They went to Ohio for the national convention of baseball owners. Dec. Moonlight Becomes You reaches Number 1. This is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there. Crosby played the lead in a series of musical comedy short films for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film 1932's The Big Broadcast (1932), the first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Mar. Bing said, Yeah. At the end of the game, Bings friend, Cesar de Zulueta asked him, How do you feel? Bing said, Im fine. He took a step back, and the floor had been lowered, so he fell fifty feet onto a concrete floor. [83] Charles' son, Lindsay C. Howard, became one of Crosby's closest friends; Crosby named his son Lindsay after him, and would purchase his 40-room Hillsborough, California estate from Lindsay in 1965. They were married Oct. 24, 1957 in Las Vegas. that Crosby's second wife, Kathryn Grant Crosby, may have am interest in the property and gave the first wife's estate 20 days to name her in an amended petition. They had three children, including actress Mary Crosby of Dallas (1978) fame. When we got together in Las Vegas, Aunt Mary was with me, and Bing was with his driver, Leo Lynn, and we went to the courthouse and got our license. [41] The weekly broadcast made him a hit. She died of cancer in 1952 at age 40, predeceasing her husband, who died in 1977. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. The film Holiday Inn is released, featuring White Christmas. The song will win the Oscar for Best Song at the Academy Awards in 1943. PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Kathryn Crosby: I suppose that happened, but I didnt hear it. It was from my gynecologist, and it said, She will be able to work for five months. I asked Otto Preminger, Is this a problem? Otto said, No. Its a hot day, and theyre going to be driving seven hours to get up to Arrington. We went to the Sands Hotel and had a little breakfast with just us and Father Ryan and forty reporters. We kept waiting, and I kept working. Through audio recordings, he produced his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) used in motion picture production, a practice that became the industry standard. We heart living like a star. Husband Bing appeared as a guest occasionally. He gave one of the first Ampex Model 300 recorders to his friend, guitarist Les Paul, which led to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. Hope and Crosby initially sat apart. Dec 3, 2010 @ 16:20PM. bing! Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". He felt that way about her. We rented a place called Cranbourne Court, and our two families lived together. [112], Dennis Crosby reportedly "said his older brother (Gary) was the most severely treated of the four boys. [50] It was on this special that he recorded a duet of "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth" with rock musician David Bowie. ", Smith, Anthony B. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): That was a very interesting film noir also. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. [19] The house sits on the campus of his alma mater, Gonzaga University, as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar. [72], According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. In a memorandum dated January 16, 1959, it is said: Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): You had a role in 1959s Anatomy of a Murder, groundbreaking during that time because it was one of the first films to address sex and rape in fairly graphic terms. My mother got to go to one of the World Series games, and it was very exciting. Born Wilma Wyatt, actress and singer Dixie Crosby married Bing Crosby in 1930. as a young man in 1925, was renamed the Bing Crosby Theater on December 8, 2006. We couldn't use the jokes, but Bill asked us to save the laughs. [2] He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Shortly before Gary's book was actually published, Lindsay said, "I'm glad [Gary] did it. [42] He sang four Academy Award winning songs "Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), "Swinging on a Star" (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951) and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Going My Way (1944). Crosby had arranged for Ampex, another of his financial investments, to record the NBC telecast on kinescope. Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond the "belting" associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray, who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. A graduate of the University of Texas and a student nurse at one point, she found her way into films via the beauty pageant circuit. [97], Crosby reportedly had an alcohol problem between the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he got a handle on his drinking in 1931. Sept. Bing films his final Christmas show, which features Bings family and David Bowie. Bing and Bob started off together in early vaudeville. It was very frightening to know which one they were going to operate on because you have to have one functioning kidney when youre operating on the other. [122] His first performance after the accident was his last American concert, on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley died, at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California. [92] After his wife died, Crosby had relationships with model Pat Sheehan (who married his son Dennis in 1958) and actresses Inger Stevens and Grace Kelly before marrying actress Kathryn Grant, who converted to Catholicism, in 1957. July The Rhythm Boys first appear at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles; Bing is the standout favorite. It will become the best-selling single of all time. They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on Armed Forces Radio Service during and after World War II. June Signs a 5-year contract with ABC to star in ten TV shows and produce another ten for $2 million. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film King of Jazz with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. Crosby was associated with ABC's The Hollywood Palace as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after The Hollywood Palace was eventually canceled. Bing Crosby, byname of Harry Lillis Crosby, (born May 3, 1903, Tacoma, Washington, U.S.died October 14, 1977, near Madrid, Spain), American singer, actor, and songwriter who achieved great popularity in radio, recordings, and motion pictures. June Just One more Chance reaches Number 1. [85] The Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor. The priest said, You should wait a while. I said, You cant keep me out. He said, Youre right. Nov. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Rosemary Clooney was one of his best friends? The Bing Crosby on Broadway stage show opens at the Uris Theatre in New York City. He took Bob salmon fishing up in Canada once, and they had just pulled off to sea when Bob said, 'I have to go back in.' Dec. Bing signs new contract with Paramount for nine films in three years for around $175,000 per film. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. From 1931 to 1954, the star dominated record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. Mary Frances Crosby was born on September 14, 1959, in Los Angeles, California, the only daughter of singer and actor Bing Crosby from his second marriage to actress Kathryn Grant. I would do it in the summertime. A graduate of the University of Texas and a student nurse at one point, she found her way into films via the beauty pageant circuit. His composition "At Your Command" was number 1 for three weeks on the U.S. pop singles chart beginning on August 8, 1931. I said, What? Bing had decided to do a show to help a foundation sponsoring music scholarships for young people. Bob was the emcee for a vaudeville show, and Bing was singing, and they started playing with each other on the stage. "[57], Critic Henry Pleasants wrote in 1985: [While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of the loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. Clip | Bing Crosby and David Bowie Christmas Duet, Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby and Sons Sing Together, Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby with Maurice Chevalier and Carol Lawrence, Clip | Bing Crosbys Innovations in Technology, Clip | Bing Roasts Film Director Raoul Walsh, Clip | Performance: The Second Time Around and Other Love Songs, Clip | The Crosby Family Today: Web Exclusive, Bing by the Numbers. "Entertaining Catholics: Bing Crosby, Religion and Cultural Pluralism in 1940s America. Crosby invested $50,000 in Ampex with the intent to produce more machines. [53] He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith before his first appearance on record. Sept. After two postponements, Bing makes his solo radio debut. June Submissions to the SEC indicate that Bing has the second highest income in the US behind MGM studio chief, Louis B. Mayer. There was never even any discussion, and Im very grateful for that. Hes the fourth of seven children. Schofield, Mary Anne. [68], Crosby's popularity around the world was such that Dorothy Masuka, the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." Those movies include Rear Window, Cell 2455 Death Row, My Sister Eileen, The Phenix City Story, Storm Center, The Brothers Rico, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Anatomy of a Murder and The Big Circus. Songs co-written by Crosby include: Four performances by Bing Crosby have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which is a special Grammy award established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance". Bing was married a second time to actress Kathryn Grant. At Reina Victoria Hospital he was administered the last rites of the Catholic Church and was pronounced dead. The couple had three children: Harry Lillis III, Mary Frances and Nathaniel. [29] The university granted him an honorary doctorate in 1937. Mullin had not yet succeeded with videotape, so Crosby filmed the series of 26-minute shows at the Hal Roach Studios, and the "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. A number of Argentine-bred horses were purchased and shipped to race in the United States. Crosby largely retired from acting after her marriage, but did have featured roles as Princess Parisa in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), and in the courtroom drama Anatomy of a Murder (1959). And his star is still in the ascendant. The Fireside Theater (1950) sponsored by Procter & Gamble, was his first television production. At last Kathryn's ordeal was over. I went to university at 16 and Hollywood at 18.By the time they wed in 1957 Kathryn too was making a name for herself in Hollywood, starring opposite Tony Curtis in the Blake Edwards-directed romance Mister Cory and with Jack Lemmon in comedy Operation Mad Ball. It was a happy childhood. [125] On October 14, at the La Moraleja Golf Course near Madrid, Crosby played 18 holes of golf. Thats a good attitude to enter a marriage with. 1. How old was Bing Crosby when he married Kathryn Grant? In 1928 he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River". Harry Crosby and Nathaniel Crosby, and of actress Mary Crosby. Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American broadcasting (2nd ed.). Rediscover the Bing Crosby Era, Clip | Filmmaker Interview with Director Robert Trachtenberg, Clip | Bing Crosby, An All-Purpose Singer, Clip | Performance: Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, Clip | Bings Charity and Take Care of List, Clip | Michael Feinstein and Tony Bennett on Bings Intimate Style, S28 Ep10: Bing Crosby Rediscovered - Full Film. Mar. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race won by Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit over Binglin's horse Ligaroti. 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During the Golden Age of Radio, performers had to create their shows live, sometimes even redoing the program a second time for the West Coast time zone. [83][84] Operating from the Del Mar Racetrack at Del Mar, California, the group included millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard, who owned a successful racing stable that included Seabiscuit. Audio engineer Steve Hoffman stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering the price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Aug. Oct. Nathaniel Patrick Crosby, Bings last son and third child with Kathryn, is born. During the 1940s, Crosby consistently had difficulties trying to stay away from home while also trying to be there as much as possible for his children.[95]. In 1960, he starred in High Time, a collegiate comedy with Fabian Forte and Tuesday Weld that predicted the emerging gap between him and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. Bing said, I dont feel well. We went to the hospital, and they admitted him because he had kidney stones in both kidneys. Getting to know Paramount Pictures was quite amazing. Bing Crosby's widow, Kathryn Crosby, is recovering from a car crash which killed her second husband. [115], Bing's younger brother, singer and jazz bandleader Bob Crosby, recalled at the time of Gary's revelations that Bing was a "disciplinarian", as their mother and father had been. We lived with them when Bing was doing Road to Hong Kong. Nov. Bing starts work in his first film, King of Jazz, a musical revue starring Paul Whiteman. [86] From 1946 until his death, he owned a 25% share of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bing had a long surgery where they had to remove a large tumor the size of a grapefruit which was interesting because it was Nocardia which is half bacteria and half fungus that he probably got in Africa. Were going up to Arrington. Bing Bing said, Theres a priest who doesnt have a church, and if we do this one show, I think itll help him get that church. The priest had been doing Mass in a topless bar, so we did a show in Las Vegas. Despite being a Catholic, Crosby was seriously considering divorce in order to marry Caulfield. He could do four shows a week, if he chose, and then take a month off. Around the time Gary published his claims, Phillip stated to the press that "Gary is a whining, bitching crybaby, walking around with a two-by-four on his shoulder and just daring people to nudge it off. She was born in Houston, Texas in 1933 and appeared on stage from age 3. bing!, and I would let him have it again, and then as his friends came to his rescue, shooting as they came, I would shout bing! There have been disputes between Crosby's two families beginning in the late 1990s. They begin touring with the orchestra of Paul Whiteman, then one of the most famous bandleaders in America. They only worked to about 3:00 in the afternoon, and then theyd go play golf until twilight and come home for dinner. BBC commences transmissions of a major 14-part series chronicling Bings life. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): In a new Bob Hope biography that came out in November, the author states, Bob told a friend he simply didnt like Bing, and at times, detested him.. By the time we had courted, I knew I liked him very much, and he liked me very much. The director was about to get really cross because none of the written script was used, but all of the people who were working on the show were so tickled and laughing so hard, hed say, I think thats good. [27], Crosby graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. If I ever felt strongly enough about something to ask him, he always did it. Bing and Dixie reconciled and he continued trying to help her overcome her alcohol issues. We were married at that time because I was going to have to nurse him in the hospital, and thats a public appearance. I had more fun doing that. He did love his golf. [citation needed]. ABC offered Crosby $30,000 per week to produce a recorded show every Wednesday that would be sponsored by Philco. In his autobiography Don't Shoot, It's Only Me! Son: Nathaniel Patrick October 29, 1961. [14] He was also known for his collaborations with his friend Bob Hope, starring in the Road to films from 1940 to 1962. Kathryn Crosby (born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff, November 25, 1933) is an American retired actress and singer who performed in films under the stage names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff. The film White Christmas is released. Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Bob Said, 'Fish dont applaud.' Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with Desilu Studios and later CBS Television Studios, produced a number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show in the 19641965 season (with co-stars Beverly Garland and Frank McHugh). His trip was filmed for The American Sportsman on ABC, although all did not go well at first as the salmon were not running. In the early 1970s, he made two late appearances on the Flip Wilson Show, singing duets with the comedian. I loved that. Also records his final album, Seasons.