June Signs a 5-year contract with ABC to star in ten TV shows and produce another ten for $2 million. His first son Gary was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. Crosby had to do two live radio shows on the same day, three hours apart, for the East and West Coasts. July The film High Society is released, starring Bing, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly and Louis Armstrong. "Beloved and Notorious: A Theory of American Stardom, with Special Reference to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.". The morning after the Academy Awards, which was my first outed date with Bing, I flew to Phenix City and did that movie with Richard Kiley. Yet now, at 48, Bing's ambitious and determined widow finds herself at the center of a controversy that is reopening some old wounds in the oft-troubled Crosby family. IHeartHollywood.com is an online magazine about all thing "Hollywood." [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). SAYS Kathryn: He loved his sons. Bing signs a deal with director Mack Sennett to appear in a series of short comedic films, and signs his first solo contract, with Brunswick Records. Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance. [82] In 1960, NAFI purchased KCOP from Crosby's group. Kathryn Crosby: He was shy, but not with me. [71], Throughout Europe and Russia, Crosby was also known as "Der Bingle", a pseudonym coined in 1944 by Bob Musel, an American journalist based in London, after Crosby had recorded three 15-minute programs with Jack Russin for broadcast to Germany from ABSIE. His composition "At Your Command" was number 1 for three weeks on the U.S. pop singles chart beginning on August 8, 1931. He added, "We were brought up that way. Bing was quite lazy. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Gary accused his father of horrible physical abuse in a memoirreleased after Bing's death, and there appeared to be a lot of turmoil in his firstmarriage and with their four sons. 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. We just sat and drank tea. He was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years, 1944 to 1948. Sept. Mary Frances Crosby, Bings first daughter and second child with Kathryn, is born. I always loved acting. Did you know about those relationship problems? Bing wins Best Actor for Going My Way at the Academy Awards. Nov. The Cremo Singer radio show premieres on WABC (CBS affiliate). Bing invited Bob to Del Mar to the racetrack. [1] He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. Nathaniel, Mary and Harry with their parents Kathryn and Bing Crosby. How did Bing Crosby and Kathryn Grant meet? Portrait of American singer and actor Bing Crosby talks with his wife, actress Kathryn Grant Crosby . The book was I think an attempt of my dad to come to grips with some things in his life. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. It was the largest single bank failure in the countrys history. Oct. White Christmas, written by Irving Berlin, reaches Number 1 for the first time and stays for 11 weeks. Bing was also a giving donor to the city's Gonzaga University . Once we were supposed to go to England to see his horse run in the Royal Sweeps derby and come by this house where Im living in now to see it. It gave us a chance to ad-lib as much as we wanted, knowing that excess ad-libbing could be sliced from the final product. Oct. bing! Kathryn Crosby: Working with Otto Preminger was amazing. They were not afraid of television. According to the story, Bing died at the age of 74 on a golf course in Spain. And what a voice. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Bing won over fans with his laid-back, cool persona and smooth vocals. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Rosemary Clooney was one of his best friends? [10] At his screen apex in 1946, Crosby starred in three of the year's five highest-grossing films: The Bells of St. Mary's, Blue Skies and Road to Utopia. While the seven movies in the series provided adventure, laughs, romance and music they also showcased the comic chemistry between Crosby and Bob Hope to perfection. Thats what started the Road shows. Harry wouldve loved to have that experience, but he made his own experiences. At last Kathryn's ordeal was over. Denise Crosby, Dennis Crosby's daughter, is also an actress and is known for her role as Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation and for the recurring role of the Romulan Sela after her withdrawal from the series as a regular cast member. Currently listed for just under $3.5 million, the mid-century modern home was built for Crosby and his second wife, Kathryn Grant, shortly after their marriage in 1957. In the 1930s, his friend and former college classmate, Gonzaga head coach, Mike Pecarovich, appointed Crosby as an assistant football coach. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Bing met Grace Kelly on the set of their movie The Country Girl in 1954, more than a year after his first wife's death and after he had already started dating his future wife, Kathryn Grant. Not really, she says. He was the most comfortable man you could ever know, someone youd like to go fishing with. 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. I said, What? Bing had decided to do a show to help a foundation sponsoring music scholarships for young people. I just kept having children.They had three: Mary, who became an actress and found fame as Kristin Shepard, the woman responsible for shooting JR in Dallas; Nathaniel, who became a golfer and won the 1981 US Amateur Championship; and Harry, who appeared in the horror movie Friday The 13th but went on to become an investment banker. In the 1949 Disney animated film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Crosby provided the narration and song vocals for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment. bing! Jan. Bing Crosby Enterprises and ABC invest in Ampex machines, revolutionizing the radio industry. How many times has Bing Crosby been married? He would get an additional $40,000 from 400 independent stations for the rights to broadcast the 30-minute show, which was sent to them every Monday on three 16-inch (40-cm) lacquer discs that played ten minutes per side at .mw-parser-output .sfrac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .sfrac.tion,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .tion{display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.5em;font-size:85%;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .num,.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{display:block;line-height:1em;margin:0 0.1em}.mw-parser-output .sfrac .den{border-top:1px solid}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}33+1/3 rpm. 4, "You're Just a Beautiful Melody of Love" (1932), lyrics by Bing Crosby, music by Babe Goldberg, "I Would If I Could But I Can't" (1933), with, "Where the Turf Meets the Surf" (1941) with. But his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. After a threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career. The film White Christmas is released. The Bing Crosby on Broadway stage show opens at the Uris Theatre in New York City. The Crosby family became the focus of his Christmas. He had investments in real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches, race horses, music publishing, baseball teams, and television. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Birmingham, Alabama. 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: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years 19031940. After the war, the event resumed play in 1947 on golf courses in Pebble Beach, where it has been played ever since. He was 53; she was 23. And then I asked if he liked race horses. Kathryn Crosby: It was a terrible surprise, but he had, of course, been sick. He became the archetypal crooner of a period when the advent of radio broadcasting and talking pictures and the refinement of sound-recording . It was a week away and he said, Do you think you can find a long dress? So I ran back to Columbia Pictures, where I was working and they offered me the dress Rita Hayworth wore in Gilda, the most gorgeous, long, satin dress you ever saw, complete with full-length opera gloves. Apr. Crosby was initially a member of a vocal trio called The Three Harmony Aces with Al Rinker accompanying on piano from the pit, to entertain between the films. Bing Crosby with first wife Dixie Lee and three of their four sons: Phillip, Dennis and Lindsay. I got to be a friend of the Immaculate Heart nuns after that, and it made it possible for me to bear life without him. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. It was an amazing experience! The series consists of Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). Later that year, according to Kathryn, Bing apologized to Kathryn for his fling with the future princess. [52] Paul Whiteman's hiring of Crosby, with phrasing that echoed jazz, particularly his bandmate Bix Beiderbecke's trumpet, helped bring the genre to a wider audience. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to CBS Sunday Morning for their December 25, 2011, program. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors. "Well, Bob Hope worked all the time. Oct. Kathryn Crosby: Rear Window was shot when I was first at Paramount Pictures. Nov. Brother Can You Spare a Dime reaches Number 1. [74] Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. Crosby invested $50,000 in Ampex with the intent to produce more machines. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. 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. The June 18, 1945, issue of Life magazine stated, "America's number one star, Bing Crosby, has won more fans, made more money than any entertainer in history. Why Did People In Old Hollywood Talk Funny. Farben magnetic tape that Mullin had found at a radio station at Bad Nauheim near Frankfurt while working for the U.S. Army Signal Corps. [123], In September, Crosby, his family and singer Rosemary Clooney began a concert tour of Britain that included two weeks at the London Palladium. [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. 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. He was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. In 1963, he and his wife Kathryn moved with their 3 young children from Los Angeles to a $175,000 10-bedroom Tudor estate in Hillsborough because they did not want to raise their children in Hollywood, according to son Nathaniel. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue a bad situation. Harry said, I wouldve killed to get to go with Louis Armstrong to Australia, which was an experience that Bing gave to Gary. Later on, we finally managed to get married which was a secret. While in the UK, Crosby recorded his final album, Seasons, and his final TV Christmas special with guest David Bowie on September 11 (which aired a little over a month after Crosby's death). ABC was formed from the sale of the NBC Blue Network in 1943 after a federal antitrust suit and was willing to join Mutual in breaking the tradition. Sept. FilmHere Comes the Groom is released, in which Bing is directed by Frank Capra and co-stars with Jane Wyman. The filmEast Side of Heaven is released. The Fireside Theater (1950) sponsored by Procter & Gamble, was his first television production. Signing an agreement with Columbia for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of The Peacock Feather that eventually became Pennies from Heaven. [62] The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to Guinness World Records. [133], In 2006, the former Metropolitan Theater of Performing Arts ('The Met') in Spokane, Washington, was renamed to The Bing Crosby Theater.[134]. Jan. 5 Bings fourth son, Lindsay Harry Chip Crosby, is born. Life with Crosby was non-stop, travelling with him around the world on a breathless cycle of work and fun, the two often overlapping, including a visit to England to fi lm The Road To Hong Kong (1962). I cant keep you out. So I was baptized and graduated from school, and then went to marry Bing in the same week. Dec. Bing sings White Christmas on the NBC programKraft Music Hall, marking the first time the public has heard the soon-to-be Number 1 single of all time. Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman (1947) is based on Lee's life. He would just hang around the set, and then hed go over to Bing and say, Look, when Bob comes in for this scene, why dont you do this? Then hed go to Bob and say, Look, when Bing comes in here, why dont you do this? Then the director would yell Action! They would start. Mar. Narrated by Stanley Tucci, the film features new interviews with all surviving members of Crosbys immediate family: wife Kathryn, daughter Mary and sons Harry and Nathaniel. The film features the song Swinging on a Star, by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, which reaches Number 1 and wins an Academy Award for Best Song. [104][105], In 1965, the Crosbys moved to a larger, 40-room French-chateau style house on nearby Jackling Drive, where Kathryn Crosby continued to reside after Bing's death. Developed by John T. Mullin and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device aired what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images, using a modified Ampex 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (6.3mm) audio tape moving at 360 inches (9.1m) per second.[80]. The document reveals that during that time Crosby was indeed taking Joan Caulfield out to dinner, visited theaters and opera houses with her and that Caulfield and a person in her company entered the Waldorf Hotel where Crosby was staying. A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby was the third most popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable (1,168,300,000) and John Wayne (1,114,000,000). Whiteman considered letting them go. AND then she all but disappeared from the silver screen. I went into his office, and my agents were there, and his lawyers were there, and I said, How do you do? I took a letter from my purpose. . 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). After it began broadcasting, the station was sold within a year to Northern Pacific Radio and Television Corporation. The Hollywood veteran and widow of Bing Crosby will perform some of those classic tunes when she . The comments made by FBI investigators in the memos discredited the claims made in the letters. They had finished the eighteen holes of golf, and Bing won ten dollars with his pro. I like baseball a lot. I didnt know he owned the Pirates. He loved safaris and loved being in the bush seeing the wild animals. Dec. New Yorks Bank of the United States collapses. Melissa Parker (Smashing Interviews Magazine): Many people associate Bing Crosby with the yuletide season primarily because of his TV specials, the 1954 film, White Christmas, and the hit single of the same name. They were just so funny. Thus the laugh-track was born. [23][3] His father was of Scottish and English descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from England to New England in the 1630s during the Puritan migration to New England. Aug.-Oct. Bing is in production for the film Going My Way. Dec. Bing signs new contract with Paramount for nine films in three years for around $175,000 per film. Bing said, Yeah. We heart Celebrities. As far as I know [Gary] wrote it because it was about himself and what he felt his life was about. [108], Crosby's younger son Phillip disputed his brother Gary's claims about their father. He did make up for it at the end of the week by catching a number of sea trout. Kathryn Crosby: Nobody knows about that really because Bing never talked to me about that, and all he ever said about Dixie was that she was a wonderful mother and that she was an angel. They joined the Gus Arnheim Orchestra, performing nightly in the Coconut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel. Later that afternoon, he met with Chris Harding to take photographs for the Seasons album jacket.[124]. June Submissions to the SEC indicate that Bing has the second highest income in the US behind MGM studio chief, Louis B. Mayer. 4. ", Gilbert, Roger. We lived with them when Bing was doing Road to Hong Kong. Both Bing and wife Kathryn Grant thought he had lung cancer. 2000. After pointing out pieces she treasures -- from heirloom furnishings purchased from the William Randolph Hearst collection to the Oscar won by her late husband, Bing, in 1944 -- Kathryn. 1. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. A 5-year contract with ABC to star in ten TV shows and produce another ten for 2! Things in his life you think you can find a long dress weeks., why dont you do this Comes in here, why dont you do this by FBI in! Number one box office attraction for five consecutive years, 1944 to 1948 ten dollars with his.! 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