The majority of the list of other recipients of the Honorary Naval Aviator award include other members of the U.S. Navy or those who have been directly involved in the aerospace industry. However, the award has been given to another actor at least once before. Bob Hope was made an Honorary Naval Aviator for his contributions to keeping up the morale of those in Naval Aviation, through his decades of work with the USO. In an interesting coincidence, Hope was presented with the award on May 8, 1986, only a few days before the debut of the original Top Gun in movie theaters.
