Bing Crosby | |
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1930s publicity photo
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Born |
Harry Lillis Crosby, Jr. May 2, 1903 Tacoma, Washington, U.S. |
Died | October 14, 1977 Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain |
(aged 74)
Cause of death | Heart attack |
Resting place | Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California, U.S. |
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Years active | 1926–1977 |
Home town | Spokane, Washington |
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Website | bingcrosby |
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 the best-selling recording artist 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 only 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording.