Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby (1904?-1977), the first American popular singer to become a successful motion-picture actor. He was born Harry Lillis Crosby in Tacoma, Washington, and educated at Gonzaga University, where he began singing with a vocal trio, The Rhythm Boys. After performing with various bands, the trio was featured with the Paul Whiteman Orchestra, with whom they made their film debut in King of Jazz (1930). The following year Crosby left to become a nightclub performer, soon landing a recording contract and a 15-minute radio show on the Columbia Broadcasting System, Incorporated, that would lead to his becoming one of the most popular male singers of the 1930s.

In 1932 Crosby signed a contract with Paramount Pictures, Incorporated, and achieved success with his first feature film, The Big Broadcast (1932). It was followed by musical extravaganzas such as Mississippi (1935), Anything Goes (1936), and Waikiki Wedding (1937). In The Road to Singapore (1940) he costarred with American comedian Bob Hope. The motion picture launched a series of “Road” comedies (often including American actress Dorothy Lamour) that were set in various locales around the world. Crosby's appearance with American actor Fred Astaire in Holiday Inn (1942) helped make his subsequent recording of “White Christmas” by American composer Irving Berlin one of the best-selling records ever. Crosby's other notable films of the 1940s include Going My Way (1944), for which he won a 1944 Academy Award for best actor; its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945); and Blue Skies (1946), in which Astaire also appeared. After several more movies in the late 1940s and early 1950s, Crosby put aside the easygoing, nice-guy persona for which he was known in favor of a serious dramatic role in the 1954 motion-picture adaptation of The Country Girl by American playwright Clifford Odets. Crosby portrayed a broken-down alcoholic actor and gave what many consider his finest performance. Other memorable works include High Society (1956), a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story (1940). Crosby remained extremely popular as a recording artist and as a radio and television performer (he had his own situation comedy show from 1964 to 1965), but his motion pictures in the 1960s were generally less successful.