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Sunday 10 August 2014

Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby was born Harry Lillis Crosby on May 3, 1903 in Spokane, Washington to parents of Anglo-Irish heritage.

The nickname Bing that he would carry with him throughout his life is attributable to the Bingville Bugle, which was a newspaper parody that he was fond of.

Crosby aged nine

In the fall of 1920, Bing Crosby enrolled in the Jesuit-run Gonzaga College in Spokane, Washington with the intent to become a lawyer. He maintained a B+ average.

When Bing Crosby married his first wife actress/singer Dixie Lee in 1930, her fame at the time was greater than his. One headline actually read: "Well Known Fox Movie Star Marries Bing Croveny." Dixie eventually retired to raise four sons.

Bing Crosby publicity photo, c. 1930s

Bing Crosby's won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father O'Malley in the 1944 film Going My Way.

Bing's “White Christmas” is by far the biggest-selling Christmas song of all time. He recorded it on May 29, 1942.

In 1951 Bing Crosby was refused a hotel room for wearing jeans so Levis made him a jean jacket, giving birth to the Canadian Tuxedo.

Bing Crosby loved money, and insisted on being paid upfront and in cash.

Crosby funded an electronics lab that was heavily involved in the initial development of both audio and video tape recording in the late '40s and early '50s, primarily for use on his own TV and radio projects. His early videotape format, however, was quickly obscured by Ampex's industry-standard Quadruplex format.

The first video recorder was demonstrated at Bing Crosby Enterprises in Beverly Hills, California in 1952.

Bing Crosby was the first person to receive the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1962.

From the 1940s to the 1960s, Bing Crosby owned 15 percent of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. His cameo in Angels in the Outfield (1951) was as part- owner of the team.

Crosby 1942

Crosby turned down the role of TV detective Columbo in 1968 because it interfered with his golfing schedule.

Bing Crosby died instantly when he suffered a massive heart attack shortly after 6:00 p.m. on October 14, 1977. He had just completed a round of eighteen holes of golf in Madrid, Spain.

His last words were reported as, "That was a great game of golf, fellas." However, according to his companions and recorded by biographer Gary Giddens, Crosby then said, "Let's go get a Coke."

He holds the record for the longest-running fan club for a solo singer - International Club Crosby was founded in 1936.

Sources IMDB, Artistfacts 

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