When a bevy of personal effects and household items from the Toluca Lake home of Bob and Dolores Hope went on sale on the first Saturday last May, it was big news for the comedian's fans both locally and outside of Southern California.
Many a buff of the funnyman's "Road to" pictures and his television specials flocked to the event, and left with pieces of luggage, china, glassware, photos, and more.
But one treasured item not on the block at the spotlight-garnering springtime sale was the Hope family Nativity, an Italian artwork that became synonymous with the Hope estate come the end of the year.
The family of Bob and Dolores Hope clearly had a very generous, community-wide idea for the Nativity: Donate it to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
That's exactly what has come to pass, and now the public is invited to view the beautifully carved manger scene in the Cathedral Plaza "through the Christmas season."
There are 18 carved figures in all. The nativity's Toluca Lake ties are long, by the by; "Bob and Dolores Hope began displaying the life-size Nativity in the 1950s." It was last displayed "on a raised platform" last year in the home's front yard.
Call it another way fans can remember the family and the man, a man much associated with the yuletide through his many Christmas variety shows.
