The 98-year-old comedian and Hollywood legend was discharged Thursday from Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, California, following an 11-day stay for what doctors diagnosed as a mild case of pneumonia.
"He's home," Hope's longtime friend and publicist, Ward Grant, confirmed to the Associated Press.
Grant also noted the funnyman hadn't lost his sense of humor during his ordeal. When asked what he would like for dessert at lunchtime, Hope reportedly replied: "I don't care as long as it's coffee ice cream."
Dr. Lee Kagan, Hope's physician who had kept the entertainer in the hospital a few more days to monitor his recovery, gave the go-ahead for his release, but also cautioned the entertainer still needs plenty of rest to get back to 100 percent.
"Mr. Hope is doing fine and eating well, however, it will be several more weeks before he is fully recovered from this illness," Kagan said in a statement.
Hope was admitted to the hospital August 26 complaining of breathing problems and was listed in stable condition. He was immediately put on supplemental oxygen and fed intravenously while doctors administered antibiotics to fend off what was described as a "mild" bacterial pneumonia (which can often be deadly when it strikes the elderly).
Hope, who had been communicating mostly through hand gestures, quickly rebounded. But doctors decided to extend his hospital stay by a few extra days until a slight fever had subsided.
This is the latest health scare for the aging Hope and comes on the heels of his hospitalization in June of last year for gastrointestinal bleeding, a common ailment among the elderly. He was released after a week-long stay.
Aside from the occasional parade, celebrity golf tournament, and Southern California special events, the increasingly frail comic has been limiting his public appearances since going into semi-retirement five years ago.
Shortly before his illness last year, the English-born Hope, who splits his time between his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Toluca Lake and Palm Springs, did travel to Washington D.C. to attend the opening of the Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment at the Library of Congress. His last TV special aired on NBC in 1996.