Hope wouldn’t argue the point

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on a possible misperception of Carl Reiner’s statement that Bob Hope was “not a pioneer in television” [“They Gotta Be Joking,” July 14]. Mr. Hope never said he was! Quite the contrary, he was a latecomer to television (1950) and often joked about it -- “I wanted to make sure it was going to catch on.” Although Bob had an unprecedented 60-year contract with NBC -- radio from 1937 until 1956, television 1950 until 1997; appeared on CBS experimental station W2XAB in 1932 and had his first television commercial in 1947; is on record as having some of the top-rated television shows ever -- he never claimed that he was a pioneer of television, nor has it been reported in any of his biographical material, books or interviews.

Ward Grant

Burbank

Ward Grant is the director of public/media relations for Hope Enterprises Inc.