Dolores Hope, DC*SG (May 27, 1909 – September 19, 2011) was an American singer, entertainer, philanthropist and wife of English-born American actor and comedian Bob Hope.

Early life and career

She was born Dolores L. DeFina on May 27, 1909 in Manhattan's Harlem neighborhood of Italian and Irish descent, and was raised in The Bronx. After the death of her bartender father, Jack DeFina, in 1925, she and her younger sister, Mildred, were raised in the Bronx by their mother, Theresa DeFina (1890–1977), who worked as a saleslady in a drygoods store.

During the 1930s, after working as a model, DeFina began her professional singing career, adopting the name Dolores Reade on the advice of her agent. On October 26, 1933, she appeared as vocalist on two Joe Venuti & his Orchestra recordings of 'Heat Wave" and "Easter Parade". (It was issued on Banner 32879, Melotone M-12828, Canadian Melotone 91649, Oriole 2783, Perfect 15838, Romeo 2156, and "Heat Wave" was also issued on British Decca F-5202.) In 1933, after appearing at the Vogue Club, a Manhattan nightclub, Reade was introduced to Bob Hope. The couple reportedly were married on February 19, 1934, in Erie, Pennsylvania. They later adopted four children from The Cradle in Evanston, Illinois: Eleanora, Linda, William (Kelly), and Anthony (d. 2004). "She was a woman of her words and a fine singer. Bob and Dolores were the talk of many people back in those holy days," says a friend, Malory Thorn. She and Bob celebrated their birthdays on 28 May every year – splitting the difference between their respective real birthdays.

Zip gun may refer to:

An improvised firearm is a firearm manufactured other than by a firearms manufacturer or a gunsmith, and is typically constructed by adapting existing materials to the purpose. They range in quality from crude weapons that are as much a danger to the user as the target, to high-quality arms produced by cottage industries using salvaged and repurposed materials.

Improvised firearms are commonly used as tools by criminals and insurgents and are often associated with such groups, but other uses include self-defense in lawless areas, or for hunting game in poor rural areas.

Construction

The essential part of any improvised firearm is the barrel and chamber. For small, low-pressure cartridges, like the common .22 caliber (5.5 mm) rimfire cartridges, even very thin-walled tubing will suffice. Author Harlan Ellison describes the zip guns used by gangs in 1950s New York City as being made from tubing used in coffee percolators or automobile radio antennas, strapped to a block of wood to serve as a handle. A rubber band provided the power for the firing pin, which is pulled back and released to fire. The use of such weak tubing results in a firearm that can be as dangerous to the shooter as the target; the poorly fitting smoothbore barrel provides little accuracy and is liable to burst upon firing.