The Crosbys lived here with much laughter, and many dreams, and a gracious ease. 1934 July 13 Twins Dennis Michael Crosby and Phillip Lang Crosby are born. Later that afternoon, he met with Chris Harding to take photographs for the Seasons album jacket.[124]. Primary Wave, founded 15 years ago by former top music executive Lawrence Mestel, is known for owning Kurt Cobain's Nirvana catalog.. In his autobiography Don't Shoot, It's Only Me! Harry Lillis Crosby (Der Bingle, The old groaner) was born on 2 May, 1903 in Tacoma, Washington, USA, is a Soundtrack, Actor, Producer. He matured as a performer and was in demand as a solo singer.[40]. "[32][33], As it happens, that story was pure whimsy for dramatic effect; the Associated Press had reported as early as February 1932as would later be confirmed by both Bing himself and his biographer Charles Thompsonthat it was in fact a neighborValentine Hobart, circa 1910who had named him "Bingo from Bingville" after a comic feature in the local paper called The Bingville Bugle which the young Harry liked. In film, on the radio or on record, he seemed cool and collected, a perfect picture of a laid-back family man. 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. Bing Crosby and Family. Murdo MacKenzie of Bing Crosby Enterprises had seen a demonstration of the German Magnetophon in June 1947the same device that Jack Mullin had brought back from Radio Frankfurt with 50 reels of tape, at the end of the war. However, the document also clearly indicates that at their meetings a third person, on most instances Caulfield's mother, was present. 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). He added, "We were brought up that way. Doors open at 8 a.m. Shortly before Gary's book was actually published, Lindsay said, "I'm glad [Gary] did it. [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. The group performed on Spokane radio station KHQ, but disbanded after two years. Bing Crosby net worth: Bing Crosby was an American singer and actor who had a net worth equal to $50 million inflation adjusted dollars. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of 'Dardanella' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. "Bing Crosby: Through the years, volumes one-nine (195456). Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Washington, on May 3, 1903. [124] Accompanied by the Gordon Rose Orchestra, Crosby's last recorded performance was of the song "Once in a While". Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed Binglin Stable to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in Moorpark in Ventura County, California. His contract with Decca runs until 1955. The Crosby family lived at 10500 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood for more than five years. [66] Crosby charted 23 Billboard hits from 47 recorded songs with the Andrews Sisters, whose Decca record sales were second only to Crosby's throughout the 1940s. 2,539 Sq. Young Bing Crosby at age 14 took summer jobs at the Spokane Auditorium as a property boy. Other than that, he fathered five kids - James Raymond, Erika Keller Crosby, and Donovan Crosby.. Bing Crosby's grandchildren: Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Denise Crosby Bing Crosby's grandson is Phillip Crosby Jr Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Kelly Crosby Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Erin Crosby Bing Crosby's grandson was Dennis Crosby Jr Bing Crosby's grandson was Patrick Crosby p. 24. If I made a mistake in singing a song or in the script, I could have some fun with it, then retain any of the fun that sounded amusing. Was David Crosby Related To Bing Crosby? University Press of Kentucky. As a young man in 1925, Bing took his love for the stage to the Clemmer Theater in Spokane, where he worked providing musical entertainment during intermission. 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. (AP) When they were young, Patricia and Joan Miller sang and danced for Bing Crosby, troops and their friends. [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. [18] In 1913, his father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue. The California Court of Appeal reversed, however, holding that the 1999 settlement barred the claim. 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. To get better results, add more information such as Birth Info, . [107], While acknowledging that corporal punishments took place, there were reports of all of Gary's immediate siblings distancing themselves from the abuse claims, either in public or in private. Crosby had arranged for Ampex, another of his financial investments, to record the NBC telecast on kinescope. [11] In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. [94], Particularly during the late 1930s and through the 1940s Bing Crosby's domestic life was dominated by his wife's excessive drinking. This ad-lib way of working is commonplace in the recording studios today, but it was all new to us. He was the son of bookkeeper Harry Lowe Crosby, and his wife Catherine Helen "Kate" (ne Harrigan).He was the fourth of seven children including brothers Larry, Everett, Ted, and Bob; and two sisters, Catherine and Mary Rose.. 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. Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. bing! June 27 Bing and Dixie welcome their first son, Gary Evan Crosby. For fifteen years (1934, 1937, 1940, 19431954), Crosby was among the top ten acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (19441948) he topped the world. In 1999, the parties settled for approximately $1.5 million. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows. As Crosby wrote in his autobiography: By using tape, I could do a thirty-five or forty-minute show, then edit it down to the twenty-six or twenty-seven minutes the program ran. The game was one of the most famous in baseball history, capped off by Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run that won the game for Pittsburgh. Stanley, Bob, Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music, Pegasus Books, 2022, pg 220, Grudens, 2002, p. 236. Bing's children from his second marriage, including daughter and actress Mary Crosby, praised him as a kind and loving father in later life. Exact. The Clemmer Theatre, as the Bing Crosby Theater was originally called, opened in 1915. His partner was World Cup champion Manuel Piero; their opponents were club president Csar de Zulueta and Valentn Barrios. [20][21], He was the fourth of seven children: brothers Laurence Earl "Larry" (18951975), Everett Nathaniel (18961966), Edward John "Ted" (19001973), and George Robert "Bob" (19131993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (19041974) and Mary Rose (19061990). By 1936, he replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall, where he remained for the next ten years. Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Like his father and grandfather, Dennis Crosby had seven children, too. [30] Gonzaga University houses a large collection of photographs, correspondence, and other material related to Crosby.[31]. bing! Giddins, Gary (2002). Crosby and Armstrong remained warm acquaintances for decades, occasionally singing together in later years, e.g. They have all reportedly described their father as loving and kind. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Crosby asked Harry Cohn, but Cohn had no desire to pay for the flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, Joe Glaser". Once affectionately dubbed America's dad, the . And finally, Catherine . Discover Bing Crosby's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. [75][76][77] He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. 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. Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. His recording was so popular that he was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers; the original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. Gary's first wife of 19 years, Barbara Cosentino, of whom Gary wrote in his book, "I could confide in her about Mom and Dad and my childhood",[114] and with whom Gary stayed friendly after the divorce, stated: I do not know if what's in the book is true but he never said anything to me about whippings. [109] "Lindsay Crosby supported his brother (Gary) at the time of its publication but had a tempered view of its revelations. [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. [62] The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to Guinness World Records. [123], In September, Crosby, his family and singer Rosemary Clooney began a concert tour of Britain that included two weeks at the London Palladium. Crosby, Stills, and Nash's debut album, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, was released in 1969 and gained critical praise. His first marriage was to a shy 20-year-old actress, Wilma Wyatt, whose stage name was "Dixie Lee." Her father and friends generally opposed the marriage to Bing, age 27, on the grounds that he was an irresponsible playboy. If he muffed a song then, the audience loved itthought it was very funnybut we would have to take out the show version and put in one of the rehearsal takes. 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. 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. [82] In 1960, NAFI purchased KCOP from Crosby's group. However, Crosby had already sold his Elko ranch a year earlier, in 1958, and it is doubtful how much he was really involved in that meeting. Crosby had one confirmed extramarital affair between 1945 and the late 1940s, while married to his first wife Dixie. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer Russ Columbo proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". "[70] His popularity in India led many Hindu singers to imitate and emulate him, notably Kishore Kumar, considered the "Bing Crosby of India". He always believed he was born on May 2, 1904. After graduating from high school at age 15, she . Either in December 1945 or January 1946 Crosby approached Cardinal Francis Spellman with his difficulties with dealing with his wife's alcoholism and his love for Caulfield and his plan to file for divorce. On March 20, 1977, after videotaping a CBS concert special, "Bing - 50th Anniversary Gala", at the Ambassador Auditorium with Bob Hope looking on, Crosby fell off the stage into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back requiring a month-long stay in the hospital. ", Gilbert, Roger. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at Hal Roach Studios rather than performed live on the air. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. [125] Crosby, who had a 13 handicap, won with his partner by one stroke. Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American broadcasting (2nd ed.). I stopped and smiled in grateful acknowledgment. 3 Beds. They got enormous laughs, which just went on and on. We were in the same boat in more ways than one, but I could not tell her so. His social life was frantic. Was Bing Crosby a better father the second time around with your family than with his first four sons, do you think? A holiday perennial, the song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another sixteen times. His first was Harry Crosby, born on August 8, 1958. He received critical acclaim for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl and received his third Academy Award nomination.[49]. "[45][46], The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", which he introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become a kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. All results for bing crosby. Family Life He married his college sweetheart Ashley. It seemed like Bing Crosby's first family was doomed. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. The Fireside Theater (1950) sponsored by Procter & Gamble, was his first television production. Mary Crosby asserts that Bing had deep regret for not being as present of a father for his first four children's life. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. [74] Mullin explained how one new broadcasting technique was invented on the Crosby show with these machines: One time Bob Burns, the hillbilly comic, was on the show, and he threw in a few of his folksy farm stories, which of course were not in Bill Morrow's script. [81] NAFI Corporation and Crosby purchased television station KPTV in Portland, Oregon, for $4 million on September 1, 1959. [129], Crosby is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.[130]. [116][117], Crosby's will established a blind trust in which none of the sons received an inheritance until they reached the age of 65, intended by Crosby to keep them out of trouble. His exceptional career took up most of his time and focus. In 1928 he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River". His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. [104], After Crosby's death, his eldest son, Gary, wrote a highly critical memoir, Going My Own Way (1983), depicting his father as cruel, cold, remote, and physically and psychologically abusive. [84] In 1943, Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. He also followed in his father's footsteps and became an actor. Crosby wrote or co-wrote lyrics to 22 songs. [27], Crosby graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. But his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. Kapp helped Crosby have number one hits in Christmas music, Hawaiian music, and country music, and top-thirty hits in Irish music, French music, rhythm and blues, and ballads. Amateur championships, was a five-time club champion at Lakeside Golf Club in Hollywood, and once made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole at Cypress Point. The comments made by FBI investigators in the memos discredited the claims made in the letters. During World War II, Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater. 4 Beds. The company produced two ABC medical dramas, Ben Casey (19611966) and Breaking Point (19631964), the popular Hogan's Heroes (19651971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show Slattery's People (19641965). He was one of the first global cultural icons. 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]. Bing Crosby's troubled first family. [63] The International Motion Picture Almanac lists him in a tie for second-most years at number one on the All Time Number One Stars List with Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Burt Reynolds. The Northern California home that movie star Bing Crosby once lived in hits the market for $13.75 million Dennis Mayer | OMARSHALL Real Estate The 3 acre Northern California estate where "White. In 2007, he was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and in 2008 the Western Music Hall of Fame. Crosby influenced the development of the post World War II recording industry. [96], In the most recent Crosby biography, Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star; the War Years, 1940-1946, Gary Giddins published excerpts from an original diary of two sisters, Violet and Mary Barsa, who, as young women, used to stalk Crosby in New York City during December 1945 and January 1946 and who detailed their observations in the diary. Prigozy, Ruth, and Walter Raubicheck, eds. [97], Crosby reportedly had an alcohol problem between the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he got a handle on his drinking in 1931. Bing's grandfather Nathaniel was born in Wiscasset, Lincoln, Maine, to parents from Brewster, Barnstable, Massachusetts; and was of English descent, from a family resident in New England since the 1600s. 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. Amateur champion in golf). A Crosby-led group purchased station KCOP-TV, in Los Angeles, California, in 1954. The two Crosby families gave him countless grandchildren, including another Bing Crosby who was bestowed with his grandfather's name but never fell to the perils of addiction. [14] He was also known for his collaborations with his friend Bob Hope, starring in the Road to films from 1940 to 1962. His records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. This house went up for sale by its current owners in 2021 for $13.75 million. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". In that way, we could take out jokes, gags, or situations that didn't play well and finish with only the prime meat of the show; the solid stuff that played big. [47] Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully".[48]. Crosby married Dixie Lee in September 1930. However, the addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris made the difference, and The Rhythm Boys were born. 3 in the UK singles charts. 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. She received her Actor's Equity card, at the age of four, and made her first professional appearances, in the company of her siblings, in her father's popular Christmas-season TV specials of the 60s and 70s. Television production was mostly live television in its early years, but Crosby wanted the same ability to record that he had achieved in radio. He has achieved greater popularity, made more money, attracted vaster audiences than any other entertainer in history. They made one film appearance together in Road to Rio singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language", and sang together on the radio throughout the 1940s and 1950s. When they got a chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the Paul Whiteman organization. [7] Yank magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1937, he became a founding partner of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and a member of its board of directors. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names. Today he is a kind of national institution. Crosby was married twice, first to actress/nightclub singer Dixie Lee from 1930 until her death from ovarian cancer, brought on by alcoholism, in 1952. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. I understand what he's trying to prove. His efforts to cure her with the help of specialists failed. "[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. . "[109], The author of the most recent biography on Bing Crosby, Gary Giddins, claims that Gary Crosby's memoir is not reliable on many instances and cannot be trusted on the abuse stories. The fourth of seven children in a poverty-level family who loved to sing, he was briefly sent to vocal lessons early on by his mother, until he grew tired of the training. ("Bingo" was a childhood nickname from one of his favorite comic strips.) When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of the other in a comically insulting fashion. [109] In an interview with People magazine, Phillip stated that "we never got an extra whack or a cuff we didn't deserve".[109]. Most fans of Bing Crosby remember his family from the iconic Christmas specials in which his wife Kathryn and their three grown children sang carols and palled around with celebrities like. [3]:6[9] In 1948, Music Digest estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in America.[9]. He signed a contract with Jack Kapp's new record company, Decca, in late 1934. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors. Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in 1995 at age 62, and Phillip Crosby died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 69.[120]. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby . After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. Bing married twice. He did make up for it at the end of the week by catching a number of sea trout. "[45] "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. They each earned $75 a week. Sforza, John: "Swing It! (1928), with Harry Barris and, "Ev'rything's Agreed Upon" (1930), with Harry Barris, "Believe Me" (1931), with James Cavanaugh and, "You Taught Me How to Love" (1931), with H. C. LeBlang and Don Herman, "My Woman" (1932), with Irving Wallman and Max Wartell, "Cutesie Pie" (1932), with Red Standex and, "I Was So Alone, Suddenly You Were There (1932), with, "Love Me Tonight" (1932), with Victor Young and Ned Washington, US, no. Crosby started the tape recorder revolution in America. His great popularity throughout the continent led other African singers to emulate him, including Masuka, Dolly Rathebe, and Mriam Makeba, known locally as "The Bing Crosby of Africa. Crosby's family includes his widow and his three children. The mega fame he achieved during his first marriage took a toll on his family due to all the commitments that frequently took him away. Bill Cosby, 84, and his wife Camille Cosby, 77, have had five children during their 58-year marriage. "The Salt Lake City Office has developed information indicating that Moe Dalitz received an invitation to join a deer hunting party at Bing Crosby's Elko, Nevada, ranch, together with the crooner, his Las Vegas dentist and several business associates." Her father's name was Bing Crosby(singer and actor) and her mother's name is . 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. Bing and Dixie reconciled and he continued trying to help her overcome her alcohol issues. Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreamsthe Early Years, 1903-1940. ISBN 978-0316886451; Grudens . He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. In Crosby's performances, the presence of jazz phrasing, jazz rhythm and jazz improvisation varied depending on the piece of music, but those were elements that Crosby frequently used. NEW YORK -- Bing Crosby was an abusive father who beat his sons until he drew blood and whose progeny endured the pain by dreaming up ways of murdering him, his children recalled Sunday.