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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.
Movies
The Country Girl
Frank Elgin
Man on Fire
Earl Carleton
The Princess and the Pirate
Margaret's Sweetheart (uncredited)
High Society
C. K. Dexter-Haven
The Road to Hong Kong
Harry Turner
Road to Morocco
Jeff Peters
Road to Zanzibar
Chuck Reardon
Road to Rio
Scat Sweeney
The Bells of St. Mary's
Father Chuck O'Malley
We're Not Dressing
Stephen Jones
Going Hollywood
Bill 'Billy' Williams
Road to Bali
George Cochran
Here Comes the Groom
Peter 'Pete' Garvey
White Christmas
Bob Wallace
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Narrator (segment "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")
Holiday Inn
Jim Hardy
Road to Singapore
Joshua 'Josh' Mallon V
Road to Utopia
Duke Johnson
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Hank Martin
Here Come the Waves
Johnny Cabot
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Narrator
Anything Goes
Bill Benson
Just for You
Jordan Blake
The Emperor Waltz
Virgil Smith
Stagecoach
Doc Josiah Boone
Alias Jesse James
Bing (uncredited)
Going My Way
Father Chuck O'Malley
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Allen A. Dale
Hollywood Handicap
Himself
Rhythm on the Range
Jeff Larabee
Blue Skies
Johnny Adams
Pepe
Bing Crosby
If I Had My Way
Buzz Blackwell
Double or Nothing
'Lefty' Boylan
Waikiki Wedding
Tony Marvin
Little Boy Lost
Bill Wainright
Birth of the Blues
Jeff Lambert
High Time
Harvey Howard
Son of Paleface
Driver (uncredited)
Star Spangled Rhythm
Bing Crosby
Blue of the Night
Bing Crosby / Jack Smith
I Surrender Dear
Bing Crosby
Dream House
Bing Fawcett (Plumber)
Mr. Music
Paul Merrick
Say One for Me
Father Conroy
Riding High
Dan Brooks
She Loves Me Not
Paul Lawton
Sing, You Sinners
Joe Beebe
Rhythm on the River
Bob Sommers
Variety Girl
Bing Crosby
Welcome Stranger
Dr. James 'Jim' Pearson
Mississippi
Tom Grayson
Sing, Bing, Sing
Bing
Two Plus Fours
Bing
Top o' the Morning
Joe Mulqueen
The Road to Victory
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Here Is My Heart
J. Paul Jones
College Humor
Professor Frederick Danvers
Anything Goes
Billy Crocker
Pennies from Heaven
Larry Poole
The Big Broadcast of 1936
Bing
Dr. Cook's Garden
Leonard Cook
Road to Home
Self
Two for Tonight
Gilbert Gordon
The Big Broadcast
Bing Hornsby
Please
Howard Jones
Doctor Rhythm
Dr. Bill Remsen
The Star Maker
Larry Earl
Paris Honeymoon
'Lucky' Lawton
The Shining Future
Self
Reaching for the Moon
Bing
Too Much Harmony
Eddie Bronson
My Favorite Blonde
Man Outside Union Hall (uncredited)
They Got Me Covered
Music Box (voice)
Hollywood on Parade
Self
Dixie
Daniel Decatur Emmett
Out of This World
Herbie Fenton (singing voice)
King of Jazz
Trio Singer (as The Rhythm Boys)
That's Entertainment!
Self - Host / Narrator
East Side of Heaven
Denny Martin
Swing with Bing
Himself
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
High Tor
Van Van Dorn
Duffy's Tavern
Bing Crosby
A Bing Crosby Christmas
Self - Host (archive footage)
Off Limits
Bing Crosby (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billboard Girl
Bing
The Greatest Show on Earth
Spectator (uncredited)
Cancel My Reservation
Himself (uncredited)
Scared Stiff
Skeleton (uncredited)
Angels in the Outfield
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Jolson Sings Again
Himself (voice) (uncredited)
Cinerama's Russian Adventure
Narrator (voice)
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
Self
That's Entertainment! III
(archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Victory Caravan
Bing Crosby
The Magic of Bing Crosby
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby: The Television Specials Volume 2 – The Christmas Specials
Self
Songs That Won the War
Himself (Archive)
Lifetime of Comedy
(archive footage)
'Twas the Night - A Holiday Celebration
Self
Let's Make Love
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Christmas with Crosby & Kate
Himself
Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas
Self
Bing Crosby and the Sounds of Christmas
Himself
The Bing Crosby Show
Himself
The Bing Crosby Show
Self
Confessions of a Co-Ed
Bing
This Is Bob Hope...
Self (archive footage)
Show-Business at War
Self
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Road to Hollywood
Himself
The All-Star Bond Rally
Self
You Can Change The World
Self
Swing Out, Sweet Land
Mark Twain
Bing Crosby: The Christmas Years
Himself (archival footage)
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.1
Narrator / Ichabod Crane / Brom Bones (voice) (archive footage)
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney
Bob Wallace (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
Self (archive footage)
My Music: A Classic Christmas
Self (archive footage)
We've Got Another Bond to Buy
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
Self
The Sound of Laughter
Bob (Singer in Grocery Store)
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 years of Laughter Volume 2
Self (archive footage)
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 years of Laughter Volume 1
Self (archive footage)
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show
Self
Screen Actors
Self (uncredited)
Disney's Halloween Treat
(archive footage)
One More Chance
Bing Bangs
Hollywood on Parade No. B-4
Self
The Edsel Show
Self
Grace Kelly: Destiny of a Princess
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Hollywood Ghosts & Gravesites
(archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Legends in Concert
Self
Bing Crosby: Live In Mysen, Norway
Himself
The Grand Olympics
Himself
Down Memory Lane
(archive footage)
The Movie Orgy
Self (archive footage)
Halloween Hall o' Fame
Narrator/Brom Bones
The Hollywood Clowns
(archive footage)
Bing Crosby's Sun Valley Christmas Show
Dean Martin: King of Cool
Self (archive footage)
Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank
Self
Hollywood and the Stars
(archive footage)
Holiday Greetings from 'The Ed Sullivan Show'
Self - Vocalist (archive footage)
Legendary Christmas Entertainers
Self
Showbiz Goes to War
(archive footage)
The Great Radio Comedians
Self
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Self (archive footage)
The March of Time
Self
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
Showdown at Ulcer Gulch
Influential Man
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Howard
Jeff Peters (archive footage)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
(archive footage)
Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer
Self (archive footage)
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Self (archive footage)
Edith Head: The Paramount Years
(archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Self (uncredited)
Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas
Bob Wallace (archive footage)
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Hollywood on Parade No. A-2
Self
My Favorite Brunette
Harry (uncredited)
Classic Commercials: Volume 3
Big Night Out: The Peggy Lee Show
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
Goldilocks
Self / Papa Bear (voice)
Rat Pack
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby Color Christmas Show
Self (host)
"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After
Archive Footage
Cole Porter in Hollywood: True Love
Self (Archive Footage)
The Bing Crosby Show
Self
Bing Crosby: Cooling It
Self
Grace Kelly: The American Princess
Self (archive footage)
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Self (archive Footage)- C.K Dexter-Haven
Television: The First Fifty Years
Self (archive footage)
Shows
The Bing Crosby Show
Bing Collins
Frank Sinatra Show
Self
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
The Carol Burnett Show
Self
The Jack Benny Program
Bing Crosby
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self (archive footage)
The Pearl Bailey Show
Self
The Carol Burnett Show
Self - Guest / Various Characters
Legends
Self (archive footage)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self