TODAY IN BING HISTORY

Today in Bing Crosby related history, Bing's eldest son and tortured soul Gary Crosby passed away...

Gary Crosby, the eldest son of Bing Crosby, died on August 24, 1995 at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. He was 62.

The cause was lung cancer, said Mr. Crosby's manager, Paul Volpe.

Although Mr. Crosby tried to follow in his father's footsteps as a singer and actor, his career was largely confined to television parts. But he was part of the first double-sided gold record in history, joining his father on "Sam's Song" and "Play a Simple Melody" in 1950.

His greatest claim to fame came in 1983 with his autobiography, "Going My Own Way," in which he accused his father of abusing him. The younger Crosby had a weight problem and he wrote that his father would weigh him every week as a boy and whip him with a cane if he had gained weight.

Gary Crosby and his siblings, Lindsay and the twins, Philip and Dennis, formed their own singing group in the 1950's but had little success. The brothers, Crosby's sons from his first marriage to Dixie Lee Crosby, were better known as Hollywood "bad boys" who were constantly getting into trouble because of their drinking.

Gary Crosby made his acting debut when he was 9, playing himself in "Star-Spangled Banner" in 1942. The film starred his father and Betty Hutton. After several more acting parts, he concentrated on his education, graduating from Stanford University before returning to Hollywood to play in a series of films in the 1950's, never in starring roles. They included "Holiday for Lovers," "A Private's Affair" and "Mardi Gras." His most recent film was "The Night Stalker" in 1987.

On television, he was best known as Officer Ed Wells on "Adam 12," which ran from 1968 to 1975. He also played Eddie on "The Bill Dana Show" from 1963 to 1964 and had a regular role on "Hunter" in the mid-1980's. He made guest appearances on a number of shows, including "Twilight Zone," "Matlock" and "Murder, She Wrote."

He was survived by a son, Steve, of Santa Barbara, Calif., and his brother Philip...

TODAY IN BING HISTORY

Today in Bing Crosby history, the world lost Bing's buddy in seven Road films...Bob Hope. Hope died of natural causes on this day in 2003. He was 100 years old.

Many veterans from World War II all the way up through the Gulf War share a common bond that goes beyond the battlefield: seeing USO performances by legendary entertainer Bob Hope. Hope, who hosted or performed in nearly 200 USO shows between 1941 and 1991, died today (July 27th) in 2003 at the ripe old age of 100.

Born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29, 1903, in Eltham, London, England, he immigrated to the United States in 1908 with his parents and siblings, settling in Ohio. Hope became a U.S. citizen in 1920, and somewhere along the line his first name changed from Leslie to Lester. He underwent one final name change in 1929, adopting “Bob” as his first name because (according to one account) it had a friendly feel to it.

Hope’s prolific career as an entertainer began in vaudeville and grew to encompass theatre, radio, television, and film. His appearances in the “Road” movies (such as “Road to Morocco” and “Road to Rio”) with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour made Hope a household name.

The trio made seven of these movies between 1940 and 1962, with an eighth, “Road to the Fountain of Youth,” planned for 1977. Unfortunately, Crosby died before the eighth movie could be filmed.

Offscreen, Hope mounted show after show through the USO, traveling throughout the world to bring much-needed entertainment and encouragement to the men and women of the military during both wartime and peacetime. In 1997, Congress and President Clinton honored Hope for his 50 years of service through the USO by naming him an honorary veteran.

Hope was the first person to be given this distinction and said it was the greatest honor he had ever received. This was quite a statement, as he received numerous awards and honors for his accomplishments within the entertainment field as well as for his philanthropy.

Hope was also a formidable golfer, often using a golf club as a prop during his stand-up comedy performances. He putted with a two-year-old Tiger Woods on The Mike Douglas Show in 1978 and played in a foursome with Presidents Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton during the opening round of the 1995 Bob Hope Classic, the professional golf tournament that bears his name.

Hope continued to perform into his 80s and 90s, even making a guest appearance as himself on an episode of “The Simpsons” in 1992. The episode garnered 11.1 million viewers, proving that even towards the end of his career, audiences couldn’t get enough Hope...

SOURCE

TODAY IN BING HISTORY

Today, June 29th in Bing Crosby history - his frequent co-star Rosemary Clooney died of cancer at the age of 74 in 2002. She had starred with Bing as his leading lady in WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954). They also recorded numerous radio shows together, and she appeared with Bing in some of his last concert shows in 1976 and 1977.

Beginning in 1977, she recorded an album a year for the Concord Jazz record label, which continued until her death. This was in contrast to most of her generation of singers who had long since stopped recording regularly by then. In the late-1970s and early-1980s, Clooney did television commercials for Coronet brand paper towels, during which she sang a memorable jingle that goes, "Extra value is what you get, when you buy Coro-net." Clooney sang a duet with Wild Man Fischer on "It's a Hard Business" in 1986, and in 1994 she sang a duet of Green Eyes with Barry Manilow in his 1994 album, Singin' with the Big Bands.

She guest-starred in the NBC television medical drama ER (starring her nephew, George Clooney) in 1995; she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. On January 27, 1996, Clooney appeared on Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion radio program. She sang "When October Goes" -- lyrics by Johnny Mercer and music by Barry Manilow (after Mercer's death) -- from Manilow's 1984 album 2:00 AM Paradise Cafe, and discussed what an excellent musician Manilow was.

In 1999, Clooney founded the Rosemary Clooney Music Festival, held annually in Maysville, her hometown. She performed at the festival every year until her death. Proceeds benefit the restoration of the Russell Theater in Maysville, where Clooney's first film, The Stars are Singing, premiered in 1953.

Clooney was diagnosed with lung cancer at the end of 2001. Around this time, she gave her last concert, in Hawaii, backed by the Honolulu Symphony Pops; her last song was "God Bless America". Despite surgery, she died six months later on June 29, 2002, at her Beverly Hills home. Her nephew, George Clooney, was a pallbearer at her funeral, which was attended by numerous stars, including Al Pacino. She is buried at Saint Patrick's Cemetery, in Maysville, Kentucky...