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Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby

Birthday: 1903-05-03 | Place of Birth: Tacoma, Washington, USA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1982
Disney's Halloween Treat

as    (archive footage)

1976
That's Entertainment, Part II

as    (archive footage)

1974
That's Entertainment!

as    Self - Host / Narrator

1971
Dr. Cook's Garden

as    Leonard Cook

1966
Stagecoach

as    Doc Josiah Boone

1964
Robin and the 7 Hoods

as    Allen A. Dale

1962
The Road to Hong Kong

as    Harry Turner

1960
High Time

as    Harvey Howard

1956
Anything Goes

as    Bill Benson

1956
High Society

as    C. K. Dexter-Haven

1954
White Christmas

as    Bob Wallace

1954
The Country Girl

as    Frank Elgin

1953
Road to Bali

as    George Cochran

1951
Here Comes the Groom

as    Peter 'Pete' Garvey

1950
Mr. Music

as    Paul Merrick

1949
1949
Jolson Sings Again

as    Himself (voice) (uncredited)

1949
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

as    Narrator

1949
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

as    Narrator (segment "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")

1948
The Emperor Waltz

as    Virgil Smith

1947
Road to Rio

as    Scat Sweeney

1945
The Bells of St. Mary's

as    Father Chuck O'Malley

1944
Going My Way

as    Father Chuck O'Malley

1943
Dixie

as    Daniel Decatur Emmett

1942
Star Spangled Rhythm

as    Bing Crosby

1942
Road to Morocco

as    Jeff Peters

1942
Holiday Inn

as    Jim Hardy

1941
Road to Zanzibar

as    Chuck Reardon

1941
Birth of the Blues

as    Jeff Lambert