PEOPLE STILL NEED HOPE DEMAND FOR FILMS, BOOKS RISES SINCE ENTERTAINER'S DEATH; EBAY SELLING MEMORABILIA.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

Bob Hope fans are savoring the many memories, and stirring big business among retailers.

Since the comedian's death last week at the age of 100, DVDs of his movies and books have become increasingly tough for retailers to keep in stock. Sales of ``Road to Morocco,'' for example, have spiked 598 percent on the Amazon.com charts and nine of the top 10 titles on Amazon's DVD ``Movers and Shakers'' list were Hope films.

``Online, we see see spikes in sales immediately after the passing of a celebrity,'' said Doug Thomas, senior video/DVD editor for Amazon.com. ``They don't want to wait until 'Road to Morocco' comes on television.''

Hope's July 27 death came just a few months after his highly publicized 100th birthday, which meant that plenty of new products had recently been made available.

``The centennial birthday was such a happy occasion and that's when the collections were put out,'' said Thomas.

In Amazon's top 30 is ``The Bob Hope Tribute Collection: The Road Show Series, a four-DVD set comprised of ``Road To Morocco,'' ``Road to Singapore,'' ``Road to Utopia,'' and ``Road to Zanzibar.'' Also selling well is the ``The Ultimate Bob Hope Collection,'' a boxed set that highlights Hope's television work over five decades.

``We usually see spikes in sales when there is the passing of a major star and we've had three recently with Bob Hope, Gregory Peck and Katharine Hepburn,'' said Amazon.com's Thomas. ``There is a lot more availability of his films because of the 100th birthday, but when Peck and Hepburn died, we had to scramble more.''

Hope Enterprises, which sells authorized Hope merchandise through the official Web site www.bobhope.com., has also seen a surge in interest, said Ward Grant, Hope's longtime publicist.

``What the birthday did and what his passing did even more was that all of a sudden, people are saying, 'Maybe we should know more about this man,''' Grant said. ``I'm just so happy more people are getting to know Bob. The likes of him will not pass this way again.''

More than two years ago, the vast library of Hope's television specials were made available to the public, including a six-hour retrospective of Hope's multiple trips to Vietnam to entertain U.S. troops. In all, the Web site features seven categories and a total of 42 products.

Independent online sellers are also cashing in on the current Hope craze. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 3,000 Hope-related items were listed for sale on eBay. They range from DVDs, books, photos and posters to rarities such as Bob Hope G.I. Joe dolls, an autographed record album and even sheet music from ``Road to Utopia.''

``There's been a very marked increase associated with Bob Hope,'' said eBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove, adding that since the online auction site launched in 1995, it's always seen an increase in listings related to celebrities who've passed on.

``It happened with Joe DiMaggio, Charles Schulz, JFK Jr. and Dale Earnhardt,'' Pursglove said.

Meanwhile, two books released to coincide with Hope's May 29 birthday have gone from enjoying steady sales to selling out since his death.

``Right now, we have everything on back order,'' said Ken McCullagh, general manager of Borders Books and Music in Canoga Park. ``The books definitely went out the door. We were sold out two days after he was gone. The boxed set of his `Road' pictures sold out in a day.''

``Bob Hope: My Life In Jokes,'' released by Hyperion Books, has been selling so briskly that the publisher has ordered a second printing of 20,000-plus copies.

``When icons like that die, I think people always want some kind of memory and we had something that was already out there,'' said Katie Wainwright, director of publicity at Hyperion. ``It's a nice memento of him.''

The other book, ``Bob Hope: A Life In Comedy,'' is an authorized biography written by former Hope publicist William Faith. It was originally released in 1982 but updated by the author and re-released by Da Capo Press for the 100th birthday.

``Life'' benefits from being the most up-to-date book on Hope and also has been in demand at military bases since Hope's death. While sales had been approaching five figures, the publisher quickly ordered more than 10,000 additional books to meet the volume of orders that poured in after Hope died.

``It's been tremendous,'' said Kevin Hanover, director of marketing at Da Capo. ``The demand has been so great across the board.''

Staff Writer Barbara Correa contributed to this story.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1) no caption (Comedian Bob Hope with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour)

(2 -- color) Stacy Gibson of Encino looks over a DVD of Bob Hope's work on display at Tower Records in Sherman Oaks.

John Lazar/Staff Photographer