Bing Crosby
- Acting
- May 3, 1903 · Tacoma, Washington, USA
- October 14, 1977
Biography
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian and actor. The first multimedia star, Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1931 to 1954. His early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed him, including Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine said that he was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, Music Digest estimated that his recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music. Crosby won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way and was nominated for his reprise of the role in The Bells of St. Mary's opposite Ingrid Bergman the next year, becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with longtime friend Bob Hope, starring in the Road to... films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby influenced the development of the postwar recording industry. After seeing a demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to America by John T. Mullin, he invested $50,000 in a California electronics company called Ampex to build copies. He then convinced ABC to allow him to tape his shows. He became the first performer to pre-record his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape. Through the medium of recording, he constructed his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting) used in motion picture production, a practice that became an industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, he helped to finance the development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team.
Known for
Filmography
- Twiggy · (archival footage)
- I Can't Give You Anything But Love: The Jimmy McHugh Story · Self
- Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love · Self
- Grace Kelly – Hollywoods tragische Prinzessin · Self
- Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues · Self
- Rat Pack · Self
- Dean Martin: King of Cool · Self
- My Music: A Classic Christmas · Self
- Howard · Jeff Peters (archive footage)
- This Is Bob Hope... · Self
- Bing Crosby: Rediscovered · Self
- Michael Bublé: Home For The Holidays · Self
- Bing Crosby: The Television Specials Volume 2 – The Christmas Specials · Self
- The Best of Johnny Carson · Self
- Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy · Self
- Legends · Self
- "All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After · Self
- Grace Kelly: Destiny of a Princess · Self
- Legendary Christmas Entertainers · Self
- Stan Ridgway's Holiday In Dirt · Thanks
- 'Twas the Night - A Holiday Celebration · Self
- Parkinson · Self
- Bing Crosby: Legends in Concert · Self, Director
- Cole Porter in Hollywood: True Love · Self
- Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer · Self
- Hollywood Ghosts & Gravesites · Self
- Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.1 · Narrator / Ichabod Crane / Brom Bones (voice) (archive footage)
- Edith Head: The Paramount Years · Self
- Beyond Tara: The Extraordinary Life of Hattie McDaniel · Self
- The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1 · Self
- The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2 · Self
- 'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney · Bob Wallace (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Hollywood Musicals of the 40's · Self
- Television: The First Fifty Years · Self
- Classic Commercials: Volume 3
- A Bing Crosby Christmas · Self
- Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas · Bob Wallace (archive footage)
- Silent Night · Songs
- Good King Wenceslas · Songs
- White Christmas · Songs
- The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies · Self
- That's Entertainment! III · (archive footage) (uncredited)
- Shanks for the Memory
- Songs That Won the War · Self
- Holiday Greetings from 'The Ed Sullivan Show' · Self
- A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show · Self
- The Magic of Bing Crosby · Self
- You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story · Self
- Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC · Self
- Grace Kelly: The American Princess · Self
- Classic Comedy Teams · Self
- Tenderness · Music
- Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers · Self
- Going Hollywood: The '30s · (archive footage)
- Showbiz Goes to War · Self
- Disney's Halloween Treat · (archive footage)
- Showbiz Ballyhoo · Self
- Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! · Self
- The Hollywood Clowns · (archive footage)
- Bing Crosby: The Christmas Years · Self
- Mean Dog Blues · Executive producer
- The South Bank Show
- Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas · Self
- Halloween Hall o' Fame · Narrator/Brom Bones
- Bing Crosby: Live In Mysen, Norway · Self
- Bob Hope's World of Comedy · (archive footage)
- That's Entertainment, Part II · (archive footage)
- It's Showtime · Self
- Hooray for Hollywood · Self
- Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television · Self
- Brother, Can You Spare a Dime? · Self
- Dinah! · Self
- That's Entertainment! · Self
- Bing Crosby's Sun Valley Christmas Show
- Arnold · Executive producer
- Paper Moon · Thanks
- Terror in the Wax Museum · Producer
- Cancel My Reservation · Self
- Ben · Executive producer
- Hollywood: The Dream Factory · Self