Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. entered the world on the 3rd of May 1903, in Tacoma, Washington. He grew up at a house his father built at 1112 North J Street before moving to Spokane three years later. The family home at 508 E. Sharp Avenue now stands on the campus of Gonzaga University as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career. Crosby was the fourth of seven children born to Harry Lillis Crosby and Catherine Helen Harrigan. His mother was second-generation Irish-American while his father descended from Scottish and English lines including Mayflower passenger William Brewster. In 1917 he took a summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium where he witnessed Al Jolson perform. Jolson held him spellbound with ad-libbing and parodies of Hawaiian songs that Crosby later described as electric. He graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University for three years without earning a degree. As a freshman he played on the university baseball team but did not qualify for road games. Teammates would sneak him onto trains and hide him so he could play home games. He brought his guitar along and entertained them in return.
In 1923 Crosby joined a new band composed of high-school students called the Musicaladers who performed at dances for local students and club-goers. The group appeared on Spokane radio station KHQ before disbanding after two years. On the 14th of August 1925 Bing appeared at the Clemmer Theater as part of The Clemmer Trio alongside Frank McBride and Lloyd Grinnell. They were shown being presented with special stage effects while Rinker played piano in the pit. By October 1925 Crosby and Rinker traveled to Los Angeles where Bailey introduced them to show business contacts. The Fanchon and Marco Time Agency hired them for thirteen weeks for the revue The Syncopation Idea starting at the Boulevard Theater. They earned seventy-five dollars a week each. After less than a year in show business they attached themselves to Paul Whiteman's organization. Hired for one hundred fifty dollars a week in 1926 they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Their first recording in October 1926 was I've Got the Girl but Columbia-issued records were inadvertently recorded at slow speed which increased pitch when played at 78 rpm. Success with Whiteman led to disaster when they reached New York until pianist Harry Barris joined them. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. In 1928 he had his first number one hit a jazz-influenced rendition of Ol' Man River.
The biggest hit song of Bing Crosby's career was Irving Berlin's White Christmas which he introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of that recording from the program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and loaned to CBS Sunday Morning for their the 25th of December 2011 program. The song appeared in films Holiday Inn released in 1942 and White Christmas released a decade later in 1954. His record hit the charts on the 3rd of October 1942 and rose to number one on October 31 where it stayed for eleven weeks. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time according to Guinness World Records. Crosby's recording has sold over fifty million copies worldwide. His recording became so popular that he was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers because the original 1942 master had become damaged due to frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977 after Crosby died the song was re-released and reached number five in the UK Singles Chart.
Crosby starred with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in six of seven Road to musical comedies between 1940 and 1962. Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in The Road to Hong Kong and limited to a lengthy cameo. When they appeared solo Crosby and Hope frequently made note of each other in comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage radio film and television including brief appearances in movies like Variety Girl released in 1947. In 1944 Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way and was nominated for its sequel The Bells of St. Mary's released in 1945. He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for playing an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl. 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. For fifteen years from 1934 through 1954 he remained among the top ten acts in box-office sales. For five consecutive years from 1944 to 1948 he topped the world as number one box office attraction.
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 shows. Live production was reinforced by musicians unions which wanted to ensure continued work for their members. During the Golden Age of Radio performers had to create shows live sometimes redoing programs for West Coast time zones. Crosby used his clout professionally and financially for innovations in audio including magnetic tape sound recording. In June 1947 Murdo MacKenzie from Bing Crosby Enterprises witnessed a presentation of German-made Magnetophon tape recorder developed by BASF and AEG in the 1930s. Crosby hired Jack Mullin to start recording his Philco Radio Time show on the 1st of August 1947 using fifty reels of I.G. Farben magnetic tape found at Bad Nauheim near Frankfurt. He invested fifty thousand dollars to Ampex to help expand production of their tape recorders. By 1948 the second season of Philco shows was recorded using Ampex Model 200A together with 3M Scotch 111 magnetic tape. The system made it possible to discard songs that didn't sound right compare different takes and splice together best versions.
In 1946 until his death Crosby owned a twenty-five percent share of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. Although passionate about the team he was too nervous to watch deciding Game 7 of the 1960 World Series choosing instead to go to Paris with Kathryn and listen to its radio broadcast. He arranged for Ampex another financial investment to record NBC telecast on kinescope. The game featured Bill Mazeroski's walk-off home run that won for Pittsburgh. Crosby apparently viewed complete film just once then stored it in wine cellar where it remained undisturbed until discovered December 2009. In 1935 he bought first racehorse and two years later became founding partner of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Operating from Del Mar Racetrack group included millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard who owned Seabiscuit. On the 12th of August 1938 Del Mar hosted twenty-five thousand dollar winner-take-all match race won by Seabiscuit over Binglin's horse Ligaroti. In 1943 Binglin's horse Don Bingo won Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont New York. He also competed as avid golfer reaching two handicap and winning William D. Richardson award in 1950.
Crosby married actress Dixie Lee in September 1930 until she died of ovarian cancer in 1952. They had four sons: Gary twins Dennis and Phillip and Lindsay. After wife died he had relationships with model Pat Sheehan actresses Inger Stevens and Grace Kelly before marrying Kathryn Grant in 1957. They had three children including Harry Lillis III Mary Frances and Nathaniel. Particularly during late 1930s and 1940s domestic life dominated by wife's excessive drinking. His efforts to cure her failed so tired of Dixie's drinking he asked for divorce January 1941. During 1940s he consistently had difficulties staying away from home while trying to be there for children. One confirmed extramarital affair occurred between 1945 and late 1940s with actress Joan Caulfield. In December 1945 or January 1946 Crosby approached Cardinal Francis Spellman about difficulties dealing with wife alcoholism love for Caulfield and plan to file divorce. Spellman told him Bing you are Father O'Malley under no circumstances can Father O'Malley get divorce. Ultimately Crosby chose end relationship stay with wife reconcile and continue helping overcome alcohol issues.
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Common questions
When and where was Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. born?
Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. entered the world on the 3rd of May 1903, in Tacoma, Washington.
What is the significance of Bing Crosby's White Christmas recording?
Bing Crosby's recording of White Christmas remains the bestselling single of all time with over fifty million copies sold worldwide. The song reached number one on the 31st of October 1942, and stayed there for eleven weeks before topping the charts again in 1945 and January 1947.
How did Bing Crosby influence the development of magnetic tape recording technology?
Crosby hired Jack Mullin to start recording his Philco Radio Time show on the 1st of August 1947 using fifty reels of I.G. Farben magnetic tape found at Bad Nauheim near Frankfurt. He invested fifty thousand dollars to Ampex to help expand production of their tape recorders by 1948.
Which films earned Bing Crosby Academy Award recognition during his career?
In 1944 Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way and was nominated for its sequel The Bells of St. Mary's released in 1945. He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for playing an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl.
What were Bing Crosby's major business investments outside of entertainment?
From 1946 until his death Crosby owned a twenty-five percent share of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. In 1935 he bought his first racehorse and two years later became founding partner of Del Mar Thoroughbred Club which operated from Del Mar Racetrack.