BING CROSBY: THE SITCOM STAR

In the fall of 1964, legendary crooner and film star Bing Crosby made a failed attempt to be part of the television sitcom landscape. The series was titled, The Bing Crosby Show.

As Bing Crosby noted in January 1965 about his then-new self-titled sitcom, "It’s been fun, and it hasn’t been too hard a chore. But according to the rating, we haven’t been doing so well. I think I’d have to get on a glass-bottom boat to find the rating. It’s a rat race. If you don’t get a rating, they dump you.”

In the series, Crosby played a married architectural engineer with two children. Beverly Garland (formerly of the groundbreaking Decoy female detective series, and future star of the later years of My Three Sons), portrayed Crosby's TV wife. His small-screen daughters were played by Carol Faylen and Diane Sherry Case.

At one point shortly before it was canceled, The Bing Crosby Show rated in 77th place among all network evening shows with a rating of 14.9.

Before the situation comedy began, its star had infrequently appeared on TV on only a special basis each year.

In January of 1965, Crosby further noted, “I don’t know whether we’ll continue next year. I’m interested in doing a little work — a movie or something. My contract is with ABC. I suppose it’s up to ABC to sell the show to sponsors. If they don’t buy, we won’t be on next season.”

The famed entertainer was not despondent by his show's low ranking, pressing on that it needed “a couple of years to get a good rating.” He agreed to do the series only if he could do so, "leisurely,” he said. Crosby also viewed the show as "an opportunity to get another series on the air for my company.”
That organization was Bing Crosby Productions, which brought Ben Casey to air for ABC and Slattery’s People on CBS.

In the end, The Bing Crosby Show never saw a second season. But he continued to host variety specials like The Hollywood Palace, which was on ABC and a production of his Bing Crosby Productions shingle. Crosby would also, however, then go on to star in and produce iconic Christmas specials for the NBC TV network....

BING AND HIS SITCOM

Many people do not know that Bing Crosby had his own sitcom during the 1964-1965 television season. It has yet to be released officially. However, I found these three great reviews of the short-lived series:

F Gwynplaine MacIntyre - review on February 19, 2003:

I have a standing rule: you can expect a sitcom to be pretty dire if the star of the show plays a character who has the same first name as the star. So far, this rule has proven to be true far more often than it hasn't been. (Got that, Lucy?) 'The Bing Crosby Show' was a sitcom starring Bing Crosby as a guy named (wait for it) Bing ... which is implausible enough on its own, but made more so by the fact that the Bing character in this tv series is NOT in show business!

Bing Crosby plays Bing Collins, a former crooner who gave up show-biz stardom for the easy-going life as a professor at a community college, teaching electrical engineering! It seems unlikely that a crooner would ever have had time to learn electrical engineering ... although, in real life, Bing Crosby financed the research to develop electronic recording tape. Professor Collins's wife Janice (played by the cult actress Beverly Garland) dislikes the dull existence of a campus wife, and she wants Bing to go back into show-biz, which she always found more glamorous. For Mrs Collins, the campus life is not a college bowl of Bing cherries.

The Collinses have two daughters: the older is a typical TV teenager, whilst the younger daughter is a genius. This is the most original aspect of 'The Bing Crosby Show', as in Television-Land the rules state that child geniuses on sitcoms are always little boys, not girls.

In every episode, somebody would have some sort of problem which only wise old Bing could sort out. After putting everything to rights, Bing would warble a tune whilst everybody else sat about admiring Bing's tonsils. There's no more boo-hooing when Bing starts buh-booing.

I'm deeply a fan of Bing Crosby, and this low-budget sitcom is enjoyable because of the sheer strength of Bing's talent and presence. But he's done much better work elsewhere. The camera work is quite good: typically, for a Desilu production of this period. And Bing's suits are nice. Not much else happening here, though.

Bruce Kogan - review January 3, 2006:

I pretty much agree with the previous viewer. But one thing that he forgot to mention. Bing was color blind. It was the reason he wore so many pieces of loud clothing during the Thirties and Forties when he was at his height. His choice of garment apparel was much fodder for Bob Hope's monologues.

The one episode I remember is with son Gary guest starring as a would-be teen idol. He's in fact composed an "original" song that he's sure will rocket him to the top.

Of course it's old melody master Bing who uncovers the fact that Gary has plagiarized Night and Day. Of course since Bing did his own record of it back in the day it would be only natural that he would spot it.

Bing's best small screen work was as the most featured host of the Hollywood Palace. I wish someone would get those shows over on the TV Land channel.

I remember when this show was on and reviewers were struck by the fact that the Greatest Entertainer Ever would be doing something as ordinary as a TV situation comedy.

It's not that the show was bad, but that it was so beneath him.

Sue Horn - review on June 30, 2006:

Objectively, everything that the other reviewers have said is true, but it's still Bing. I love seeing him in previously undiscovered settings, and this is one of them.

If you can get a hold of these episodes, they are fun to watch. Beverly Garland was a good match for Bing, before she became the step-mom on "My Three Sons."

The stories do all wrap up nicely in the time of the episode, but that's how TV worked back then. It's nice to see guest stars appearing on the show. All in all, I can think of worse ways to spend your time!

Now if any of you have a source for the old "Hollywood Palace" shows, that would be the best compliment to this show.

THE BING CROSBY SHOW

The Bing Crosby Show is a 28-episode television situation comedy starring crooner, film star, iconic phenomenon, and businessman Bing Crosby and actress Beverly Garland as a middle-aged couple, Bing and Ellie Collins, rearing two teenaged daughters during the early 1960s. In the format, Crosby portrayed an architectural designer with a penchant for singing, and each episode usually contained at least one song. Produced by Crosby's own company, affiliated with Desilu Studios and subsequently CBS Paramount Television, the series aired on ABC from September 14, 1964, to April 5, 1965. Rebroadcasts continued until June 14...