingratiating amount of space — a great deal of subdued color and charm. A semi-circle of long, low divans — quilted in soft yellow and greens — complements the broad expanse of window — hung in a rich, autumnal hunting print. There’s a long Early American table in the center of the room, and numerous small ones all cordially laden with reading matter and smoking accessories. Copper glows in the form of lamps and bowls. Open-faced cupboards display an array of lovingly collected antique plates, and over the fireplace hangs a striking portrait of Linda and Tony, their small arms around the neck of the masterful Great Dane. “Outside for you two,” says Dolores. “You haven’t got long to play before it’s time for your naps — ” Bob, too, doesn’t have very long to play before next week’s crowded schedule of movie-making and radio, plus those endless “good fellow” performances that make Hope admirers wonder how he holds up. These things considered, he’s off to meet his golfing pal Bing at the Lakeside Country Club. Meanwhile you and Dolores have a little woman’s fun to indulge in. Upstairs, in the Hope nursery, is not one brand-new baby — but two of them. Kelly and Norah, aged seven months apiece. You follow their foster mother up the stairs, through the nurse’s room, past the com “This way, Mommy new housekeepers can be clever as old ones I” Baby: ’Course you keep house just fine, Mommy, for being so new at it. But don’t you know you should learn about “Lysol”? Mother: Is that so! Well then, what about “Lysol”? Baby: Why, you ought to put “Lysol” brand disinfectant in the cleaning water every time you clean — to kill germs. That’s what experienced housekeepers do. Mother: You mean it’s an old housekeeping custom? Why, how many women do you suppose follow it? Baby: Oh, most women — like about 2 out of 3, I hear. For health’s sake, you know. Every single time you clean . . . disinfect with Brand Disinfectant BEG. U S. PAT. OFF. ^ Clean the bathroom with “Lysol.” Quick, easy. Just add 2/2 tablespoons to each gallon of water. In baby's room clean the furniture and floor with “Lysol.” Won’t harm paint, varnish or linoleum. More women use "Lysol" than any other household disinfectant. Don’t ever risk being without it! For FREE booklet on fighting disease germs, write Dept. G-47, Lehn & Fink, 683 Fifth Avenue, New York 22, N. Y. 117