Never one to refrain from speaking ill of the dead, English writer (or British blowhard, depending on your tastes) Christopher Hitchens expresses sympathy for the late NYT writer Vincent Canby for having to write late comedian Bob Hope's obituary to make it sound like Hope was actually funny. "It's always a bad sign when a Times reporter has to signal the fact that he's dealing with wit. Some of them do this by resorting to the stale words 'he quipped,' or 'he shot back,' lest we miss the 'barb' altogether...This is comedy for people who have no sense of humor and who come determined to be entertained and laugh to show that they 'get it'...Hope was a fool, and nearly a clown, but he was never even remotely a comedian."
Hopeless: did Bob Hope ever say anything funny? [Slate]