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 Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the drums and singing with a local band. Bing and the band's piano player, Al Rinker, left Spokane for Los Angeles in 1925. In the early 1930s Bing's brother Everett sent a record of Bing singing "I Surrender, Dear" to the president of CBS. His live performances from New York were carried over the national radio network for 20 consecutive weeks in 1932. His radio success led Paramount Pictures to include him in The Big Broadcast (1932), a film featuring radio favorites. His songs about not needing a bundle of money to make life happy was the right message for the decade of the Great Depression. His relaxed, low-key style carried over into the series of "Road" comedies he made with pal Bob Hope. He won the best actor Oscar for playing an easygoing priest in Going My Way (1944). He showed that he was indeed an actor as well as a performer when he played an alcoholic actor down on his luck opposite Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). Playing golf was what he liked to do best. He died at age 74 playing golf at a course outside Madrid, Spain, after completing a tour of England that had included a sold-out engagement at the London Palladium.
Bio:
Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in Spokane but was more interested in playing the drums and singing with a local band. Bing and the band's piano player, Al Rinker, left Spokane for Los Angeles in 1925. In the early 1930s Bing's brother Everett sent a record of Bing singing "I Surrender, Dear" to the president of CBS. His live performances from New York were carried over the national radio network for 20 consecutive weeks in 1932. His radio success led Paramount Pictures to include him in The Big Broadcast (1932), a film featuring radio favorites. His songs about not needing a bundle of money to make life happy was the right message for the decade of the Great Depression. His relaxed, low-key style carried over into the series of "Road" comedies he made with pal Bob Hope. He won the best actor Oscar for playing an easygoing priest in Going My Way (1944). He showed that he was indeed an actor as well as a performer when he played an alcoholic actor down on his luck opposite Grace Kelly in The Country Girl (1954). Playing golf was what he liked to do best. He died at age 74 playing golf at a course outside Madrid, Spain, after completing a tour of England that had included a sold-out engagement at the London Palladium.
Tivia:
After Judy Garland was fired from MGM about 1950, he was one of the first to offer her work on his radio show to help her out of her financial woes. The two had marvelous chemistry as a comedy duo, and many of these audio recordings still survive today.He is the most electronically recorded voice in history.Left a clause in his will stating that his sons could not collect their inheritance money until they were 65. They had already been amply taken care of by a trust fund set up by their mother, Dixie Lee, which is truth was totally funded by Bing. All four sons continued to collect monies from that fund until their deaths.One of his early inspirations was Louis Armstrong, who returned the admiration. Louis once described Bing's mellow voice as "like gold being poured out of a cup."At the time of his death in 1977, he was the biggest selling recording artist of all time.Was the first person to sing "White Christmas".When he married his first wife actress/singer Dixie Lee in 1930, her fame at the time was greater than his. One headline actually read: "Well Known Fox Movie Star Marries Bing Croveny." Dixie eventually retired to raise four sons.As a young adult he enjoyed carousing and drinking and actually received another nickname: "Binge" Crosby. He once spent two months in jail (weekends only) for DUI after a minor car accident, and surprised and shocked interviewers by advocating that pot be decriminalized.He received 23 gold records and was awarded platinum discs for his two biggest selling singles, "White Christmas" in 1960 and "Silent Night" in 1970.Delayed his marriage to Kathryn Grant until 1957 due to his long affair with Grace Kelly.He and his second wife and younger children did TV commercials for Minute Maid orange juice, because he owned considerable stock in the company.The balding actor hated having to wear a toupee during filming and specifically looked for scripts that had outdoor scenes where he could wear a hat or bed scenes in which he could wear a nightcap.His estate was valued at $150 million, making him one of the wealthiest entertainers in Hollywood, along with his friends Bob Hope and Fred MacMurray.His eldest son Gary Crosby was vocal in criticizing Bing's violent ways as a father. He wrote a sensationalist tell-all biography titled "Going My Own Way" in 1983 which was touted as a "Daddy Dearest" about Bing. Though Lindsay Crosby and Dennis Crosby fluctuated between agreeing and disagreeing with Gary's criticisms of their father, Phillip Crosby defended Bing after the book was published. Two of the sons suffered bouts of depression, much as their mother Dixie Lee had, throughout their lives and committed suicide(Lindsay and Dennis, in 1989 and 1991, respectively). Gary died of lung cancer in 1995. Phillip died of a heart attack in 2004, having defended his father to the end. Bing's children from his second marriage, including daughter and actress Mary Crosby, praised him as a kind and loving father in later life.His last TV appearance was in Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas (1977) which was taped in London and broadcast, after his death, in the USA on 30 November 1977, and in the United Kingdom on 24 December 1977. This show has also been made available on commercial video. It is memorable for Crosby and David Bowie singing a duet.According to ticket sales Crosby is, at 1,077,900,000 tickets sold, the third most popular actor of all time after Clark Gable and John Wayne. He is also, according to Quigley Publishing Company's International Motion Picture Almanac, tied for second on the "All Time Number One Stars List" with three other actors - Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks and Burt Reynolds. Crosby was the #1 box office attraction for five years, beaten only by Tom Cruise who was #1 for seven years.A longtime supporter of the Republican Party, Crosby campaigned for Wendell Willkie in the 1940 Presidential election, because he strongly believed President Franklin D. Roosevelt should only serve two terms of office. When Roosevelt was easily re-elected, Crosby vowed never to become publicly involved in partisan politics again.In 1962 Crosby was the first recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.On the day of his death he played a full 18 holes of golf, where he scored a respectable 85 and won the match. Walking off the 18th green of the La Moraleja Golf Club, in a suburb of Madrid, Spain, he suffered a massive heart attack. His last words were reported as, "That was a great game of golf, fellas." However, according to the Summer 2001 issue of Club Crosby's BINGANG magazine, he then said, "Let's go have a Coca-Cola." According to his biographer Gary Giddens, Crosby's last words were, "Let's go get a Coke.".On October 13, 1977, the day before Crosby's death, independent producer Lew Grade announced that he was reuniting Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour onscreen for the film "Road to the Fountain of Youth," ending several years of speculation at to whether the trio would reunite professionally or not.Mary Carlisle, who worked with him in films, noticed he was self-conscious about his height, and he wore lifts. Crosby once told Alan Ladd how pleased he was that Ladd was shorter than him at 5'5". Bing maintained he was 5'9", but an office secretary named Nancy Briggs recalled a visit to his home when he wore slippers and she realized he was her height - 5'7".Began losing his hair while he was still in high school. He was almost completely bald by his early thirties.He was the 20th century's first multi-media entertainer: a star on radio, in movies and in chart-topping recordings. He had 38 No. 1 singles, which surpassed even Elvis Presley and The Beatles.From the 1940s to the 1960s he owned 15% of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. His cameo in Angels in the Outfield (1951) was as part-owner of the team.Refused the role of Columbo due to the fact that he felt that it would interfere with his golf game.According to the Guinness Book of Records, his "White Christmas" has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles.Is one of only five actors/actresses to have a #1 single and an Oscar for best actor/actress. The others are Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Cher and Jamie Foxx.Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.Was the first choice of "Columbo" creators Richard Levinson and William Link to portray the famed detective.Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998.In 1948 a poll declared Crosby the most admired man in the world, ahead of President Harry S. Truman, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII.Was nicknamed "Bing" after a character named "Bingo" in a comic strip titled "Bingville Bugle."Three things about Bing were frequent sources of jokes in Hollywood: his inability to sire a daughter, prior to the birth of Mary Crosby; his investment in racehorses that rarely won; and his rather bad, almost colorblind, taste in casual clothes. These jokes often made their way into radio and TV shows, movies and, most often, into the comedy routines of Bob Hope.Nearly filed for divorce from his first wife in 1948 because he wanted to marry Joan Caulfield.Became seriously ill around Christmas 1973, with chest pains and respiratory problems. Both Bing and wife Kathryn Grant thought he had lung cancer. In January 1974 he felt so ill he consented to be hospitalized, and a large tumor was found in his left lung. The tumor and three-fifths of the lung were removed, and over the next months he slowly recovered. Since the tumor was benign, it was believed his illness was caused by a fungal infection from a recent safari in Africa.Crosby named his first son, Gary Crosby, after friend and fellow Paramount contractee, Gary Cooper.Sang on radio at least once a week from 1931 to 1962.Bing In a partnership which included Gary Cooper, and Oliver Hardy had the Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California built in 1937 and he collected tickets at the turnstile on opening day. Before the start of the first and last races on every day of racing his song "Where the Turf Meets the Surf" is played. This song was written for Del Mar and never sold commercially. The complete song goes - "Down at the old Del Mar, Take a plane, take a train, take a car, There's a smile on every face, And a winner in every race, Where the Turf Meets the Surf,".In 1968, Crosby considered doing another "Road" picture, "The Road to Christmas", with Bob Hope and Hayley Mills.Stagecoach (1966) was his last major film. Though it did not get good reviews, his performance as the drunken doctor was praised. Crosby felt the movies had changed a lot since his heyday, although he let it be known that he was still open to offers.Father, with singer Dixie Lee, of sons Gary Crosby, Phillip Crosby & Dennis Crosby (twins) and Lindsay Crosby. All 4 deceased. Both Dennis and Lindsay died due to suicide.At one point he and Bob Hope were due to make The Road to Paris.His large ears were pinned back during his early films, until partway through She Loves Me Not (1934).Father, with actress Kathryn Grant, of sons Harry Crosby and Nathaniel Crosby, and of actress Mary Crosby.The Met Theater in downtown Spokane, Washington, where he was raised and performed (with the Musicaladers) as a young man in 1925, was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater on December 8, 2006. The Met was built in 1915. Bing was also a giving donor to the city's Gonzaga University."White Christmas" became the bestselling single for more than 50 years until overtaken in 1997 by "Candle in the Wind", Elton John's tribute to the late Princess Diana.He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 1611 Vine Street, for Radio at 6769 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Recording at 6751 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Grotto section, L119, #1.In March 1977, after videotaping a concert for CBS to commemorate his 50th anniversary in show business, Crosby backed off the stage into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back that required a month of hospitalization.Between 1915 and 1980 he was the only motion-picture star to rank as the #1 box-office attraction five times (1944-1948). Between 1934 and 1954 he scored in the top ten 15 times. |
| Name: |
Bing Crosby |
Type: |
Music Artist,Actor,Producer (IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Category: |
|
Business scope: |
Music Artist,Actor,Producer |
| Products for sale: |
Music Artist,Actor,Producer |
| Last update: |
2024-07-01 05:09:21 |
| Height: |
5' 7?' (1.72 m) |
| Biography: |
Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. in Tacoma, Washington, the fourth of seven children of Catherine (Harrigan) and Harry Lincoln Crosby, a brewery bookkeeper. He was of English and Irish descent. Crosby studied law at Gonzaga University in |
| Trivia: |
After Judy Garland was fired from MGM about 1950, he was one of the first to offer her work on his radio show to help her out of her financial woes. The two had marvelous chemistry as a comedy duo, and many of these audio recordings still survive today.He is the most electronically recorded voice in history.Left a clause in his will stating that his sons could not collect their inheritance money until they were 65. They had already been amply taken care of by a trust fund set up by their mother, Dixie Lee, which is truth was totally funded by Bing. All four sons continued to collect monies from that fund until their deaths.One of his early inspirations was Louis Armstrong, who returned the admiration. Louis once described Bing's mellow voice as "like gold being poured out of a cup."At the time of his death in 1977, he was the biggest selling recording artist of all time.Was the first person to sing "White Christmas".When he married his first wife actress/singer Dixie Lee in 1930, her fame at the time was greater than his. One headline actually read: "Well Known Fox Movie Star Marries Bing Croveny." Dixie eventually retired to raise four sons.As a young adult he enjoyed carousing and drinking and actually received another nickname: "Binge" Crosby. He once spent two months in jail (weekends only) for DUI after a minor car accident, and surprised and shocked interviewers by advocating that pot be decriminalized.He received 23 gold records and was awarded platinum discs for his two biggest selling singles, "White Christmas" in 1960 and "Silent Night" in 1970.Delayed his marriage to Kathryn Grant until 1957 due to his long affair with Grace Kelly.He and his second wife and younger children did TV commercials for Minute Maid orange juice, because he owned considerable stock in the company.The balding actor hated having to wear a toupee during filming and specifically looked for scripts that had outdoor scenes where he could wear a hat or bed scenes in which he could wear a nightcap.His estate was valued at $150 million, making him one of the wealthiest entertainers in Hollywood, along with his friends Bob Hope and Fred MacMurray.His eldest son Gary Crosby was vocal in criticizing Bing's violent ways as a father. He wrote a sensationalist tell-all biography titled "Going My Own Way" in 1983 which was touted as a "Daddy Dearest" about Bing. Though Lindsay Crosby and Dennis Crosby fluctuated between agreeing and disagreeing with Gary's criticisms of their father, Phillip Crosby defended Bing after the book was published. Two of the sons suffered bouts of depression, much as their mother Dixie Lee had, throughout their lives and committed suicide(Lindsay and Dennis, in 1989 and 1991, respectively). Gary died of lung cancer in 1995. Phillip died of a heart attack in 2004, having defended his father to the end. Bing's children from his second marriage, including daughter and actress Mary Crosby, praised him as a kind and loving father in later life.His last TV appearance was in Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas (1977) which was taped in London and broadcast, after his death, in the USA on 30 November 1977, and in the United Kingdom on 24 December 1977. This show has also been made available on commercial video. It is memorable for Crosby and David Bowie singing a duet.According to ticket sales Crosby is, at 1,077,900,000 tickets sold, the third most popular actor of all time after Clark Gable and John Wayne. He is also, according to Quigley Publishing Company's International Motion Picture Almanac, tied for second on the "All Time Number One Stars List" with three other actors - Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks and Burt Reynolds. Crosby was the #1 box office attraction for five years, beaten only by Tom Cruise who was #1 for seven years.A longtime supporter of the Republican Party, Crosby campaigned for Wendell Willkie in the 1940 Presidential election, because he strongly believed President Franklin D. Roosevelt should only serve two terms of office. When Roosevelt was easily re-elected, Crosby vowed never to become publicly involved in partisan politics again.In 1962 Crosby was the first recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.On the day of his death he played a full 18 holes of golf, where he scored a respectable 85 and won the match. Walking off the 18th green of the La Moraleja Golf Club, in a suburb of Madrid, Spain, he suffered a massive heart attack. His last words were reported as, "That was a great game of golf, fellas." However, according to the Summer 2001 issue of Club Crosby's BINGANG magazine, he then said, "Let's go have a Coca-Cola." According to his biographer Gary Giddens, Crosby's last words were, "Let's go get a Coke.".On October 13, 1977, the day before Crosby's death, independent producer Lew Grade announced that he was reuniting Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour onscreen for the film "Road to the Fountain of Youth," ending several years of speculation at to whether the trio would reunite professionally or not.Mary Carlisle, who worked with him in films, noticed he was self-conscious about his height, and he wore lifts. Crosby once told Alan Ladd how pleased he was that Ladd was shorter than him at 5'5". Bing maintained he was 5'9", but an office secretary named Nancy Briggs recalled a visit to his home when he wore slippers and she realized he was her height - 5'7".Began losing his hair while he was still in high school. He was almost completely bald by his early thirties.He was the 20th century's first multi-media entertainer: a star on radio, in movies and in chart-topping recordings. He had 38 No. 1 singles, which surpassed even Elvis Presley and The Beatles.From the 1940s to the 1960s he owned 15% of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. His cameo in Angels in the Outfield (1951) was as part-owner of the team.Refused the role of Columbo due to the fact that he felt that it would interfere with his golf game.According to the Guinness Book of Records, his "White Christmas" has sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles.Is one of only five actors/actresses to have a #1 single and an Oscar for best actor/actress. The others are Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Cher and Jamie Foxx.Inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1978.Was the first choice of "Columbo" creators Richard Levinson and William Link to portray the famed detective.Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998.In 1948 a poll declared Crosby the most admired man in the world, ahead of President Harry S. Truman, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII.Was nicknamed "Bing" after a character named "Bingo" in a comic strip titled "Bingville Bugle."Three things about Bing were frequent sources of jokes in Hollywood: his inability to sire a daughter, prior to the birth of Mary Crosby; his investment in racehorses that rarely won; and his rather bad, almost colorblind, taste in casual clothes. These jokes often made their way into radio and TV shows, movies and, most often, into the comedy routines of Bob Hope.Nearly filed for divorce from his first wife in 1948 because he wanted to marry Joan Caulfield.Became seriously ill around Christmas 1973, with chest pains and respiratory problems. Both Bing and wife Kathryn Grant thought he had lung cancer. In January 1974 he felt so ill he consented to be hospitalized, and a large tumor was found in his left lung. The tumor and three-fifths of the lung were removed, and over the next months he slowly recovered. Since the tumor was benign, it was believed his illness was caused by a fungal infection from a recent safari in Africa.Crosby named his first son, Gary Crosby, after friend and fellow Paramount contractee, Gary Cooper.Sang on radio at least once a week from 1931 to 1962.Bing In a partnership which included Gary Cooper, and Oliver Hardy had the Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California built in 1937 and he collected tickets at the turnstile on opening day. Before the start of the first and last races on every day of racing his song "Where the Turf Meets the Surf" is played. This song was written for Del Mar and never sold commercially. The complete song goes - "Down at the old Del Mar, Take a plane, take a train, take a car, There's a smile on every face, And a winner in every race, Where the Turf Meets the Surf,".In 1968, Crosby considered doing another "Road" picture, "The Road to Christmas", with Bob Hope and Hayley Mills.Stagecoach (1966) was his last major film. Though it did not get good reviews, his performance as the drunken doctor was praised. Crosby felt the movies had changed a lot since his heyday, although he let it be known that he was still open to offers.Father, with singer Dixie Lee, of sons Gary Crosby, Phillip Crosby & Dennis Crosby (twins) and Lindsay Crosby. All 4 deceased. Both Dennis and Lindsay died due to suicide.At one point he and Bob Hope were due to make The Road to Paris.His large ears were pinned back during his early films, until partway through She Loves Me Not (1934).Father, with actress Kathryn Grant, of sons Harry Crosby and Nathaniel Crosby, and of actress Mary Crosby.The Met Theater in downtown Spokane, Washington, where he was raised and performed (with the Musicaladers) as a young man in 1925, was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater on December 8, 2006. The Met was built in 1915. Bing was also a giving donor to the city's Gonzaga University."White Christmas" became the bestselling single for more than 50 years until overtaken in 1997 by "Candle in the Wind", Elton John's tribute to the late Princess Diana.He was awarded 3 Stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Motion Pictures at 1611 Vine Street, for Radio at 6769 Hollywood Boulevard, and for Recording at 6751 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Grotto section, L119, #1.In March 1977, after videotaping a concert for CBS to commemorate his 50th anniversary in show business, Crosby backed off the stage into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back that required a month of hospitalization.Between 1915 and 1980 he was the only motion-picture star to rank as the #1 box-office attraction five times (1944-1948). Between 1934 and 1954 he scored in the top ten 15 times. |
| Trademarks: |
Often played what he referred to as "happy go-lucky fellas" in his movies
Signature Song: "White Christmas"
Often worked with Bob Hope
"Crooned" most of the songs he sang.
Baritone voice |
| Quotes: |
[on Frank Sinatra] Frank is a singer who comes along once in a lifetime, but why did he have to come in mine?
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I think popular music in this country is one of the few things in the 20th century that have made great strides in reverse.
<br />
<hr>
Everyone knows I'm just a big, good-natured slob.
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<hr>
[about Elvis Presley] He helped to kill off the influence of me and my contemporaries, but I respect him for that. Because music always has to progress, and no-one could have opened the door to the future like he did.
<br />
<hr>
Honestly, I think I've stretched a talent which is so thin it's almost transparent over a quite unbelievable term of years. |
| Salaries: |
Rhythm on the River (1940) - $150,000
<br />
<hr>
Going Hollywood (1933) - $50,000 or $2,000/week depending on the source |
| Job title: |
Music Artist,Actor,Producer |
| Others works: |
(1935) Single: "Silent Night" (Decca)
(1931) Songwriter: "Where the Blue of the Night Meets the Gold of the Day," with Roy Turk and Fred E. Ahlert. NOTE: First recorded by Crosby in November 1931 (backed by Bennie Krueger and his |
| Spouse: |
Kathryn Grant (October 24, 1957 - October 14, 1977) (his death, 3 children)Dixie Lee (September 29, 1930 - November 1, 1952) (her death, 4 children) |
| Children: |
Gary CrosbyPhillip CrosbyDennis CrosbyLindsay CrosbyHarry CrosbyNathaniel CrosbyMary Crosby |
| Parents: |
Harry Lincoln Crosby
Catherine Harrigan |
| Relatives: |
Patrick A. Crosby (Grandchild)
Dennis Crosby (Grandchild)
Luke Gregory Crosby (Great Grandchild)
L. Chip Crosby Jr. (Grandchild)
Cathy Crosby (Niece or Nephew) |
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