Bing Crosby
Acting • Born 1903-05-03 – Died 1977-10-14
Biography
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.
Filmography
209 credits
The Movie Orgy
Movie • 1968
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood's Funniest All-Star Bloopers
Movie • 1985
Self (archive footage)
The Country Girl
Movie • 1954
Frank Elgin
Man on Fire
Movie • 1957
Earl Carleton
The Princess and the Pirate
Movie • 1944
Margaret's Sweetheart (uncredited)
High Society
Movie • 1956
C. K. Dexter-Haven
Hollywood on Parade No. A-4
Movie • 1932
Self (uncredited)
The Road to Hong Kong
Movie • 1962
Harry Turner
Road to Morocco
Movie • 1942
Jeff Peters
Road to Zanzibar
Movie • 1941
Chuck Reardon
Road to Rio
Movie • 1947
Scat Sweeney
The Bells of St. Mary's
Movie • 1945
Father Chuck O'Malley
Halloween Hall o' Fame
Movie • 1977
Narrator/Brom Bones
Road to Bali
Movie • 1952
George Cochran
Going Hollywood
Movie • 1933
Bill 'Billy' Williams
We're Not Dressing
Movie • 1934
Stephen Jones
Here Comes the Groom
Movie • 1951
Peter 'Pete' Garvey
White Christmas
Movie • 1954
Bob Wallace
The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad
Movie • 1949
Narrator (segment "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow")
The Hollywood Clowns
Movie • 1979
(archive footage)
Holiday Inn
Movie • 1942
Jim Hardy
Bing Crosby's Sun Valley Christmas Show
Movie • 1973
Road to Singapore
Movie • 1940
Joshua 'Josh' Mallon V
Road to Utopia
Movie • 1946
Duke Johnson
Dean Martin: King of Cool
Movie • 2021
Self (archive footage)
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Movie • 1949
Hank Martin
Here Come the Waves
Movie • 1944
Johnny Cabot
East Side of Heaven
Movie • 1939
Denny Martin
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Movie • 1949
Narrator
Happy Holidays with Bing and Frank
Movie • 1957
Self
Anything Goes
Movie • 1956
Bill Benson
Just for You
Movie • 1952
Jordan Blake
The Emperor Waltz
Movie • 1948
Virgil Smith
Holiday Greetings from 'The Ed Sullivan Show'
Movie • 1992
Self - Vocalist (archive footage)
Stagecoach
Movie • 1966
Doc Josiah Boone
Alias Jesse James
Movie • 1959
Bing (uncredited)
Going My Way
Movie • 1944
Father Chuck O'Malley
Robin and the 7 Hoods
Movie • 1964
Allen A. Dale
Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas
Movie • 1997
Bob Wallace (archive footage)
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love
Movie • 2023
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Legendary Christmas Entertainers
Movie • 2005
Self
Showbiz Goes to War
Movie • 1982
(archive footage)
Hollywood Handicap
Movie • 1938
Himself
Rhythm on the Range
Movie • 1936
Jeff Larabee
Hollywood on Parade No. A-2
Movie • 1932
Self
Blue Skies
Movie • 1946
Johnny Adams
Pepe
Movie • 1960
Bing Crosby
Waikiki Wedding
Movie • 1937
Tony Marvin
Double or Nothing
Movie • 1937
'Lefty' Boylan
If I Had My Way
Movie • 1940
Buzz Blackwell
Classic Commercials: Volume 3
Movie • 1998
Little Boy Lost
Movie • 1953
Bill Wainright
Big Night Out: The Peggy Lee Show
Movie • 1961
The Great Radio Comedians
Movie • 1971
Self
My Favorite Brunette
Movie • 1947
Harry (uncredited)
Birth of the Blues
Movie • 1941
Jeff Lambert
High Time
Movie • 1960
Harvey Howard
Star Spangled Rhythm
Movie • 1942
Bing Crosby
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Movie • 1972
Self (archive footage)
Mr. Music
Movie • 1950
Paul Merrick
Blue of the Night
Movie • 1931
Bing Crosby / Jack Smith
I Surrender Dear
Movie • 1931
Bing Crosby
Dream House
Movie • 1932
Bing Fawcett (Plumber)
Goldilocks
Movie • 1970
Self / Papa Bear (voice)
Riding High
Movie • 1950
Dan Brooks
Say One for Me
Movie • 1959
Father Conroy
She Loves Me Not
Movie • 1934
Paul Lawton
Happy Birthday, Bob: 50 Stars Salute Your 50 Years with NBC
Movie • 1988
Self (archive footage)
Sing, You Sinners
Movie • 1938
Joe Beebe
Rhythm on the River
Movie • 1940
Bob Sommers
Mississippi
Movie • 1935
Tom Grayson
Variety Girl
Movie • 1947
Bing Crosby
Welcome Stranger
Movie • 1947
Dr. James 'Jim' Pearson
The March of Time
Movie • 1930
Self
Sing, Bing, Sing
Movie • 1933
Bing
Two Plus Fours
Movie • 1930
Bing
Top o' the Morning
Movie • 1949
Joe Mulqueen
College Humor
Movie • 1933
Professor Frederick Danvers
Here Is My Heart
Movie • 1934
J. Paul Jones
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Movie • 1982
Self (archive footage)
The Road to Victory
Movie • 1944
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Anything Goes
Movie • 1936
Billy Crocker
Pennies from Heaven
Movie • 1936
Larry Poole
The Big Broadcast of 1936
Movie • 1935
Bing
Showdown at Ulcer Gulch
Movie • 1956
Influential Man
The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell
Movie • 1968
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Dr. Cook's Garden
Movie • 1971
Leonard Cook
The Big Broadcast
Movie • 1932
Bing Hornsby
Road to Home
Movie • 1945
Self
Two for Tonight
Movie • 1935
Gilbert Gordon
Doctor Rhythm
Movie • 1938
Dr. Bill Remsen
Please
Movie • 1933
Howard Jones
Paris Honeymoon
Movie • 1939
'Lucky' Lawton
The Star Maker
Movie • 1939
Larry Earl
The Shining Future
Movie • 1944
Self
Howard
Movie • 2018
Jeff Peters (archive footage)
Reaching for the Moon
Movie • 1930
Bing
Son of Paleface
Movie • 1952
Driver (uncredited)
Too Much Harmony
Movie • 1933
Eddie Bronson
My Favorite Blonde
Movie • 1942
Man Outside Union Hall (uncredited)
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Movie • 1984
(archive footage)
They Got Me Covered
Movie • 1943
Music Box (voice)
Biography: Bob Hope: America's Entertainer
Movie • 2003
Self (archive footage)
Rat Pack
Movie • 2022
Self (archive footage)
You're the Top: The Cole Porter Story
Movie • 1990
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby Color Christmas Show
Movie • 1965
Self (host)
"All -Singing All-Dancing" Before And After
Movie • 2006
Archive Footage
Edith Head: The Paramount Years
Movie • 2002
(archive footage)
Hollywood on Parade
Movie • 1932
Self
Dixie
Movie • 1943
Daniel Decatur Emmett
Out of This World
Movie • 1945
Herbie Fenton (singing voice)
King of Jazz
Movie • 1930
Trio Singer (as The Rhythm Boys)
That's Entertainment!
Movie • 1974
Self - Host / Narrator
Cole Porter in Hollywood: True Love
Movie • 2003
Self (Archive Footage)
The Bing Crosby Show
Movie • 1954
Self
Bing Crosby: Cooling It
Movie • 1970
Self
Grace Kelly: The American Princess
Movie • 1987
Self (archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Rediscovered
Movie • 2014
Self (archive footage)
Swing with Bing
Movie • 1940
Himself
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Movie • 2022
Self - C.K Dexter-Haven (archive footage)
Duffy's Tavern
Movie • 1945
Bing Crosby
Television: The First Fifty Years
Movie • 1999
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment, Part II
Movie • 1976
(archive footage)
High Tor
Movie • 1956
Van Van Dorn
A Bing Crosby Christmas
Movie • 1998
Self - Host (archive footage)
Off Limits
Movie • 1952
Bing Crosby (archive footage) (uncredited)
Billboard Girl
Movie • 1932
Bing
Scared Stiff
Movie • 1953
Skeleton (uncredited)
The Greatest Show on Earth
Movie • 1952
Spectator (uncredited)
Angels in the Outfield
Movie • 1951
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Jolson Sings Again
Movie • 1949
Himself (voice) (uncredited)
Cancel My Reservation
Movie • 1972
Himself (uncredited)
Cinerama's Russian Adventure
Movie • 1966
Narrator (voice)
Star Night at the Cocoanut Grove
Movie • 1934
Self
Grace Kelly – Hollywoods tragische Prinzessin
Movie • 2022
Self (archive footage)
That's Entertainment! III
Movie • 1994
(archive footage)
Hollywood Victory Caravan
Movie • 1945
Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby: The Television Specials Volume 2 – The Christmas Specials
Movie • 2010
Self
Songs That Won the War
Movie • 1994
Himself (Archive)
The Magic of Bing Crosby
Movie • 1991
Self (archive footage)
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Movie • 2000
Self (archive footage)
Lifetime of Comedy
Movie • 1960
(archive footage)
'Twas the Night - A Holiday Celebration
Movie • 2004
Self
Let's Make Love
Movie • 1960
Bing Crosby (uncredited)
Christmas with Crosby & Kate
Movie • 1966
Himself
Bing Crosby and the Sounds of Christmas
Movie • 1971
Himself
Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas
Movie • 1977
Self
The Bing Crosby Show
Movie • 1962
Himself
The Bing Crosby Show
Movie • 1961
Self
This Is Bob Hope...
Movie • 2017
Self (archive footage)
Confessions of a Co-Ed
Movie • 1931
Bing
Show-Business at War
Movie • 1943
Self
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Movie • 1975
Self (archive footage)
Road to Hollywood
Movie • 1947
Himself
The All-Star Bond Rally
Movie • 1945
Self
Swing Out, Sweet Land
Movie • 1970
Mark Twain
You Can Change The World
Movie • 1950
Self
Bing Crosby: The Christmas Years
Movie • 1978
Himself (archival footage)
Walt Disney's Fables - Vol.1
Movie • 2003
Narrator / Ichabod Crane / Brom Bones (voice) (archive footage)
'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney
Movie • 2000
Bob Wallace (archive footage) (uncredited)
It's Showtime
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
My Music: A Classic Christmas
Movie • 2019
Self (archive footage)
We've Got Another Bond to Buy
Movie • 1945
Tim Conway: Timeless Comedy
Movie • 2007
Self
The Sound of Laughter
Movie • 1963
Bob (Singer in Grocery Store)
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 1
Movie • 2001
Self (archive footage)
The Best of Bob Hope: 50 Years of Laughter — Volume 2
Movie • 2001
Self (archive footage)
The Frank Sinatra Timex Show
Movie • 1959
Self
Screen Actors
Movie • 1950
Self (uncredited)
Disney's Halloween Treat
Movie • 1982
(archive footage)
One More Chance
Movie • 1931
Bing Bangs
Hollywood on Parade No. B-4
Movie • 1934
Self
The Edsel Show
Movie • 1957
Self
Grace Kelly: Destiny of a Princess
Movie • 2006
Self - Actor (archive footage)
Hollywood Ghosts & Gravesites
Movie • 2003
(archive footage)
Bing Crosby: Legends in Concert
Movie • 2004
Self
Bing Crosby: Live In Mysen, Norway
Movie • 1977
Himself
The Grand Olympics
Movie • 1961
Himself
Down Memory Lane
Movie • 1949
(archive footage)
Twiggy
Movie • 2025
(archival footage)
I Can't Give You Anything But Love: The Jimmy McHugh Story
Movie • 2024
Self (archive footage)
Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
Movie • 1975
Self
Shanks for the Memory
Movie • 1994
Bob Hope Christmas Show
Movie • 1965
Self
A Classic Christmas from The Ed Sullivan Show
Movie • 1992
Self
Hooray for Hollywood
Movie • 1976
Self (archive footage)
The Best of Johnny Carson
Movie • 2010
Self (archive footage)
The All-Star Christmas Show
Movie • 1958
Self
Don't Hook Now
Movie • 1943
Self
Showbiz Ballyhoo
Movie • 1982
Self (archive footage)
Classic Comedy Teams
Movie • 1986
Self (archive footage)
Michael Bublé: Home For The Holidays
Movie • 2012
Self (archive footage)
Moments in Music
Movie • 1950
Self
The Bing Crosby Show
TV • 1964
Bing Collins
Frank Sinatra Show
TV • 1957
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
TV • 1948
Self
The Pearl Bailey Show
TV • 1971
Self
V.I.P. Schaukel
TV • 1971
Self
The Carol Burnett Show
TV • 1967
Self
The Carol Burnett Show
TV • 1967
Self - Guest / Various Characters
The Jack Benny Program
TV • 1950
Bing Crosby
Legends
TV • 2006
Self (archive footage)
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self
The Mike Douglas Show
TV • 1961
Self (archive footage)
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
TV • 1963
George Warren
The Bob Hope Show
TV • 1950
Self
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV • 1968
Self (uncredited)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
TV • 1968
Self