He got his name from a comic strip in The Spokesman-Review: Born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Bing moved with his family to . The book was I think an attempt of my dad to come to grips with some things in his life. "[109][110] Unlike Gary, Lindsay stated that he preferred to remember "all the good things I did with my dad and forget the times that were rough". [89] In 1978, he and Bob Hope were voted the Bob Jones Award, the highest honor given by the United States Golf Association in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship. Crosby was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone rather than use the deep, loud vaudeville style associated with Al Jolson. He never held a steady job, and his own attempts at an entertainment career, including appearances in such low-budget films as "The Glory Stompers," and "Free Grass," were dismal failures. I needed something to lift my spirits. [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]. His records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Crosby started the tape recorder revolution in America. However, while Crosby can be called a jazz singer, he was not strictly only a jazz singer as he modeled the style and techniques to a broad scope of music that he performed, ranging from Jazz to Country to even such material as operetta arias. That is also the year many film historians consider the beginning of the . In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 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. His social life was frantic. "[69], Presenter Mike Douglas commented in a 1975 interview, "During my days in the Navy in World War II, I remember walking the streets of Calcutta, India, on the coast; it was a lonely night, so far from my home and from my new wife, Gen. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, Eddie Lang, and Hoagy Carmichael. He partnered with Ed Craney, who owned the CBS radio affiliate KXLY (AM) and built a television studio west of Crosby's alma mater, Gonzaga University. 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. 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. Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. 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]. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", "I Surrender Dear", and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams". Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. [78] In 1948, the second season of Philco shows was recorded with the Ampex Model 200A and Scotch 111 tape from 3M. Crosby has three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Entertaining Catholics: Bing Crosby, Religion and Cultural Pluralism in 1940s America. 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby, his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting on September 2, 1931. The Crosby Family home. However, the document also clearly indicates that at their meetings a third person, on most instances Caulfield's mother, was present. He signed a contract with Jack Kapp's new record company, Decca, in late 1934. Dennis Jr.'s daughter and Bing's grandmother, Kate, had a love for music. Elderly twins of Bing Crosby fame found dead. 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. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career. Nine things you might not know about legendary crooner Bing Crosby. Mary Frances Crosby was born in Los Angeles, California on September 14, 1959. 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. He is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 1978. [81] NAFI Corporation and Crosby purchased television station KPTV in Portland, Oregon, for $4 million on September 1, 1959. If we didn't, we got punished. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, Merrie Olde Christmas, taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death. His mother was a second generation Irish-American. [1] He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. ISBN 978-0316886451; Grudens . In a memorandum dated January 16, 1959, it is said: MADRID, Spain, Oct. 14Bing Crosby, whose crooning voice and relaxed humor entertained millions around the world for half a century, died of a heart attack today after a round of golf outside. One each for radio, recording, and motion pictures. Crosby left the network and remained off the air for seven months, creating a legal battle with his sponsor Kraft that was settled out of court. Other than that, he fathered five kids - James Raymond, Erika Keller Crosby, and Donovan Crosby.. But as . They had four sons: Gary, twins Dennis and Phillip, and Lindsay. An Afternoon with Jack Mullin. Crosby was born on May 3, 1903,[16][17] in Tacoma, Washington, in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street. His first marriage, to Pat Sheehan, gave him his first three children and only sons: Patrick Anthony, Gregory, and Dennis Jr. Crosby had a keen interest in sports. Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. He became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. [82] In 1960, NAFI purchased KCOP from Crosby's group. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. Crosby has a number of grandchildren. Their first recording, in October 1926, was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78rpm. When they got a chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the Paul Whiteman organization. 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. Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American broadcasting (2nd ed.). A former Bay Area estate of the crooner Bing Crosby has come on the market for $13,750,000. He always believed he was born on May 2, 1904. Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. | Steve Hoffman Music Forums", "The Chronological Bing Crosby on Television", "Jack Kapp Bing Crosby Internet Museum", "On the Record: How did Bing Crosby get his nickname? It gave us a chance to first try a recording of the songs in the afternoon without an audience, then another one in front of a studio audience. Last Name. His first son Gary was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. 4 Beds. His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. He returned to broadcasting for the last 13 weeks of the 19451946 season. Joan's sister Betty Caulfield confirmed the romantic relationship between Joan and Bing Crosby. [3] However, Crosby's FBI files had already been published in 1992 and provide no indication that Crosby had ties to the Mafia except for one major, but accidental encounter in Chicago in 1929 which is not mentioned in the files, but is told by Crosby himself in his as-told-to autobiography Call Me Lucky. Bing Crosby's youngest son Nathaniel has penned a book about his famous dad. [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. (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. [125] He was 74 years old. [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 was a fan of thoroughbred horse racing and bought his first racehorse in 1935. Built in 1930, the English country manor sits in the upscale enclave of Hillsborough, CA, about 20 miles . They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on Armed Forces Radio Service during and after World War II. Ultimately, Crosby chose to end the relationship and to stay with his wife. According to Betty Caulfield, Spellman told Crosby: "Bing, you are Father O'Malley and under no circumstances can Father O'Malley get a divorce." ("Bingo" was a childhood nickname from one of his favorite comic strips.) 1. After a threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career. I don't think it had anything to do with Daddy Dearest. On November 8, 1937, after Lux Radio Theatre's adaptation of She Loves Me Not, Joan Blondell asked Crosby how he got his nickname: Crosby: "Well, I'll tell you, back in the knee-britches day, when I was a wee little tyke, a mere broth of a lad, as we say in Spokane, I used to totter around the streets, with a gun on each hip, my favorite after school pastime was a game known as "Cops and Robbers", I didn't care which side I was on, when a cop or robber came into view, I would haul out my trusty six-shooters, made of wood, and loudly exclaim bing! Crosby had arranged for Ampex, another of his financial investments, to record the NBC telecast on kinescope. The Crosby Estate was made available for this year's event through the courtesy of Kathryn Crosby, who has lived in the home since 1965, when she and Bing moved in with their family. Schofield, Mary Anne. bing! Along with the psychological hardships she most likely gave her children and Bing Crosby himself, it also had physical consequences for the couple's two twin sons, Dennis and Phillip Crosby. Although he was passionate about the team, he was too nervous to watch the deciding Game 7 of the 1960 World Series, choosing to go to Paris with Kathryn and listen to its radio broadcast. 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. American Masters: Rediscovering Bing Crosby (2015) | PBS, I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store), Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day), National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame, I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You, I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You, Chesterfield Cigarettes Presents Music that Satisfies, Bing Crosby on Armed Forces Radio in World War II, The Bing Crosby Show for General Electric, White Christmas (re-issue of album above), "MUSIC; Bing Crosby, The Unsung King of Song", "Sylvester Stallone Could Join Exclusive Oscar Company with 'Creed' Nomination", "Engineering and Technology History Wiki", "Crosby, Bing (19031977) and Mildred Bailey (19071951), Spokane", "Gonzaga History 19801989 Gonzaga University", "Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 19031925 Gonzaga University", "Bing Crosby ~ Timeline: Bing Crosby's Life and Career", "Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 19031925", "LibGuides: Manuscript Collections: Crosby", "She Loves Me Not, starring Bing Crosby and Nan Grey", "Harry Crosby Got Nickname from Cartoon; Started as 'Bingville' and Was Later Shortened to Bing", Early KHQ broadcast from the Davenport Hotel Spokane, "Bing Crosby- Bing! [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. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and Bob Hope. God I miss that voice. Thus the laugh-track was born. Sforza, John: "Swing It! 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. She is the only daughter of famed entertainer Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby and his second wife, retired singer-actress Kathryn Grant. Crosby's family includes his widow and his three children. In light of the court's ruling, it was unnecessary for the court to decide whether a right of publicity can be characterized as community property under California law. Tired of Dixie's drinking, he even asked her for a divorce in January 1941. [53] He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith before his first appearance on record. 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. 2,539 Sq. The family created an official website[131] on October 14, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Crosby's death. Crosby wrote or co-wrote lyrics to 22 songs. The man was listening to Bing Crosby sing, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive". Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby on 03 May 1903 in Tacoma, Washington. Both Dennis and Lindsay died due to suicide. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 37 (6): 490496, 498, 500, 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512; June 1989. (1990), Bob Hope wrote, "Dear old Bing, as we called him, the Economy-sized Sinatra. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies. 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. But his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. 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). He was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years, 1944 to 1948. June 27 Bing and Dixie welcome their first son, Gary Evan Crosby. Bing Crosby is the ultimate Christmas crooner and his defining hit 'White Christmas' is not only an anthem of the festive season, it's also the world's best-. [65], He received 23 gold and platinum records, according to the book Million Selling Records. His first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. 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. [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). Age, Biography and Wiki. 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. Back Bay Books. In all the files there is only one single reference to a person associated with the Mafia. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby . When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of the other in a comically insulting fashion. Crosby continued to finance the development of videotape. Crosby influenced the development of the post World War II recording industry. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. [51] In the framework of the novelty-singing style of the Rhythm Boys, he bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was rooted in jazz. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. Doors open at 8 a.m. [55][56], Crosby elaborated on an idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or the art of making a song's lyric ring true. However, he. 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. Their duet was released in 1982 as a single 45-rpm record and reached No. His Legendary Years How's the sound? To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become a kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. They honed their skills with Morrissey. Television production was mostly live television in its early years, but Crosby wanted the same ability to record that he had achieved in radio. And what a voice. Crosby admired Louis Armstrong for his musical ability, and the trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. In 1937, Crosby hosted the first 'Crosby Clambake', a pro-am tournament at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, the event's location prior to World War II. Jack Mullin: The man and his Machines. These were his last words. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944 and was nominated for the 1945 sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's. [86] From 1946 until his death, he owned a 25% share of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Stanley, Bob, Let's Do It: The Birth of Pop Music, Pegasus Books, 2022, pg 220, Grudens, 2002, p. 236. NTSC VHS tape, 1989 AES. [75][76][77] He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors. "Sail Away from Norway" (1977) Crosby wrote lyrics to go with a traditional song. 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. Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years 19031940. Crosby's family, which includes his widow and two of Harry's siblings, have been interested in a documentary series to tell Bing's story. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. [3]:9297[37] Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at the Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the Bing Crosby Theater). 'He got the first licking, and we got the second.'"[113]. The Crosby family lived at 10500 Camarillo Street in North Hollywood for more than five years. In the 1930s, his friend and former college classmate, Gonzaga head coach, Mike Pecarovich, appointed Crosby as an assistant football coach. [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. Dennis died in 1991 at the age of 56. In this exclusive clip, Bing Crosby's family reflects on his life as a performer and family man. The Crosbys lived here with much laughter, and many dreams, and a gracious ease. After graduating from high school at age 15, she . Amateur in 1981 at age 19, becoming the youngest winner in the history of that event at the time. . (AP) When they were young, Patricia and Joan Miller sang and danced for Bing Crosby, troops and their friends. They moved in when Gary was only seven, the twins were four . He made a fortune from the Minute Maid Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder.[73]. 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. Crosby has been associated with the Christmas season since Irving Berlin's musical film Holiday Inn, in which he starred and famously sang "White Christmas". Her father's name was Bing Crosby(singer and actor) and her mother's name is . Nathaniel Crosby, Crosby's younger son from his second marriage, is a former high-level golfer who won the U.S. At Reina Victoria Hospital he was administered the last rites of the Catholic Church and was pronounced dead. [109] "Lindsay Crosby supported his brother (Gary) at the time of its publication but had a tempered view of its revelations.