Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby
1930s publicity photo
Born	Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. (1903-05-02)May 2, 1903 Tacoma, Washington, U.S.
Died	October 14, 1977(1977-10-14) (aged 74) Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain
Cause of death	Heart attack
Resting place	Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S.
Occupation	Singer actor
Years active	1926–1977
Home town	Spokane, Washington
Spouse(s)	Dixie Lee (m. 1930; d. 1952) Kathryn Grant (m. 1957)
Children	Gary Dennis Phillip Lindsay Harry Mary Nathaniel
Family	Larry Crosby (brother) Bob Crosby (brother) Denise Crosby (granddaughter) Gregory Crosby (grandson)
Musical career
Genres	Traditional pop easy listening jazz
Labels	Columbia Victor Brunswick Decca Capitol Verve
Associated acts	The Rhythm Boys Paul Whiteman Al Jolson Bob Hope The Andrews Sisters Johnny Mercer Rosemary Clooney Louis Armstrong Dean Martin Frank Sinatra Fred Astaire David Bowie
Website	bingcrosby.com

Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby, Jr. (May 2, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, having sold over one billion records, tapes, compact discs and digital downloads around the world.

The first multimedia star, from 1931 to 1954 Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. His early career coincided with technical recording innovations such as the microphone. This allowed him to develop a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Perry Como,Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, and Dean Martin. Yank magazine recognized Crosby as the person who had done the most for American G.I. morale during World War II and, during his peak years, around 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII. Also in 1948, the Music Digest estimated that Crosby recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music.

Crosby won an Academy Award 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 the 22 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (a star for motion pictures, radio, and audio recording).