HOPE IN FLORIDA
Among memorabilia on display at the World Golf Hall of Fame in St. Augustine, Fla., is a trophy presented to Bob Hope by the Palm Desert Chamber of Commerce for “Outstanding Supporting Role as Husband to Dolores Hope.” The exhibition, Bob Hope: Shanks for the Memory, runs through 2009 and includes a video narrated by this year’s Bob Hope Chrysler Classic host, Arnold Palmer (see page 230). Other Coachella Valley-based items in the exhibition include a silver goblet from the 1945 Palm Springs Mixed Championship. Locally, memorabilia and anniversary items are for sale at the Bob Hope Classic Shop in Old Town La Quinta.
$601,000 MEMORIES
Bob Hope Memorabilia auctioned in October raised far more than expected. A photograph of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor inscribed to Hope sold for $27,500 ($27,000 more than expected). Prior to the auction, the Los Angeles Times reported that a desk from Hope’s Toluca Lake home “might raise as much as $7,000.” It sold for $18,750. George Lopez, who hosted the Chrysler Classic golf tournament in 2007 and 2008, placed the winning bids on golf gear, including hats worn by Hope on the greens. Proceeds from the auction, which raised $601,000, benefited causes supported by Hope, who died in 2003.
A CLASSICAL ACT
Composer Benjamin Lees, a Palm Springs resident whose solo and orchestral works have been performed worldwide, celebrates his 85th birthday in New York on Jan. 8, when Classical KUSC 91.5 FM airs a five-hour broadcast dedicated to his career. Jim Svejda, one of the nation’s most respected critical voices in classical music, hosts the show from 7 p.m. to midnight. Lees won the 2008 International Piano Award for Best New Piano Music Recording for his CD Piano Music 1947-2005.
SOUND TO FILM
High desert musicians enjoyed exposure in two films recently shown in Los Angeles. After screenings at the Anthology Film Archives in New York City and Tucson Film & Music Festival, Nowhere Now: The Ballad of Joshua Tree struck a chord with moviegoers when the filmmakers took the documentary about the High Desert music scene to Sunset Gower Studios in Los Angeles. And John Bock: Palms, an art installation at REDCAT, was accompanied by a film with scenes in Joshua Tree National Park and music by The Sibleys at their Palms Restaurant in Wonder Valley.