Bob Hope Shows Improvement, Is Awake and Alert

Comedian Bob Hope was improving Friday after being rushed to a hospital because of gastrointestinal bleeding.

“He is not on his deathbed and he’s in stable condition and continues to show improvement within the realm of a 97-year-old that went through what he went through,” Dr. Gary Annunziata told reporters outside Eisenhower Regional Medical Center in Rancho Mirage.

Hope, who was taken to the hospital Thursday, was still listed in critical condition Friday afternoon, but Annunziata said he expected that to be upgraded.

The doctor said the comedian was awake and alert, but hadn’t cracked any jokes.

Gastrointestinal bleeding is common in some elderly people, the doctor said.

“This kind of thing will cure itself,” he said. “They just get better naturally.”

Hope’s vital signs were strong and he shook the doctor’s hand Friday morning, Annunziata said.

The entertainer did receive blood transfusions before the bleeding in his colon was stopped, but there was no surgery, Annunziata said.

The doctor said Hope’s wife, Dolores, hadn’t left her husband’s side. “I think we need a crowbar to get her away from him,” he said.

Hope was taken to the hospital Thursday morning after he woke up with stomach pains.

He was expected to remain in the hospital for a week, spending perhaps another day in the critical-care section.

The comedian had just completed a three-week trip to the East Coast on Tuesday.