BING CROSBY RUMORS PERSIST

Bing Crosby, one of the greatest singers of all time, and one of the most beloved icons of the 20th century has seen his reputation tarnished over the last thirty years. Bing has been dead since 1977, but after his oldest son Gary Crosby published a supposed "tell-all" book called "Going My Own Way" in 1983, the memory of Bing has been ruined in the public eye. It is so unfortunate because people refuse to put aside the family rumors, and they take Gary's book as the absolute truth. Every week I find myself correcting people on Bing Crosby rumors. I even had one person ask me if it was true that Bing attempted to murder one of his sons. Now come on!

Decades later the rumors have grown and have a life of their own. I was amazed that the National Enquirer continued to perpetuate the gossip by running a December story called Bing Crosby: A Black And Blue Christmas. I made myself read to article in hopes that maybe the title was deceiving, but alas it was the same old story. Gary Crosby has been dead since 1995, but the tabloid magazine used old stories Gary told in the 1980s when he was pushing his book. I am just so tired seeing these negative stories about Bing Crosby.

People assume that Bing Crosby was the cold and heartless child beater just from one book his alcoholic and bitter son wrote about him. No one remembers that four of Bing's children have come to his defense, saying he was a great father. No one remembers that before Gary Crosby died he recanted most of the fabrications he put into his book. No on remembers the countless selfless acts Bing did throughout his career such as entertaining with the USO during World War II, and also helping out other stars when they hit rough times like Mildred Bailey, Judy Garland, and Peggy Lee. It is such a shame that after 2500 plus recordings and countless appearances in movies, and on radio and television that Bing is remembered as a child beater.

I do not know the truth about Bing Crosby's parenting skills. I do not know that he did not hit his children, but then again none of us know for sure if he did. As listeners and fans is it any of our business what personl issues Bing had in his life. Other stars like Frank Sinatra, Dick Haymes, Betty Hutton, and Betty Grable had rumors and gossip persist about their family lives - however, people are allowed to appreciate them for their body of work. For some reason, people can not let go of the rumors that swirl around about Bing, and just appreciate Bing for what he gave to this country and the world for that matter.

In my opinion, Bing Crosby was not father of the year by any stretch of the imagination, but he was not the Adolf Hitler of parenting that he is being portrayed. Bing Crosby, like millions of other parents in this world, were trying to do the best they can. He might not have made the right decisions all of the time, but none of us are perfect. What is known is Bing Crosby shared his talent with millions of people for a better part of 50 years while he was alive. That should be what we remember him for 35 years now after his death...

SPOTLIGHT ON LINDSAY CROSBY

Lindsay Crosby has the unfortunate distinction of being a child of a famous person. Well, he was more than a child of someone famous. He was the child of a legend...Bing Crosby. Whereas his older brothers had more traits of their father, Lindsay was much like his mother Dixie Lee. Lindsay not only was the youngest, but he was most sensitive and probably the most troubled.

Lindsay Crosby was born in California on January 5, 1938 and named for his father's closest friend and Thoroughbred horse racing partner, Lindsay Howard. He was educated with his three brothers at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose, California. He was remembered by his friends for having a special laid back clever wit like his father Bing. He performed with his brothers Gary, Dennis and Phillip Crosby as the Crosby Boys during the late 1950s in nightclubs and on The Ed Sullivan Show on American television.

The Crosby Boys had a promising start to life, but the pressures of show business and their own inability to cope blighted their lives. They were greatly affected by their mother's decline into alcoholism and a premature death from cancer in 1952. Heavy drinking and their emotional problems took their toll on all the boys but probably it affected Lindsay the most.

After his mother's death, Lindsay was distraught by her death. To help console him, Bing took him out of school in March 1953. They went on an extended tour of Europe, including an audience with Pope Pious XII.

Before their departure, Bing and Lindsay recorded several duets that were broadcast on Bing’s General Electric Show during their travels. Although the radio broadcasts announced that the recordings were made in France, they were actually recorded in Palm Springs. The series also spotlighted several Lindsay solos. The following year, Lindsay joined Bing and Gary for several nostalgic barbershop routines on the General Electric Show. Lindsay also contributed several solos and duets to The Bing Crosby Show (1954-56) where his radio banter with his father revealed a keen sense of comedy timing. In addition, Lindsay was a special guest on Bing’s legendary Edsel Show in 1957.

With Bing’s help, Lindsay got a recording contract with RCA in 1958, and enjoyed a modest hit with “Friendship Ring.” He went on to appear in a slew of B movies such as The Girls from Thunder Strip and Zebra Force.

Lindsay was married three times to: Barbara D. Fredrickson from 1960-1962, Janet Sue Schwartze from 1966-1967, and to Susan Marlin from 1968-1978. He also had four sons: David Crosby, Adam Crosby, Sean Crosby, and L. Chip Crosby.

On December 1, 1989 Lindsay and his three brothers had been told by attorneys that the oil investments their mother made for them had gone broke, said Marilyn Reiss, spokeswoman for Lindsay's older brother, Gary. For Lindsay, the news was the "last straw" after years of battling alcoholism, depression and the strain of living under the shadow of his famous father, Reiss said.

"Maybe if he had been a meaner person, he could have handled it," Reiss reported Gary Crosby saying after learning of his brother's death. "He was too sensitive."

Crosby, 51, was found dead on December 11, 1989. Crosby had been staying at the apartment on Bravo Lane while undergoing treatment for alcoholism in nearby Calabasas, Reiss said. He was due to return home to his third ex-wife, Susan, and two sons in Sherman Oaks this weekend, she said. Crosby had two other sons by previous marriages.

Since Lindsay's unfortunate death in 1989, the memory of Bing Crosby has suffered due to the tragedy. Many critics have blamed Bing and his parenting for attributing to Lindsay's death. That is just not true. While Bing might have been an absent father for most of Lindsay's life, in my opinion (which does not mean much) it was Lindsay that could not cope with life. It was unfortunate because all of the Crosby boys had talent - however, unlike their father, they did not have the drive or the determination to make something of their lives. That is the real tragedy...

BING AND THE YOUTH CRUSADE

Bing Crosby and the "Youth Crusade"
by the Associated Press

We have already seen how Hollywood actors, Ronald Reagan, Clark Gable and Kirk Douglas contributed their time and effort for the Crusade for Freedom and Radio Free Europe.

Famed singer, entertainer, television, radio and movie star Bing Crosby was seen in movie theaters during the 1951 campaign, appealing in a short advertising film for support of the Crusade for Freedom:

"I want to tell you something I found out over in Europe: we’ve got plenty of good friends behind the Iron Curtain, probably fifty or sixty million of them.

Naturally they’re not Russians, they’re not Communists. They’re freedom-loving peoples in the captive countries, who refuse to believe the big Red lies the Commies tell them. And you know why they don’t believe those lies?

It is because we, yes, you and I, and millions of other private US citizens have found a way to pierce the Iron Curtain with the truth. And that way is Radio Free Europe, the most powerful weapon in the Crusade for Freedom."

Bing Crosby and his four sons, Gary, Dennis, Michael and Lindsay, were featured in a nation-wide half-hour radio program on NBC on Friday September 28, 1951, entitled “Youth Crusade with the Crosbys.”

The Crosby family show was a combination entertainment and solicitation program. Bing Crosby asked his youthful listeners, “Are you willing to give up three pieces of bubble gum?” He explained that “three cents will buy one brick for a new Radio Free Europe station to carry the truth behind the Iron Curtain.” He urged them to sign the Freedom Scrolls, which had been sent to schools throughout the country, and to contribute a few cents to the Crusade for Freedom. A young Czech boy living in Munich, Germany, was interviewed for broadcasting in the Crosby show.

The Crosby "Youth Crusade" show was repeated over the NBC radio network on Saturday, September 29, 1951.

Wednesday, October 3, 1951, was designated as “Youth Crusade Day” in the United States, and the Bing Crosby radio program was rebroadcast for “in-school” listening by students in various schools around the country. For example, in Pennsylvania the program was broadcast to Warren County schools at nine a.m. Wednesday, October 3, which had been officially designated as „Youth Crusade Day“ in a notification sent by County Superintendent H. L. Blair, to all principals. Both high and grade schools heard the radio show as part of the regular in-school listening program in Warren, Youngsville, Tidioute, Sheffield, Sugar Grove and in rural schools, wherever possible.

The Warren County Crusade campaign ran from September 24, 1951 to October 30, 1951, with a goal of $735 in contributions and 5,582 signatures on the Freedom Scrolls--the nation-wide goal was $3,500,000 and 25 million signatures. Warren County chairman David Potter hoped that students would sign "several thousand" Freedom Scrolls. Potter said that this was "A campaign for the future, and no one is more interested in the future than the children of the present.

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