With his famous bass-baritone voice, Bing Crosby was one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century. Although somewhat forgotten, his movie career is equally impressive. Bing Crosby's film career started with the 1930 film The King of Jazz. His first big break came in 1932 when he appeared in The Big Broadcast, which was the sixth most successful movie of that year. He appeared on the annual top ten box office stars for the first time in 1934. He would appear on that list a total of fifteen times in his career. From 1944 to 1948, Crosby was the number one star, for a record five years in a row.
In 1940 Bing Crosby and Bob Hope starred in the very successful Road to Singapore. The comedy team of Crosby/Hope became very popular. They made six very successful sequels over the next twenty-two years. Having conquered singing and comedy, Crosby started concentrating on serious acting. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1944 for the blockbuster hit Going My Way. He received another nomination the next year for The Bells of St. Mary's.
In 1954, he received his final nomination for Best Actor the Country Girl co-starring Grace Kelly. She won the Oscar playing Bing's wife. In 1966 he appeared in his last movie, the remake of the classic western Stagecoach. There was talk of making Road to the Fountain of Youth, but Bing Crosby died in 1977 before he could make that movie.
Here is a break down of Bing's movies and how much they made: (adjusted to 2011 box office - number in millions)
#1 White Christmas (1954) 456.30
#2 The Bells of St. Mary's (1945) 411.80
#3 Going My Way (1944) 355.40
#4 Welcome Stranger (1947) 288.60
#5 Blue Skies (1946) 284.60
#6 The Country Girl (1954) 247.20
#7 Road to Morocco (1942) 229.00
#8 Holiday Inn (1942) 229.00
#9 Road to Utopia (1946) 225.00
#10 Road to Rio (1947) 213.10
#11 High Society (1956) 183.60
#12 Dixie (1943) 181.30
#13 The Emperor Waltz (1948) 174.90
#14 Here Come the Waves (1944) 128.80
#15 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) 121.60
#16 Road to Zanzibar (1941) 120.80
#17 Say One For Me (1959) 113.70
#18 Top o' the Morning (1949) 105.70
#19 Waikiki Wedding (1937) 101.00
#20 Road to Singapore (1940) 100.20
#21 Just For You (1952) 95.40
#22 Road to Bali (1952) 95.40
#23 Here Comes the Groom (1951) 89.00
#24 Little Boy Lost (1953) 87.40
#25 Riding High (1950) 85.90
#26 Rhythm on the Range (1936) 84.30
#27 Mr. Music (1950) 83.50
#28 Robin and the 7 Hoods (1964) 83.50
#29 Road to Hong Kong (1962) 80.30
#30 Dr. Rhythm (1938) 71.60
#31 Anything Goes (1956) 66.80
#32 Double or Nothing (1937) 64.40
#33 Stagecoach (1966) 63.60
#34 Man on Fire (1957) 54.90
#35 She Loves Me Not (1934) 54.10
#36 High Time (1960) 48.50
#37 East Side of Heaven (1939) 44.50
#38 The Big Broadcast (1932) 43.70
#39 We're Not Dreaming (1934) 42.10
#40 Sing You Sinners (1938) 38.20
#41 The Star Maker (1939) 37.40
#42 Here Is My Heart (1934) 35.00
#43 Paris Honeymoon (1939) 32.60
#44 Going Hollywood (1933) 29.40
#45 If I Had My Way (1940) 25.40
#46 The King of Jazz (1930) 25.40
#47 Rhythm on the River (1940) 23.80
#48 Mississippi (1935) 22.30
#49 College Humor (1933) 21.50
#50 Anything Goes (1936) 19.90
#51 Pennies from Heaven (1936) 19.10
#52 Too Much Harmony (1933) (1933) 18.30
#53 Two For Tonight (1935) 18.30
#54 Birth of the Blues (1940) 18.30
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