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Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby (1942) with golf balls for the Scrap Rubber Drive during World War II.
Background information
Birth name	Harry Lillis Crosby
Born	May 3, 1903(1903-05-03) Tacoma, Washington, USA
Died	October 14, 1977 (aged 74) Madrid, Spain
Genre(s)	Jazz, Pop standards, Dixieland
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actor
Instrument(s)	Vocalist
Years active	1926–1977
Label(s)	Brunswick, Decca, Reprise, RCA Victor, Verve, United Artists
Associated acts	Dixie Lee
Website	http://www.bingcrosby.com

Harry Lillis “Bing” Crosby (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor whose career lasted from 1926 until his death in 1977. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Bing Crosby, Scrap Rubber Drive, ca. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Location of Tacoma in Pierce County and Washington State Coordinates: , Country State County Pierce Government  - Mayor Bill Baarsma (D) Area  - City  62. ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... The term pop standards refers to an American songwriting, arranging, and singing style that is widely considered as the high point of Western vocal popular music. ... Dixieland music is a style of jazz which developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century, and was spread to Chicago and New York City by New Orleans bands in the 1910s. ... For other uses, see Singer (disambiguation). ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ... A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making music. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... The Brunswick Records logo Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... Reprise Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group, operated through Warner Bros. ... This article is about the former RCA Corporation. ... Verve Records is an American Jazz record label, founded by Norman Granz in 1956, which absorbed the catalogues of his earlier labels: Norgran Records and Clef Records (founded 1953). ... This article is about the film studio. ... Was one of Bing Crosbys wives. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and mostly distributed commercially. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke whilst waiting between takes during location filming. ...

One of the first multimedia stars, from 1934 to 1954 Bing Crosby held a nearly unrivaled command of record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses.^[1] He is cited among the most popular musical acts in history and is currently the most electronically recorded human voice in history.^[2] Crosby is also credited as being the major inspiration for most of the male singers of the era that followed him, including Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and Dean Martin.^{[citation needed]} Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, polls declared him the "most admired man alive," ahead of Jackie Robinson and the pope.^[1][3] Also during 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.^[3] Clarinetist Artie Shaw described Crosby as "the first hip white person born in the United States."^[4] The human voice consists of sound made by a human using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying and screaming. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... Pierino Ronald Como (May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American crooner. ... Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti, June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an Italian-American singer, film actor, and comedian. ... Yank, the Army Weekly was a weekly magazine published by the United States military during World War II. Founded and edited by Major Hartzell Spence (1908-2001), the magazine was written by enlisted rank soldiers only and was made available to the soldiers, sailors and airmen serving overseas. ... GI or G.I. is a term describing a member of the US armed forces or an item of their equipment. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Jack Roosevelt Jackie Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) became the first African-American major league baseball player of the modern era in 1947. ... Pius XIIs signature Pope Pius XII (Latin: ), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (March 2, 1876 – October 9, 1958), reigned as the 260th pope, the human head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City, from March 2, 1939 until his death. ... Artie Shaw (May 23, 1910, New York, New York – December 30, 2004, Thousand Oaks, California) is considered to be one of the best jazz musicians of his time. ... Hip is a slang term, an adjective meaning fashionably current, referring to someone who is conversant with or deeply involved in a particular trend or subject. ...

Crosby exerted an important influence on the development of the postwar recording industry. In 1947, he invested US$50,000 in the Ampex company, which developed the world's first commercial reel-to-reel tape recorder, and Crosby became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings on magnetic tape. He gave one of the first Ampex Model 200 recorders to his friend, musician Les Paul, which led directly to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. Along with Frank Sinatra, he was one of the principal backers behind the famous United Western Recorders studio complex in Los Angeles. Ampex is based in Redwood City, California. ... A Sony TC-630 reel-to-reel recorder, once a common household object. ... This article is about the musician. ... The Tascam 85 16B analogue tape recorder can record 16 tracks of audio on 1 inch (2. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... United Western Recorders was a renowned recording studio complex in Hollywood, California, which became one of the most successful independent recording studios in the world in the late 1950s and 1960s. ...

In 1962, Crosby was the first person to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and...

Early life

Harry Lillis Crosby was born in Tacoma, Washington, on May 3, 1903, in a house his father built (1112 North J Street).^[5] His family moved to Spokane, Washington in 1906 to find work. Nickname: Location of Tacoma in Pierce County and Washington State Coordinates: , Country State County Pierce Government  - Mayor Bill Baarsma (D) Area  - City  62. ... is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Location of Spokane in Spokane County and Washington Coordinates: , Country United States State Washington County Spokane Government  - Mayor Dennis P. Hession Area  - City  58. ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

He was the fourth of seven children: five boys, Larry (1895–1975), Everett (1896–1966), Ted (1900–1973), Harry 'Bing' (1903–1977), and Bob (1913–1993); and two girls, Catherine (1905–1988) and Mary Rose (1907–1990). His parents were English-American Harry Lincoln Crosby (1870–1950), a bookkeeper, and Irish-American Catherine Helen (affectionately known as Kate) Harrigan (1873–1964), a daughter of a builder from County Mayo in Ireland. His paternal ancestors, Thomas Prence and Patience Brewster, were born in England and immigrated to the U.S. in the 17th century; Brewster's family came over on the Mayflower. Larry Crosby (1895-7 February 1975) was the long-time publicity director of the singer Bing Crosby. ... Bob Crosby (August 23, 1913 - March 9, 1993) was an American bandleader and singer. ... “UK” redirects here. ... Irish Americans (Irish: Gael-Mheiriceánach) are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in the west European island of Ireland. ... Statistics Province: Connacht County Town: Castlebar Code: MO Area: 5,397 km² Population (2006) 123,648 Website: www. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... For other uses, see Mayflower (disambiguation). ...

In 1910, Crosby was forever renamed. The six-year-old Harry Lillis discovered a full-page feature in the Sunday edition of the Spokesman-Review, "The Bingville Bugle." The "Bugle," written by humorist Newton Newkirk, was a parody of a hillbilly newsletter complete with gossipy tidbits, minstrel quips, creative spelling, and mock ads. A neighbor, 15-year-old Valentine Hobart, shared Crosby's enthusiasm for "The Bugle," and noting Crosby's laugh, took a liking to him and called him "Bingo from Bingville." The last vowel was dropped and the name shortened to "Bing," which stuck. Year 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Spokesman-Review is a daily newspaper based in Spokane, Washington and is the citys only daily publication. ...

In 1917, Crosby tooks a summer job as property boy at Spokane's "Auditorium," where he witnessed some of the finest acts of the day, including Al Jolson, who held Crosby spellbound with his ad-libbing and spoofs of Hawaiian songs. Crosby would later say, "To me, he was the greatest entertainer who ever lived."^{[citation needed]} 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Al Jolson (May 26, 1886–October 23, 1950) was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian and actor of Jewish heritage whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. ...

In the fall of 1920, Bing enrolled in the Jesuit-run Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, with the intention of becoming a lawyer. He maintained a B+ average.^{[citation needed]} Bing was a prankster. School lore says he once pushed a piano off the top of a dormitory, a story that is apocryphal, since he left school the year before the dormitory was built. Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Seal of the Society of Jesus. ... Gonzaga University is a private Catholic university located in Spokane, Washington. ... Nickname: Location of Spokane in Spokane County and Washington Coordinates: , Country United States State Washington County Spokane Government  - Mayor Dennis P. Hession Area  - City  58. ...

While at Gonzaga, he sent away for a set of mail-order drums. After much practice, he soon became good enough and was invited to join a local band made up of mostly local high school kids called the "Musicaladers," managed by Al Rinker. He made so much money doing this that he decided to drop out of school during his final year to pursue a career in show business. Al Rinker (born December 20, 1907 - died June 11, 1982) began performing as a partner with Bing Crosby in 1925 and the two singers formed the Rhythm Boys, which singer/songwriter/pianist Harry Barris later joined. ...

Popular success

Music

In 1926, while singing at Los Angeles Metropolitan Theatre, Crosby and his vocal duo partner Al Rinker caught the eye of Paul Whiteman, arguably the most famous bandleader at the time. Hired for $150 a week, they made their debut on December 6, 1926 at the Tivoli Theatre (Chicago). Their first recording, "I've Got The Girl," with Don Clark's Orchestra, was issued by Columbia and did them no vocal favors, as it sounded like they were singing in a key much too high for them. It was later revealed that the 78rpm was recorded at a speed slower than it should have been, which increased the pitch when played at 78rpm. Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... 1928 Columbia Records label with caricature of Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was a popular american orchestral leader. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Tivoli Theatre was a movie palace in the Woodlawn neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. ...

As popular as the Crosby and Rinker duo was, Whiteman added another member to the group, pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris. Whiteman dubbed them The Rhythm Boys, and they joined the Whiteman vocal team, working and recording with musicians Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, Tommy Dorsey, Jimmy Dorsey, and Eddie Lang and singers Mildred Bailey and Hoagy Carmichael. Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was a American popular singer. ... The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. ... Bix Beiderbecke (March 10, 1903 – August 6, 1931) was a notable jazz cornet player. ... Weldon Leo Jack Teagarden Trombonist (1905-1964) Weldon Leo Jack Teagarden (August 20, 1905 in Vernon, Texas - January 15, 1964) was an influential jazz trombonist and vocalist. ... Tommy Dorsey, in a publicity shot for The Big Apple Tommy Dorsey (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist and bandleader in the Big Band era. ... James Jimmy Dorsey (February 29, 1904 - June 12, 1957) was a prominent jazz clarinetist, saxophonist and big band leader. ... Eddie Lang (October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933) was a jazz guitarist, considered by many the finest of his era. ... Mildred Bailey (February 27, 1907 – December 12, 1951) was a popular American singer during the 1930s. ... Hoagland Howard Hoagy Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. ...

Crosby soon became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys, not to mention Whiteman's band, and in 1928 had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River." However, his repeated youthful peccadilloes and growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman forced him, along with the Rhythm Boys, to leave the band and join the Gus Arnheim Orchestra. After signing with Brunswick Records and recording under Jack Kapp, the Rhythm Boys were increasingly pushed to the background as the vocal emphasis focused on Bing. Fellow member of The Rhythm Boys Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby’s subsequent hits including "At Your Command," "I Surrender, Dear," and "Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams"; however, shortly after this, the members of the band had a falling out and split, setting the stage for Crosby's solo career. The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. ... Ol Man River (music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II) is a song in the 1927 musical Show Boat that tells the story of African American hardship and struggles of the time. ... The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. ... Gus Arnheim (born September 4, 1897 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died January 1955 in Los Angeles, California) was an early popular band leader. ... The Brunswick Records logo Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. ... Jack Kapp is the founder of Kapp Records based in New York. ... The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. ... The Rhythm Boys were a male singing trio consisting of Bing Crosby, Harry Barris and Al Rinker. ... Harry Barris (November 24, 1905 – December 13, 1962) was a American popular singer. ... Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams is a popular song. ...

As the 1930s unfolded, it became clear that Bing was the number one man, vocally speaking. Ten of the top 50 songs for 1931 either featured Bing solo or with others. Apart from the short-lived "Battle of the Baritones" with Russ Columbo, "Bing Was King," signing long-term deals with Jack Kapp's new record company Decca and starring in his first full-length features, 1932's The Big Broadcast, the first of 55 such films in which he received top billing. He appeared in a total of 79 pictures. Ruggiero Eugenio di Rodolpho Colombo (January 14, 1908–September 1, 1934), better known by the name Russ Columbo, was an American singer, violinist and actor, most famous for his signature tune, Some Call It Madness, But I Call It Love, and the legend surrounding his early death. ... Jack Kapp is the founder of Kapp Records based in New York. ... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... The Big Broadcast is a 1932 film directed by Frank Tuttle, and is the first in the series of Big Broadcast movies. ...

Around this time, Bing made his solo debut on radio, co-starring with The Carl Fenton Orchestra on a popular CBS radio show and by 1936, replacing his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as the host of NBC's Kraft Music Hall, a weekly radio program where he would remain for the next ten years. Karl Fenton (1889-1980) born as Walter G. Haenschen, was an American bandleader, composer and radio musician. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... 1928 Columbia Records label with caricature of Paul Whiteman Paul Whiteman (March 28, 1890 – December 29, 1967) was a popular american orchestral leader. ... This article is about the television network. ...

He was thus able to take popular singing beyond the kind of "belting" associated with a performer like Ali Schuette, who had to reach the back seats in New York theatres without the aid of the microphone. With Crosby, as Henry Pleasants noted in The Great American Popular Singers, something new had entered American music, something that might be called "singing in American," with conversational ease. The oddity of this new sound led to the epithet "crooner." Belting (or vocal belting) refers to a specific technique of singing by which a singer uses a high-intensity sound to convey heightened emotional states. ... Henry Pleasants (born 1910-died 2000) was born on May 12, 1910, in Wayne, Pennsylvania, and studied voice, piano and composition at the Curtis Institute of Music, from which he received an honorary doctorate in 1977. ... Left To Right, Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Dean Martin Crooner is an epithet given to a male singer of a certain style of popular songs, dubbed pop standards. ...

Crosby gave great emphasis to live appearances before American troops fighting in the European Theater. He also learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and would read them in propaganda broadcasts intended for the German forces. The nickname "der Bingle" for him was understood to have become current among German listeners, and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of WWII, Crosby topped the list as the person who did the most for G.I. morale, beating out President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and Bob Hope. The European Theater of Operations, or ETO, was the term used by the United States in World War II to refer to most United States military activity in Europe north of the Mediterranean coast. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Dwight David Ike Eisenhower (October 14, 1890–March 28, 1969), American soldier and politician, was the 34th President of the United States (1953–1961) and supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II, with the rank of General of the Army. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ...

Crosby's biggest musical hit was his recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas," which he introduced through a 1942 Christmas-season radio broadcast and the movie Holiday Inn. Bing's recording hit the charts on 3 October 1942, and rose to #1 on 31 October, where it stayed for 11 weeks. In the following years, Bing's recording hit the Top 30 pop charts another 16 times, even topping the charts again in 1945 and January 1947. The song remains Bing's best-selling recording, and the best-selling single and best-selling song of all time. In 1998, after a long absence, his 1947 version hit the charts in Britain, and as of 2006 remains the North American holiday-season standard. According to Guinness World Records, Bing Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has "sold over 100 million copies around the world, with at least 50 million sales as singles."^[6] Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ... Holiday Inn is a 1942 film starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire, which featured the music of Irving Berlin. ... is the 276th day of the year (277th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 304th day of the year (305th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Guinness World Records 2008 edition. ...

Motion pictures

According to ticket sales, Bing Crosby is, at 1,077,900,000 tickets sold, the third most popular actor of all-time behind Clark Gable and John Wayne. ^[7] Crosby is also, according to Quigley Publishing Company's International Motion Picture Almanac, tied for second on the "All Time Number One Stars List" with three other actors: Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, and Burt Reynolds.^[8] Crosby's most popular film, White Christmas, grossed $30 million in 1954, which, when adjusted for inflation, equals $233 million in 2004 dollars. ^[9] Crosby also won an Academy Award as Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944 and was critically acclaimed for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl. He also partnered with Bob Hope in seven popular Road to comedies between 1940 and 1962. is the 123rd day of the year (124th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1903 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Nickname: Location of Tacoma in Pierce County and Washington State Coordinates: , Country State County Pierce Government  - Mayor Bill Baarsma (D) Area  - City  62. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ... This article is about the Spanish capital. ... Was one of Bing Crosbys wives. ... Kathryn Crosby (1933 - ) born as Olive Kathryn Grandstaff is an American actress and singer who performed her most memorable roles under the name Kathryn Grant. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... Going My Way, a 1944 Academy Award winning film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby. ... The Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are American awards for motion pictures and television programs, given out each year during a formal dinner. ... The Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement in motion pictures has been given annually since 1952 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Golden Globe Award ceremonies in Hollywood, California. ... An incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actor : // 1970: George C. Scott for his role in Patton 1971: Gene Hackman for his role in The French Connection 1972: Peter OToole for his roles in Man of La Mancha... The Country Girl is a 1915 silent film, starring Florence La Badie a 1954 film, which tells the story of a has-been singer/actor who is given one last chance to star in a musical, only to have his alcoholism hinder his chances. ... William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901 – November 16, 1960) was an Academy Award-winning American film actor. ... For other persons named John Wayne, see John Wayne (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Clint Eastwood (disambiguation). ... Thomas Jeffrey Tom Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is a two-time Academy Award-, two-time Emmy-, four-time Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American film actor, director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. ... Burton Leon Reynolds, Jr. ... White Christmas is a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that featured the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular White Christmas. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... The Academy Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Going My Way, a 1944 Academy Award winning film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby. ... The 1954 movie was adapted by George Seaton from the play. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ...

Bing Crosby at the Academy Awards in 1945 won the Best Actor Oscar for Going My Way. Also shown is Ingrid Bergman with the Best Actress Oscar for Gaslight.

By the late 1950s, Crosby's popularity had peaked, and the adolescence of the baby boom generation began to affect record sales to younger customers. In 1960, Crosby starred in High Time, a collegiate comedy with Fabian and Tuesday Weld that foretold the emerging gap between older Crosby fans and a new generation of films and music. Image File history File links Bing Crosby with Ingrid Bergman and their Oscars. ... Image File history File links Bing Crosby with Ingrid Bergman and their Oscars. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Going My Way, a 1944 Academy Award winning film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby. ...   (pronounced in Swedish, but usually IPA: in English) (August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982) was a three-time Academy Award, two-time Emmy Award, one-time BAFTA, honorary César Award, four-time Golden Globe, two-time David di Donatello, two-time Silver Ribbon, one-time NSFC, two-time NBR... Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. ... Gaslight is a 1944 film, considered film noir, directed by George Cukor starring Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. ... High Time is a 1960 collegiate comedic film, directed by Blake Edwards and starring Bing Crosby. ...

Style

Bing Crosby perfected an idea that Al Jolson had hinted at, namely that the popular performer didn't have to limit himself to a mere series of shticks but could be a genuine artist — in this case, a musician. Before Crosby, art was art and pop was pop; opera singers worried about staying in tune and reaching the upper balcony, vaudevillians concerned themselves with their costumes and facial expressions. Al Jolson (May 26, 1886–October 23, 1950) was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian and actor of Jewish heritage whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. ... For the popular-music magazine, see Musician (magazine). ... For other uses, see Opera (disambiguation). ... Vaudeville is a style of multi-act theatre which flourished in North America from the 1880s through the 1920s. ... The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. ... A facial expression results from one or more motions or positions of the muscles of the face. ...

Crosby rendered the difference between the two irrelevant. Where earlier recording artists had displayed strictly one-dimensional attitudes, Crosby not only perfected the fully rounded persona, but brought with it the technical ability of a true concert artist. Crosby projected with a majestic sense of intonation that afforded Tin Pan Alley the musical stature of European classics and a jazz influenced time that made him both the dominant voice of both the Jazz age and the Swing era. A musician is a person who plays or composes music. ... Persona literally means mask , although it does not usually refer to a literal mask but to the social masks all humans supposedly wear. ... Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. ... For other uses, see Jazz (disambiguation). ... Swing music, also known as swing jazz, is a form of jazz music that developed during the 1920s and had solidified as a distinctive style by 1935 in the United States. ...

Crosby also elaborated on a further idea of Al Jolson's, one that Frank Sinatra would ultimately extend further: phrasing, or more specifically, the art of making a song's lyric ring true. "I used to tell (Sinatra) over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too." Al Jolson (May 26, 1886–October 23, 1950) was a highly acclaimed American singer, comedian and actor of Jewish heritage whose career lasted from 1911 until his death in 1950. ... Sinatra redirects here. ... Look up lyrics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Tommy Dorsey, in a publicity shot for The Big Apple Tommy Dorsey (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist and bandleader in the Big Band era. ... Words has several meanings: words in Unix. ...

The greatest trick of Crosby’s virtuosity was covering it up. It is often said that Crosby made his singing and acting "look easy," or as if it were no work at all: he simply was the character he portrayed, and his singing, being a direct extension of conversation, came just as naturally to him as talking, or even breathing. Journalist Donald Freeman said of Crosby, "There is only one Bing Crosby and — the time has come now to face the issue squarely — he happens to be that unique, awesome creature, an artist." For other uses, see Journalist (disambiguation). ...

Vocal characteristics

Bing Crosby is usually considered to be among the most talented singers of his time. Crosby could, as musicologist J.T.H. Mize's asserts, "melt a tone away, scoop it flat and sliding up to the eventual pitch as a glissando, sometimes sting a note right on the button, and take diphthongs for long musical rides." J.T.H. Mize also inventoried the Crosby arsenal of vocal effects, including "interpolating pianissimo whistling variations, sometimes arpeggic, at other times trilling." While vocal critic Henry Pleasants states that "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. 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. 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." Mel Tormé concurred with Henry Pleasants stating that "(Crosby's) low notes could make your bass woofers beg for mercy." Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed The Velvet Fog, is best known as one of the great male jazz singers. ...

Career statistics

Bing Crosby's sales and chart statistics place him among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Although the Billboard charts operated under a different methodology for the bulk of Crosby's career, his numbers remain astonishing: 1,700 recordings, 383 of those in the top 30, and of those, 41 hit #1. Crosby had separate charting singles in every calendar year between 1931 and 1954; the annual re-release of White Christmas extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Billboard's statistician Joel Whitburn determined Crosby to be America's most successful act of the 1930s, and again in the 1940s. On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade and on July 20, 1940 the first Music Popularity Chart was calculated. ... White Christmas is a 1954 movie starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye that featured the songs of Irving Berlin, including the titular White Christmas. ... Joel Carver Whitburn (born November 29, 1939 in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) is an American author and music historian. ...

For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943-1954), Crosby was among the top 10 in box office draw, and for five of those years (1944-49) he was the largest in the world. 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 an acting Oscar for Going My Way (1944). Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... Although the song Swinging on a Star is often associated with Frank Sinatra, its start came with Bing Crosby. ... Going My Way, a 1944 Academy Award winning film directed by Leo McCarey and starring Bing Crosby. ...

He also collected 23 gold and platinum records in his career, according to Joseph Murrells, author of the book, "Million Selling Records." It should be noted that the Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958, by which point Crosby's record sales were barely a blip, so gold records prior to that year were awarded by an artist's record company. Universal Music, current owner of Crosby's Decca catalog, has never requested RIAA certification for any of his hit singles.

In 1962, Crosby became the first recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been inducted into the respective halls of fame for both radio and popular music. His overall music sales are estimated at between 500,000,000 (five hundred million) to 900,000,000 (nine hundred million). Bing is a member of that exclusive club of the biggest record sellers that include Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, and The Beatles. The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to performers who, during their lifetimes, have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording [1]. This award is distinct from the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, which honors specific recordings rather than individuals, and... Sinatra redirects here. ... Elvis redirects here. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ...

In 2007, Bing Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Entrepreneurship

Mass media

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Bing Crosby's desire to pre-record his radio shows, combined with a dissatisfaction with the available lacquer/aluminum recording disks, was a significant factor in the development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's adoption of it.^[10][11][12] He used his power to innovate new methods of reproducing audio of himself. In 1946, he wanted to shift from live performance to recorded transcriptions for his weekly radio show on NBC sponsored by Kraft. But NBC and competitor CBS refused to allow recorded radio programs (except for advertisements). Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... Magnetic tape has been used for sound recording for more than 75 years. ... This article is about the television network. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ...

The live production of radio shows was a deeply-established tradition reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP. The Mutual network, on the other hand, had pre-recorded some of its programs as early as the Summer 1938 run of The Shadow with Orson Welles. The new ABC network, formed out of the sale of the old NBC Blue network in 1943 to Edward Noble, the "Lifesaver King," was willing to join Mutual in breaking the tradition. It would pay Crosby $30,000 per week to produce a recorded show every Wednesday sponsored by Philco. He would also get $40,000 from 400 independent stations for the rights to broadcast the 60-minute show that was sent to them every Monday on three 16-inch lacquer/aluminum discs that played 10 minutes per side at 33⅓ rpm. The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) is an organization known as a collecting society that protects intellectual property, ensuring that music which is broadcast, commercially recorded, or otherwise used for profit, pays a fee to compensate the creators of that music. ... The Mutual Broadcasting System (MBS) was an American radio network, in operation from 1934 to 1999. ... This article is about the fictional character. ... George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an Academy Award-winning American director, writer, actor and producer for film, stage, radio and television. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American television network. ... This article is about the television network. ... A Philco 90 cathedral style radio from 1931. ... An aluminum disc (or aluminum disk) is a disc (disk) made out of aluminum and is used as a transcription disc in magnetic recording media, specifically early radio recordings. ...

Crosby wanted to change to recorded production for several reasons. The legend that has been most often told is that it would give him more time for his golf game. And he did record his first Philco program in August 1947 so he could enter the Jasper National Park Invitational Golf Tournament in September when the new radio season was to start. But golf was not the most important reason. Jasper National Park is the largest national park in the Canadian Rockies, spanning 10,878 km² (4200 mi²). It is located in the province of Alberta, to the north of Banff National Park and west of the city of Edmonton. ...

Crosby was always an early riser and hard worker. He sought better quality through recording, not more spare time. He could eliminate mistakes and control the timing of performances. Because his own Bing Crosby Enterprises produced the show, he could purchase the latest and best sound equipment and arrange the microphones his way; mic placement had long been a hotly-debated issue in every recording studio since the beginning of the electrical era. No longer would he have to wear the hated toupee on his head previously required by CBS and NBC for his live audience shows (Bing preferred a hat). He could also record short promotions for his latest investment, the world's first frozen orange juice to be sold under the brand name Minute Maid. A microphone with a cord A microphone, sometimes called a mic (pronounced mike), is a device that converts sound into an electrical signal. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... This article is about the television network. ... Minute Maid is a product line of beverages, usually associated with orange juice, but now extends to soft drinks of many kinds, including Hi-C. Minute Maid was the first company to market orange juice concentrate, allowing it to be distributed nationwide and served year-round. ...

The transcription method had problems, however. The 16-inch lacquer/aluminum program discs were made from master discs running at 78 rpm and held only four minutes per side. This presented editing and timing problems that often caused gaps or glitches in the flow of the 60-minute program. Also, the acetate surface coating of the aluminum discs was little better than the wax that Edison had used at the turn of the century, with the same limited dynamic range and frequency response. Manufacturers put records inside protective and decorative cardboard jackets and an inner paper sleeve to protect the grooves from dust and scratches. ...

In June 1947, Murdo MacKenzie of Bing Crosby Enterprises saw a demonstration of the German Magnetophon that Jack Mullin had brought back from Radio Frankfurt with 50 reels of tape at the end of the war. This machine was one of the magnetic tape recorders that BASF and AEG had built in Germany starting in 1935. The ½-inch ferric-coated tape could record 20 minutes per reel of high-quality sound. Alexander M. Poniatoff ordered his Ampex company (founded in 1944 from his initials A.M.P. plus the starting letters of "excellence") to manufacture an improved version of the Magnetophone. Murdo Mackenzie (1850-1939) was a Scot who was manager of The Matador Land and Cattle Co. ... Magnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer. ... John T. Jack Mullin (1913–1999) was an American pioneer in the field of electronic audio and video recording using magnetic tape. ... Ampex is based in Redwood City, California. ...

Bing Crosby hired Mullin and his German machine to start recording his Philco show in August 1947 with the same 50 reels of 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. The crucial advantage was editing. As Bing 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. 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. We could also take out the songs that didn't sound good. 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. We'd dub the one that came off best into the final transcription. 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. 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." Bad Nauheim is a town in the Wetteraukreis district of Hesse state of Germany. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ...

Mullin's 1976 memoir of these early days of experimental recording agrees with Bing's account: "In the evening, Crosby did the whole show before an audience. If he muffed a song then, the audience loved it — thought it was very funny — but we would have to take out the show version and put in one of the rehearsal takes. Sometimes, if Crosby was having fun with a song and not really working at it, we had to make it up out of two or three parts. This ad lib way of working is commonplace in the recording studios today, but it was all new to us." Ad libitum is Latin for at ones pleasure, often shortened to Ad lib. ...

Crosby invested US$50,000 in Ampex to produce more machines. In 1948, the second season of Philco shows was taped with the new Ampex Model 200 tape recorder (introduced in April) using the new Scotch 111 tape from the Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M) company. Mullin explained that new techniques were 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. Today they wouldn't seem very off-color, but things were different on radio then. They got enormous laughs, which just went on and on. We couldn't use the jokes, but Bill asked us to save the laughs. A couple of weeks later he had a show that wasn't very funny, and he insisted that we put in the salvaged laughs. Thus the laugh-track was born." Crosby had launched the tape recorder revolution in America. In his 1950 film Mr. Music, Bing Crosby can be seen singing into one of the new Ampex tape recorders that reproduced his voice better than anything else. Also quick to adopt tape recording was his friend Bob Hope, who would make the famous "Road to..." films with Bing and Dorothy Lamour. Ampex is based in Redwood City, California. ... 3M Company (NYSE: MMM), formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company until 2002, is an American corporation with a worldwide presence. ... Bob Hope, KBE (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003), born Leslie Townes Hope, was an English-Born American entertainer who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, on radio and television, in movies, and in performing tours for U.S. Military personnel, well known for his good natured humor and career longevity. ... Road to. ... Dorothy Lamour (December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American motion picture actress. ...

Mullin continued to work for Crosby to develop a videotape recorder. Television production was mostly live in its early years, but Crosby wanted the same ability to record that he had achieved in radio. The Fireside Theater, sponsored by Procter and Gamble, was his first television production for the 1950 season. Mullin had not yet succeeded with videotape, so Crosby filmed the series of 26-minute shows at the Hal Roach Studios. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Bottom view of VHS videotape cassette with magnetic tape exposed Videotape is a means of recording images and sound onto magnetic tape as opposed to movie film. ...

Crosby did not remain a television producer but continued to finance the development of videotape. Mullin would demonstrate a blurry picture on December 30, 1952, but he was not able to solve the problem of high tape speed. It was the Ampex team led by Charles Ginsburg that made the first videotape recorder. Rather than speeding tape across fixed heads at 100 ips, Ginsburg used rotating heads to record at a slant on tape moving at only 15 ips. The quadruplex scan model VR-1000 was demonstrated at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Chicago on April 14, 1956, and was an immediate success. Ampex made $4 million in sales during the NAB convention. Ampex developed a color videotape system in 1958 and recorded the spirited debate (dubbed the "Kitchen Debate") between Khrushchev and Nixon on a demonstration model at the Moscow trade Fair September 25, 1959. By this time, Crosby had sold his videotape interests to the 3M company and no longer played the role of tape recorder pioneer. Yet his contribution had been crucial. He had opened the door to Mullin's machine in 1948 and financed the early years of the Ampex company. The rapid spread of the tape recorder revolution was in no small measure caused by Crosby's efforts. is the 364th day of the year (365th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1952 (MCMLII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 104th day of the year (105th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A car from 1956 Year 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The decade following the end of World War II witnessed what has been called the "revolution in sound." The Decca Company introduced FFRR 78 rpm records (Full Frequency Range Recording) that had the finest frequency response (80-15,000 cps) of any recording process before magnetic tape recording. Decca's method of reducing the size of the groove and designing a delicate elliptical stylus to track on the sides of the groove would be the same innovation of the new microgroove process introduced by Columbia in 1948 on the new 33⅓ rpm LP vinyl record. Crosby's sponsor Philco would join Columbia in selling a new $29.95 record player with jeweled stylus (not steel) tracking at only 10 grams (not 200) for these LPs. No longer would records wear out after 75 plays. Crosby's Ampex Company would be joined by Magnecord, Webcor, Revere, and Fairchild in selling one million tape recorders to a rapidly growing consumer audio component market by 1953. The 1949 Magnecord tape recorder had stereo capability eight years before any vinyl record had it. These components soon began to feature the transistor invented by Bell Labs in 1948. Crosby's 1942 film Holiday Inn (where he first sang his most famous song) would be remade in 1954 as White Christmas, the first film to use Paramount's new VistaVision wide-screen film process with multi-channel magnetic sound.

Thoroughbred horse racing

Bing Crosby was a fan of Thoroughbred horse racing and bought his first racehorse in 1935. In 1937, he became a founding partner and member of the Board of Directors of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club that built and operated the Del Mar Racetrack at Del Mar, California. One of Crosby's closest friends was Lindsay Howard, for whom he named his son Lindsay and from whom he would purchase his 40-room Hillsborough estate in 1965. Lindsay Howard was the son of millionaire businessman Charles S. Howard, who owned a successful racing stable that included Seabiscuit. Charles S. Howard would join Crosby as a founding partner and director of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. Thoroughbred horse racing in the United Kingdom is governed by the Horseracing Regulatory Authority (the HRA) which makes and enforces the rules, issues licences or permits to trainers and jockeys, and runs the races through their race course officials. ... Chairman of the Board redirects here. ... Aerial view of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack looking northwest along the Pacific Ocean coastline. ... Del Mar is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. ... Lindsay Harry Crosby (5 January 1938-11 December 1989) was an American actor and singer. ... Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. ... Charles Stewart Howard (1877 – 1950) was an American businessman. ... For other uses, see Seabiscuit (disambiguation). ...

Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed Binglin Stable to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in Moorpark in Ventura County, California. They also established the Binglin stock farm in Argentina, where they raced horses at Hipódromo de Palermo in Palermo, Buenos Aires. Binglin stable purchased a number of Argentine-bred horses and shipped them back to race in the United States. On August 12, 1938, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club hosted a $25,000 winner-take-all match race won by Charles S. Howard's Seabiscuit over Binglin Stable's Ligaroti. Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the 1943 Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. Binglin Stable in Moorpark, Ventura County, California was a stock farm established during the latter part of the 1930s to race and breed Thoroughbred horses. ... Moorpark is a city of 32,978 people, in Southern California. ... Ventura County . ... Palermo is a neighborhood, or barrio of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. ... is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1938 (MCMXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A match race is a regatta for two sailing boats, racing each other around a course. ... For other uses, see Seabiscuit (disambiguation). ... The Suburban Handicap is a Grade I stakes race for Thoroughbred horses aged three and older. ... Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in the hamlet of Elmont, New York in Nassau County on Long Island (just outside of New York City). ... Elmont is a hamlet (and census-designated place) as well as suburb of New York City in Long Island, Nassau County, New York, in the Town of Hempstead. ...

The Binglin Stable partnership came to an end in 1953 as a result of a liquidation of assets by Crosby in order to raise the funds necessary to pay the federal and state inheritance taxes on his deceased wife's estate.^[13]

A friend of jockey Johnny Longden, Crosby was a co-owner with Longden's friend Max Bell of the British colt Meadow Court, who won the 1965 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Irish Derby. In the Irish Derby's winner's circle at the Curragh, Crosby sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." The racecourse in Chester. ... John Eric Longden, born February 14, 1907 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England - died February 14, 2003 in Banning, California, was a Hall of Fame jockey. ... George Maxwell Max Bell (13 October 1912 – 19 July 1972) was a Canadian newspaper publisher. ... Meadow Court (1962-c. ... The King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in the United Kingdom for three-year-old and above thoroughbreds. ... The Irish Derby is a Group 1 flat horse race in the Republic of Ireland for three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies run over a distance of 1 mile 4 furlongs (2,414 metres) at the Curragh, County Kildare in late June / early July. ... The Curragh is a plain in County Kildare Ireland. ...

The Bing Crosby Breeders' Cup Handicap at Del Mar Racetrack is named in his honor. The Bing Crosby Breeders Cup Handicap is a race for thoroughbred horses. ... Aerial view of the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack looking northwest along the Pacific Ocean coastline. ...

Personal life

Crosby was married twice, first 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). Dixie was an alcoholic, and the 1947 film Smash-Up: The Story of a Woman is indirectly based on her life. After Dixie's death, Crosby had relationships with actresses Grace Kelly, Inger Stevens, and Playboy model Pat Sheehan before marrying the much-younger actress Kathryn Grant in 1957. Bing and Kathryn had three children Harry, Mary (best known for portraying Kristin Shepard, the woman who shot J.R. Ewing on TV's Dallas), and Nathaniel. Was one of Bing Crosbys wives. ... Ovarian cancer is a malignant tumor (a kind of neoplasm) located on an ovary. ... Gary Evan Crosby (June 27, 1933 - August 24, 1995) was an American singer and actor. ... Dennis Michael Crosby (July 13, 1934- May 7, 1991) was an American actor, the son of singer and actor Bing Crosby, and the father of actress Denise Crosby. ... Phillip Lang Crosby (13 July 1934-13 January 2004) was an American actor and singer. ... Lindsay Harry Crosby (5 January 1938-11 December 1989) was an American actor and singer. ... King Alcohol and his Prime Minister circa 1820 Alcoholism is the consumption of or preoccupation with alcoholic beverages to the extent that this behavior interferes with the alcoholics normal personal, family, social, or work life. ... For the Mika song, see Grace Kelly (song). ... Inger Stevens (October 18, 1934 – April 30, 1970) was an American movie and TV actress. ... Patricia Ann Sheehan, also known as Patricia Sheehan Crosby (born September 7, 1931 in San Francisco, California - died January