Rose Parade float will feature 35-foot likeness of Bob Hope

LOS ANGELES - This year's Tournament of Roses Parade will feature Bob Hope - 35 feet tall and as colorful as ever.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars have incorporated the 97-year-old entertainer's likeness into their multicolored float design.

The group said it wanted to honor the comedian for nearly 60 years of entertaining troops abroad, Hope publicist Ward Grant said.

''They said, 'What other symbol or American icon represents a constant thread, from World War II to Desert Storm, of entertaining the troops overseas?''' Grant said.

Hope first entertained soldiers overseas in May 1941, Grant said, and began performing an annual Christmas show for the troops in 1948.

The comedian, who recovered from an illness earlier this year, won't attend the parade in person but plans to watch on television from his Palm Springs home, Grant said.