In this image, taken by National Geographic photographer Joseph J. Scherschel on December 14, 1969, Bob Hope and performers from the Bob Hope Christmas Show mingle in the Entrance Hall and Cross Hall. Pictured here with Hope are members of the song and dance troupe the Golddiggers. The official White House Christmas Tree is visible in the background. That day, the cast of Bob Hope's Christmas special dined with President and Mrs. Nixon in the State Dining Room, and put on a preview performance in the East Room. Bob Hope's USO-sponsored variety shows entertained American troops around the world for nearly 50 years, and his television specials were an annual tradition for American households for decades. Hope was a recurrent guest at the White House and entertained every president from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Bill Clinton.