That is also the year many film historians consider the beginning of the . Crosby was survived by his four sons from his first marriage, Gary, Lindsay, Phillip and Dennis; as well as by his second wife, Kathryn, and their three children, Nathaniel, Harry and Mary. 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. [68], Crosby's popularity around the world was such that Dorothy Masuka, the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. Despite being a Catholic, Crosby was seriously considering divorce in order to marry Caulfield. [65], He received 23 gold and platinum records, according to the book Million Selling Records. He was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years, 1944 to 1948. Young Bing Crosby at age 14 took summer jobs at the Spokane Auditorium as a property boy. His organization, the Crosby Research Foundation, held tape recording patents and developed equipment and recording techniques such as the laugh track that are still in use. In his heyday, Crosby attributed his unique nickname of. 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby, his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting on September 2, 1931. [106] This house served as a setting for some of the family's Minute Maid orange juice television commercials. I certainly never witnessed anything between him and his father. Crosby and Lindsay Howard formed Binglin Stable to race and breed thoroughbred horses at a ranch in Moorpark in Ventura County, California. She, too, was in love with an older married man who was quite as famous as Gary [Cooper]. Age, Biography and Wiki. [42] Shortly before his death in 1977, he had planned another Road film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth. In 1957 Crosby married actress-starlet Kathryn Grant who was some 30 years younger than him. 2000. 1. Bing's children from his second marriage, including daughter and actress Mary Crosby, praised him as a kind and loving father in later life. Bing Crosby's youngest son Nathaniel has penned a book about his famous dad. The Fireside Theater (1950) was his first television production. In 1999, the parties settled for approximately $1.5 million. June 27 Bing and Dixie welcome their first son, Gary Evan Crosby. 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. "[45][46], The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", which he introduced on a Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. For one thing, he enjoys hearing himself sing, and if ever a day should dawn when the public wearies of him, he will complacently go right on singingto himself. "Out of Nowhere", "Just One More Chance", "At Your Command" and "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in a Five and Ten Cent Store)" were among the best selling songs of 1931.[42]. Developed by John T. Mullin and Wayne R. Johnson since 1950, the device aired what were described as "blurred and indistinct" images, using a modified Ampex 200 tape recorder and standard quarter-inch (6.3mm) audio tape moving at 360 inches (9.1m) per second.[80]. Philip Crosby Sr. is survived by his four children, Mary Elizabeth Crosby, Dixie Lee Crosby, Flip Crosby, and Philip Crosby Jr.; and three half-siblings from his father's second marriage. 1934 July 13 Twins Dennis Michael Crosby and Phillip Lang Crosby are born. Gary said to me before I read it, "It's not the same book I wrote."[112]. [19] The house sits on the campus of his alma mater, Gonzaga University, as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar. Around the time Gary published his claims, Phillip stated to the press that "Gary is a whining, bitching crybaby, walking around with a two-by-four on his shoulder and just daring people to nudge it off. I came back to see the man playing one of those old Vitrolas, like those of RCA with the horn speaker. I don't think it had anything to do with Daddy Dearest. 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-. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. 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. Built in 1930, the English country manor sits in the upscale enclave of Hillsborough, CA, about 20 miles . [125] On October 14, at the La Moraleja Golf Course near Madrid, Crosby played 18 holes of golf. Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Washington, on May 3, 1903. Above, Crosby appears in Los Angeles on September . She also appeared in the 1989 film adaptation of Stephen King's novel Pet Sematary. [129], Crosby is a member of the National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame in the radio division.[130]. According to Betty Caulfield, Spellman told Crosby: "Bing, you are Father O'Malley and under no circumstances can Father O'Malley get a divorce." He made a fortune from the Minute Maid Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder.[73]. "Road to Spokane: Bing Crosby's Family History" is a free event taking place at Gonzaga University's Wolff Auditorium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A number of Argentine-bred horses were purchased and shipped to race in the United States. In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film King of Jazz with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. Today they wouldn't seem very off-color, but things were different on radio then. Bing Crosby was an American icon -- a movie star admired by men and adored by women, a symbol of casual sophistication and wit. Bill Cosby, 84, and his wife Camille Cosby, 77, have had five children during their 58-year marriage. [42] His recording of "White Christmas", has sold over 50 million copies around the world. [87][88] The restored broadcast was shown on MLB Network in December 2010. [133], In 2006, the former Metropolitan Theater of Performing Arts ('The Met') in Spokane, Washington, was renamed to The Bing Crosby Theater.[134]. Their duet was released in 1982 as a single 45-rpm record and reached No. The mega fame he achieved during his first marriage took a toll on his family due to all the commitments that frequently took him away. ", Smith, Anthony B. [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. Crosby, Stills, and Nash's debut album, Crosby, Stills, and Nash, was released in 1969 and gained critical praise. $369,000. All results for bing crosby. "Marketing Iron Pigs, Patriotism, and Peace: Bing Crosby and World War IIA Discourse. [125] He was 74 years old. The auditorium is in Jepson Center on the Gonzaga campus, 502 E. Boone Ave. To learn more about the event's program, go here. Crosby invested $50,000 in Ampex with the intent to produce more machines. Crosby admired Louis Armstrong for his musical ability, and the trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. [42] Before the end of the year, he signed[clarification needed] with both Brunswick Records and CBS Radio. bing! Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in 1995 at age 62, and Phillip Crosby died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 69.[120]. At age three, the family moved to Spokane. [99][100][101][102][103], Crosby and his family lived in the San Francisco area for many years. They've been living in their Holmby Hills home for ten years that's a lot of memories. In 2006, Crosby's niece through his sister Mary Rose, Carolyn Schneider, published the laudatory book Me and Uncle Bing. On March 20, 1977, after videotaping a CBS concert special, "Bing - 50th Anniversary Gala", at the Ambassador Auditorium with Bob Hope looking on, Crosby fell off the stage into an orchestra pit, rupturing a disc in his back requiring a month-long stay in the hospital. Mary Crosby asserts that Bing had deep regret for not being as present of a father for his first four children's life. They were his most frequent collaborators on disc from 1939 to 1952, a partnership that produced four million-selling singles: "Pistol Packin' Mama", "Jingle Bells", "Don't Fence Me In", and "South America, Take it Away". [107], While acknowledging that corporal punishments took place, there were reports of all of Gary's immediate siblings distancing themselves from the abuse claims, either in public or in private. bing! Denise Crosby, Dennis Crosby's daughter, is also an actress and is known for her role as Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation and for the recurring role of the Romulan Sela after her withdrawal from the series as a regular cast member. [39], Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Mullin continued to work for Crosby to develop a videotape recorder (VTR). The California Court of Appeal reversed, however, holding that the 1999 settlement barred the claim. [3]:24[26], In 1917, Crosby took a summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium, where he witnessed some of the acts of the day, including Al Jolson, who held him spellbound with ad-libbing and parodies of Hawaiian songs. The Fanchon and Marco Time Agency hired them for thirteen weeks for the revue The Syncopation Idea starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the Loew's circuit. ("Bingo" was a childhood nickname from one of his favorite comic strips.) Crosby wrote or co-wrote lyrics to 22 songs. [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. Sadly, Lindsay wasn't the only one to take his own life. [97], Crosby reportedly had an alcohol problem between the late 1920s and early 1930s, but he got a handle on his drinking in 1931. Once affectionately dubbed America's dad, the . He became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. He gave one of the first Ampex Model 300 recorders to his friend, guitarist Les Paul, which led to Paul's invention of multitrack recording. We had our differences, but we were raised to respect our parents, to do what they said. Edit Search New Search Jump to Filters. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career. Precisely what the future holds for Crosby neither his family nor his friends can conjecture. There have been disputes between Crosby's two families beginning in the late 1990s. Bing married twice. I can't even turn on the radio around Christmas time without crying anymore. Bing Crosby is primarily lauded these days for the way in which he reigned as king of the box-office and jukeboxes of his day, Radio was the primary factor in disseminating Bing Crosby's voice to the masses during his peak years of legendary popularity. ", Gilbert, Roger. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors. In a poll of U.S. troops at the close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. He Had A Different Name The man we now know as Bing Crosby was actually born with a different name: Harry Lillis Crosby Jr. The Northern California home that movie star Bing Crosby once lived in hits the market for $13.75 million Dennis Mayer | OMARSHALL Real Estate The 3 acre Northern California estate where "White. Mary Crosby: Age, Parents, Siblings, Family. Bing Crosby was a complicated man. He led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Stay Tuned: A Concise History of American broadcasting (2nd ed.). His record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good."[43]. "Entertaining Catholics: Bing Crosby, Religion and Cultural Pluralism in 1940s America. 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. 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! Bing Crosby's troubled first family. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. children: Mary Crosby Gary Crosby Harry Crosby Dennis Crosby Phillip Crosby Lindsay Crosby Nathaniel Crosby Born Country: United States Quotes By Bing Crosby Actors Height: 5'7" (170 cm ), 5'7" Males political ideology: Republican Died on: October 14, 1977 place of death: La Moraleja, Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain U.S. State: Washington [38] Hired for $150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Belmont, California: Wadsworth. Crosby was also an avid golfer. Bing's grandfather Nathaniel was born in Wiscasset, Lincoln, Maine, to parents from Brewster, Barnstable, Massachusetts; and was of English descent, from a family resident in New England since the 1600s. His biggest best seller is "White Christmas" 2,000,000 impressions of which have been sold in the U.S. and 250,000 in Great Britain. Shortly before Gary's book was actually published, Lindsay said, "I'm glad [Gary] did it. The family created an official website[131] on October 14, 2007, the 30th anniversary of Crosby's death. As Crosby wrote in his autobiography: By using tape, I could do a thirty-five or forty-minute show, then edit it down to the twenty-six or twenty-seven minutes the program ran. [47] It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He was one of the first global cultural icons. [78], With Frank Sinatra, Crosby was one of the principal backers for the United Western Recorders studio complex in Los Angeles.[79]. 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. Amateur championships, was a five-time club champion at Lakeside Golf Club in Hollywood, and once made a hole-in-one on the 16th hole at Cypress Point. 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. [2] He made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby married Dixie Lee in September 1930. If he muffed a song then, the audience loved itthought it was very funnybut we would have to take out the show version and put in one of the rehearsal takes. It seemed like Bing Crosby's first family was doomed. [67], In 1962, Crosby was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. He later described Jolson's delivery as "electric". Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. 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. While in the UK, Crosby recorded his final album, Seasons, and his final TV Christmas special with guest David Bowie on September 11 (which aired a little over a month after Crosby's death). Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond the "belting" associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray, who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. bing!, as my luckless victim fell clutching his side, I would shout bing! This ad-lib way of working is commonplace in the recording studios today, but it was all new to us. "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. [1] He was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. Crosby was a fan of thoroughbred horse racing and bought his first racehorse in 1935. [125] About 20 yards (18m) from the clubhouse entrance, Crosby collapsed and died instantly from a massive heart attack. He returned to broadcasting for the last 13 weeks of the 19451946 season. NTSC VHS tape, 1989 AES. But as . In all the files there is only one single reference to a person associated with the Mafia. "[45] "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. The first time, in 1930, was to the actress-singer Dixie Lee, who died of cancer in 1952. To complete his image, he wrapped his family round him in photo . [81] NAFI Corporation and Crosby purchased television station KPTV in Portland, Oregon, for $4 million on September 1, 1959. Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. 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. [41] The weekly broadcast made him a hit. Bing Crosby Enterprises gave the world's first demonstration of videotape recording in Los Angeles on November 11, 1951. Bing archives. His parents were Harry Lincoln Crosby (aka Harry Lowe Crosby) and Catherine Harrigan. [24][25] Through another line, also on his father's side, Crosby is descended from Mayflower passenger William Brewster (c.1567 1644). They had four sons Gary, Dennis, Phillip, and Lindsay. "My son, Nicholas, and daughter, Thea, sing and play White Christmas on the piano for everyone," says Harry, who lives in New York. Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, 37 (6): 490496, 498, 500, 502, 504, 506, 508, 510, 512; June 1989. [121], Following his recovery from a life-threatening fungal infection in his right lung in January 1974, Crosby emerged from semi-retirement to start a new spate of albums and concerts. [119], Lindsay Crosby died in 1989 at age 51, and Dennis Crosby died in 1991 at age 56, both by suicide from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. 1. In this exclusive clip, Bing Crosby's family reflects on his life as a performer and family man. "The Salt Lake City Office has developed information indicating that Moe Dalitz received an invitation to join a deer hunting party at Bing Crosby's Elko, Nevada, ranch, together with the crooner, his Las Vegas dentist and several business associates." 2,539 Sq. 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. The 6.5mm ferric-oxide-coated tape could record 20 minutes per reel of high-quality sound. In 1950, Crosby became the third person to win the William D. Richardson award, which is given to a non-professional golfer "who has consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf". On Christmas Eve, 1944, somewhere in Europe, presumably during the Battle . He competed in both the British and U.S. There was something magical for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed and heard live everywhere, at that precise instant. He got his name from a comic strip in The Spokesman-Review: Born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Bing moved with his family to . They moved in when Gary was only seven, the twins were four . 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. Now tell me another story, Grandpa!Crosby: "No, so help me, it's the truth, ask Mister De Mille. Relying on a retroactive amendment to the California Civil Code, Dixie's trust brought suit again, in 2010, alleging that Crosby's right of publicity was community property, and that Dixie's trust was entitled to a share of the revenue it produced. They had four sons - Gary (born 1934), Dennis and Phillip (born 1935), and Lindsay (born 1938). Mullin had not yet succeeded with videotape, so Crosby filmed the series of 26-minute shows at the Hal Roach Studios, and the "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, Variety Girl (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing. [60] Sources differ regarding the number of copies he sold: 300 million[61] or even 500 million. 3 in the UK singles charts. [122] His first performance after the accident was his last American concert, on August 16, 1977, the day Elvis Presley died, at the Concord Pavilion in Concord, California. [84] In 1943, Binglin's horse Don Bingo won the Suburban Handicap at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more Road movie, The Road to Hong Kong, which teamed them up with the much younger Joan Collins and Peter Sellers. Joan's sister Betty Caulfield confirmed the romantic relationship between Joan and Bing Crosby. In 1963, he and his wife Kathryn moved with their 3 young children from Los Angeles to a $175,000 10-bedroom Tudor estate in Hillsborough because they did not want to raise their children in Hollywood, according to son Nathaniel. The Clemmer Theatre, as the Bing Crosby Theater was originally called, opened in 1915. The Crosbys were a musical family and lived in Spokane for many years. His first marriage was to a shy 20-year-old actress, Wilma Wyatt, whose stage name was "Dixie Lee." Her father and friends generally opposed the marriage to Bing, age 27, on the grounds that he was an irresponsible playboy. 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. His first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. This new sound led to the popular epithet crooner. Times have changed, and Spokane has grown, but you can still see a show at the historic theater in Washington . Crosby credited Kapp for choosing hit songs, working with many other musicians, and most important, diversifying his repertoire into several styles and genres. Around the same time, Crosby talked to his mother about his intentions and she protested. [15] In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, he helped finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, during which time the team won two World Series (1960 and 1971). His mother was a second generation Irish-American. 'He got the first licking, and we got the second.'"[113]. After The Syncopation Idea closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become a kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. Bing Crosby was married twice. 3 Baths. Bing Crosby was one of the most beloved entertainers of the 20th Century with a successful career that spanned over six decades. Bing had three children from his second marriage. 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. As I passed a Hindu sitting on the corner of a street, I heard something surprisingly familiar. She confided to me that she desperately wanted to marry Bing Crosby. [72], According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. The boys were born on July 13, 1934, in Los Angeles. Bing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams, The Early Years 19031940. The Mutual Network, on the other hand, pre-recorded some of its programs as early as 1938 for The Shadow with Orson Welles. [96], In the most recent Crosby biography, Bing Crosby: Swinging on a Star; the War Years, 1940-1946, Gary Giddins published excerpts from an original diary of two sisters, Violet and Mary Barsa, who, as young women, used to stalk Crosby in New York City during December 1945 and January 1946 and who detailed their observations in the diary. The trust, tied to high-performing oil stocks, folded in December 1989 following the 1980s oil glut. Denise Crosby (granddaughter) Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 - November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. ", "Top Ten Money Making Stars of the past 79 years", "Bing Crosby Western Music Association Hall of Fame", "Day by Day by Malcolm Macfarlane, see August 31, 1944", Bing Crosby and Gonzaga University: 1925 1951, "Throwback Thursday: Bing Crosby Took a Swing at Baseball in the 1940s", "In Bing Crosby's Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball", "Nathaniel Crosby wins 1981 U.S. Exact. However, he. Dennis Jr.'s daughter and Bing's grandmother, Kate, had a love for music. Schofield, Mary Anne. Family Explored. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, General Dwight Eisenhower, and Bob Hope. (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. In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. In addition to Claire, they have a son named Carson and two daughters named June and Millie. He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. Jack Mullin: The man and his Machines. 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. By 1936, he replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall, where he remained for the next ten years. In his 1950 film Mr. Music, he is seen singing into an Ampex tape recorder that reproduced his voice better than anything else. His first wife was actress and nightclub singer Dixie Lee, to whom he was married from 1930 until her death from ovarian cancer in 1952. | 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? Exact. Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Going My Way (1944) and was nominated for its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman, becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. Crosby and Al continued at the Clemmer Theatre for several months often with three other men Wee Georgie Crittenden, Frank McBride and Lloyd Grinnell and they were billed The Clemmer Trio or The Clemmer Entertainers depending who performed.[38]. The Crosby's moved to Spokane, Washington, when Bing was about three years old, which is . bing! During World War II, Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater. Bing Crosby's grandchildren: Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Denise Crosby Bing Crosby's grandson is Phillip Crosby Jr Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Kelly Crosby Bing Crosby's granddaughter is Erin Crosby Bing Crosby's grandson was Dennis Crosby Jr Bing Crosby's grandson was Patrick Crosby In 1917 . In 1928 he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Ol' Man River". Gary's first wife of 19 years, Barbara Cosentino, of whom Gary wrote in his book, "I could confide in her about Mom and Dad and my childhood",[114] and with whom Gary stayed friendly after the divorce, stated: I do not know if what's in the book is true but he never said anything to me about whippings.