LOS ANGELES, Sept. 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Bob Hope Hollywood USO (United Service Organizations) at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will be re-dedicated today after undergoing a recent $513,000 expansion that tripled its size to 3,600 square feet, and included extensive interior renovation and new furnishings.
The family of the late comedian Bob Hope, including his widow Dolores and daughter Linda, will be joined by over 300 representatives from the U.S. military; national, state and local government; the airport; and the entertainment industry.
The re-dedication ceremonies will begin at 12 noon, preceded by entertainment beginning at 11 am and a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter fly-by at 11:45 am. The facility, which normally is reserved for military personnel and their families only, will be open to the public until 10 pm tonight so that the community can see first-hand the renovations and improvements.
The facility was expanded from 1,371 square feet to its current size of 3,600 square feet. The new facility now includes a spacious General Jimmy Doolittle lounge and library; a family room; nap room; luggage storage room; a Johnny Grant Internet computer center; restrooms with showers and changing areas; expanded "Hollywood Canteen" snack bar; a large outdoor patio area; and entertainment features such as big-screen television monitor, movie videos/DVDs, and Xbox and Sony PlayStation electronic games.
The center is decorated with photos and memorabilia of legendary comedian Bob Hope, who died July last year shortly after the USO Center at LAX was named in his honor.
Dubbed, "America's No. 1 Soldier in Greasepaint," Hope and a troupe of Hollywood celebrities traveled the globe for nearly six decades to entertain U.S. servicemen and women stationed in the U.S. and overseas -- in times of both war or at peace -- through the auspices of the United Service Organization (USO). LAX was the originating airport for almost all of Hope's USO tours.
Funding for the project was raised privately, primarily from radiothons conducted in 2003 and earlier this year by Southern California oldies music radio station K-EARTH 101 FM.
"Because of the work K-EARTH radio has done on our behalf to raise public awareness of our center and funding for this project, we have a new, larger Bob Hope Hollywood USO that offers significantly improved services to the thousands of U.S. servicemen and women and their families traveling through LAX," said Brigadier General (Ret.) Michael R.S. Teilmann, executive director of the Bob Hope Hollywood USO.
According to Teilmann, nearly 26,000 U.S. troops and their families visit the USO at LAX each year, where they enjoy USO's famous 'Touch of Home' services free of charge.
Kim Day, interim executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, the city department that owns and operates LAX and three other Southern California airports, said, "Los Angeles World Airports is proud to be associated with two icons that are so much a part of America -- the USO and Bob Hope. The USO at LAX is one of the major reasons we call our airport the 'Gateway to the World.' Hundreds of service personnel, often with their families, use this airport everyday to travel to and return from duty stations located around the globe. As they serve us, these men and women deserve our gratitude. As long as our country has a need for the military, we at LAWA will do our best to ensure the men and women of our armed forces have a place at LAX."
Maureen Lesourd, vice president and general manager of K-EARTH radio station, said, "We are delighted that K-EARTH 101 has been able to make a major contribution to this incredibly valuable project, and we hope our efforts will encourage people from all walks of life to make a donation of any kind to the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX."
Entertainment during the re-dedication ceremonies will be provided by internationally acclaimed comic Fred Travalena, a long-time friend of Bob Hope; The Hyperion Outfall Dixieland Band; recording artist Cesar with his new release "Soldier of Glory," World War II-style singers The Earth Angels; and vocalist Dennis Madalone with his patriotic single, "America, We Stand As One."
Celebrities from the entertainment industry expected to attend include Connie Stevens, Rhonda Fleming, Terry Moore, Karri Turner ("JAG"), Dick Van Patten, Marine-turned-actor Dale Dye, Kate Linder ("The Young and the Restless"), actor-singer-songwriter Carol Conners ("Rocky," the James Bond films, and lead singer of The Teddy Bears), and Honorable Mayor of Hollywood Johnny Grant.
The Bob Hope Hollywood USO is located in the heart of LAX's Central Terminal Area, on the Lower/Arrival Level across from Terminal 2, where the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command operates. The facility is open seven days a week -- Monday through Friday from 6 am to 10 pm, Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am to 10 pm, and on holidays from 10 am to 10 pm.
The USO (United Service Organizations) has brought a "touch of home" to America's military personnel for 63 years. The USO is a congressionally chartered, nonprofit organization and is not a government agency. With world headquarters in Arlington, Va., the USO operates 125 centers around the world, including six mobile canteens -- with 71 centers located in the continental U.S.; three in the Caribbean; and 51 in Germany, Italy, France, the United Emirates, Bahrain, Iceland, Bosnia, Japan, Qatar, South Korea, Kuwait, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. For more information on the USO, please visit www.uso.org.
For further information on the Bob Hope Hollywood USO at LAX, please call (310) 645-3716 or e-mail BobHopeUSOlax@aol.com.