Bing Crosby Net Worth

Bing Crosby's Quotes

• [on Frank Sinatra] Frank is a singer who comes along once in a lifetime, but why did he have to come in mine?
• I think popular music in this country is one of the few things in the 20th century that have made great strides in reverse.
• Everyone knows I'm just a big, good-natured slob.
• [about Elvis Presley] He helped to kill off the influence of me and my contemporaries, but I respect him for that. Because music always has to progress, and no-one could have opened the door to the future like he did.
• Honestly, I think I've stretched a talent which is so thin it's almost transparent over a quite unbelievable term of years.

Interesting Facts about Bing Crosby

1. His eldest son Gary Crosby was vocal in criticizing Bing's violent ways as a father. He wrote a sensationalist tell-all biography titled "Going My Own Way" in 1983 which was touted as a "Daddy Dearest" about Bing. Though Lindsay Crosby and Dennis Crosby fluctuated between agreeing and disagreeing with Gary's criticisms of their father, Phillip Crosby defended Bing after the book was published. Two of the sons suffered bouts of depression, much as their mother Dixie Lee had, throughout their lives and committed suicide(Lindsay and Dennis, in 1989 and 1991, respectively). Gary died of lung cancer in 1995. Phillip died of a heart attack in 2004, having defended his father to the end. Bing's children from his second marriage, including daughter and actress Mary Crosby, praised him as a kind and loving father in later life.
2. Father, with singer Dixie Lee, of sons Gary Crosby, Phillip Crosby & Dennis Crosby (twins) and Lindsay Crosby. All 4 deceased. Both Dennis and Lindsay died due to suicide.
3. Father, with actress Kathryn Grant, of sons Harry Crosby and Nathaniel Crosby, and of actress Mary Crosby.
4. Grandfather of Denise Crosby, L. Chip Crosby Jr. and adopted grandfather of Gregory Crosby.
5. Older brother of bandleader Bob Crosby. Younger brother of Everett Crosby and Edward John Crosby.
6. His large ears were pinned back during his early films, until partway through She Loves Me Not (1934).
7. From the 1940s to the 1960s he owned 15% of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. His cameo in Angels in the Outfield (1951) was as part-owner of the team.
8. Three things about Bing were frequent sources of jokes in Hollywood: his inability to sire a daughter, prior to the birth of Mary Crosby; his investment in racehorses that rarely won; and his rather bad, almost colorblind, taste in casual clothes. These jokes often made their way into radio and TV shows, movies and, most often, into the comedy routines of Bob Hope.
9. Interred at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, USA, in the Grotto section, L119, #1.
10. Left a clause in his will stating that his sons could not collect their inheritance money until they were 65. They had already been amply taken care of by a trust fund set up by their mother, Dixie Lee, which is truth was totally funded by Bing. All four sons continued to collect monies from that fund until their deaths.
11. Was nicknamed "Bing" after a character named "Bingo" in a comic strip titled "Bingville Bugle."
12. Was the first choice of "Columbo" creators Richard Levinson and William Link to portray the famed detective.
13. Bing In a partnership which included Gary Cooper, and Oliver Hardy had the Del Mar racetrack in Del Mar, California built in 1937 and he collected tickets at the turnstile on opening day. Before the start of the first and last races on every day of racing his song "Where the Turf Meets the Surf" is played. This song was written for Del Mar and never sold commercially. The complete song goes - "Down at the old Del Mar, Take a plane, take a train, take a car, There's a smile on every face, And a winner in every race, Where the Turf Meets the Surf,".
14. Inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1998.
15. He was the 20th century's first multi-media entertainer: a star on radio, in movies and in chart-topping recordings. He had 38 No. 1 singles, which surpassed even Elvis Presley and The Beatles.
16. When he 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.
17. One of his early inspirations was Louis Armstrong, who returned the admiration. Louis once described Bing's mellow voice as "like gold being poured out of a cup."
18. Sang on radio at least once a week from 1931 to 1962.
19. As a young adult he enjoyed carousing and drinking and actually received another nickname: "Binge" Crosby. He once spent two months in jail (weekends only) for DUI after a minor car accident, and surprised and shocked interviewers by advocating that pot be decriminalized.
20. The balding actor hated having to wear a toupee during filming and specifically looked for scripts that had outdoor scenes where he could wear a hat or bed scenes in which he could wear a nightcap.