BING CROSBY BIOGRAPHY & FILMOGRAPHY:
Bing Crosby, born Harry Lillis Crosby to Harry and Catherine Crosby on May 3rd, 1903 in Tacoma, Washington. In 1906, he and his family relocated to Spokane. It was during his childhood that he received his nickname when the neighborhood kids began calling him, BingVille Bugle, after a lead character in a comic strip.
In 1920, Bing entered Gonzaga College to study law, but only 2 months shy of earning his degree, he dropped out after he bought a set of drums through the mail and joined a local music group called, The Musicaladers managed by, Al Rinker.
In 1925, the group split and Bing and Al decided to move to Los Angeles. Together, they joined the Vaudeville Circuit. During an evening performance in 1926, Paul Whiteman, an orchestra leader heard the two men performing and decided to hire them. They soon became Whitman's star attraction.
Things were going smoothly career wise for Bing, but not so much on his personal side of life. He had a erg to live on the wild side and was arrested for drunk driving during the filming of the movie, "The King of jazz". Whitman was disappointed in Bing, and after completion of the film, he let them go.
However, luckily, they found employment with a band at the Cocoanut Grove in Los Angeles with Gus Arnheim's. Arnheim saw the talent in Bing and convinced him to release a solo which he did in January 1931 with the hit, "I Surrender Dear". Again, his behavior began to affect his career. He would skip performances at the club and the manager not only docked his pay but was forced to convince the local musicians union to ban the trio.
Again, though, his amazing performances at the Grove caught the attention of a movie producer, Max Sennett and Bing was hired to star in six comedy shorts. Crosby became a star after getting his own program on the CBS radio station in New York City in 1932. Following this was Bing signing a contract with Paramount. He ended up appearing in over 50 films, his first being, "The Big Broadcast" (1932).
The mid 1940's was the highlight of his career, with Bing being the number one box office draw in the country. Crosby won an Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Father O'Malley in the film, "Going My Way" (1944). He followed with a Oscar win in 1948 for his role in, "Movies". He was nominated again for "The Bells of Saint Mary's" in (1945) and "The Country Girl" in (1954). His songwriting activities included part-authorship of “A Ghost of a Chance” and “Where the Blue of the Night” (his radio theme song). His recording of “White Christmas” became one of the most popular songs of the century, exceeded in record sales only by his “Silent Night.”
Bing was also a pioneer in the use of new methods of reproducing himself. In 1946 he wanted to shift from live performance to recorded transcriptions for his weekly radio show on NBC. The ASCAP union continued to reinforce the deeply rooted tradition of ensuring production of “live” radio shows for broadcast and NBC wasn’t willing to rock the boat, however, the new ABC network was. They agreed to pay Crosby $30,000 weekly to produce one recorded show per week. He would also get $40,000 from 400 independent stations for the rights to broadcast the 60-minute show. Crosby’s desire to change to recorded programming afforded him several advantages such as, enabling him to record at times more favorable to his schedule and he could be in total control of timing the songs and shows.
His other films include, "The Bells of St. Mary's" (1945), "White Christmas" (1954), and "The Country Girl" (1954).
By the early 1960's through the late 70's, Bing was suffering from various health complications. A non cancerous tumor was found on his lung and removed and he did record ten more albums after he recovered. Sadly, on October 14th, 1977 in Spain while playing a round of gold, he suffered a sudden and unexpected heart attack and passed away.
Crosby was married twice. He was married to actress/nightclub singer Dixie Lee from 1930 until her death from ovarian cancer in 1952. They had four sons (Gary, Dennis, Phillip and Lindsay). After Dixie's death, Bing married the much younger actress Kathryn Grant in 1957 and they had three children together, including Harry, Mary and Nathaniel.
During his career, Bing recorded more then 1700 songs and to this day his considered one of the most successful musical artists of all time. He sang on 4,000 radio shows from 1931 to 1962 and appeared in 100 movies. Bing appeared in 300 television programs from 1948 through 1977, ending with his 42nd consecutive Christmas special taped. His casual stage manner influenced two generations of pop singers and made him the most successful entertainer of his day.
Filmography
1976 It's Showtime
1974 That's Entertainment!
1966 Stagecoach
1964 Robin and the Seven Hoods
1962 The Road to Hong Kong
1960 The Road to Lebanon
1960 Pepe
1960 High Time
1960 Let's Make Love
1959 Say One For Me
1959 Alias Jesse James
1956 Anything Goes
1956 High Society
1954 White Christmas
1954 The Country Girl
1953 Little Boy Lost
1953 Road to Bali
1952 Just for You
1951 Here Comes the Groom
1950 Mr. Music
1950 Riding High
1949 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
1947 Welcome Stranger 7
1946 Blue Skies
1946 Road To Hollywood
1945 The Bells of St. Mary's
1944 Here Come the Waves
1942 Holiday Inn
1942 My Favorite Blonde
1941 The Birth of the Blues
1940 Rhythm on the River
1936 Rhythm on the Range
1934 We're Not Dressing
1933 Going Hollywood
1931 Reaching for the Moon
1930 The King of Jazz
