Kathryn Crosby, the actor, singer and widow of Bing Crosby, died Friday evening of natural causes at her home in Hillsborough, California. She was 90.
A Crosby family representative announced the news.
Crosby appeared in more than twenty films over the course of her career, including ‘The Wild Party’ (1956), ‘Operation Mad Ball’ (1957), ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad’ (1958) and ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ . (1959). She usually performed under the stage names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff.
Crosby regularly appeared on her husband Bing’s “Merrie Olde Christmas” specials and hosted “The Kathryn Crosby Show,” a 30-minute talk show in San Francisco. After the famed singer and actor’s death at age 74 in 1977, she appeared in several stage productions, including the 1996 Broadway revival of “State Fair.” She also hosted the charity Crosby National Golf Tournament for many years in Bermuda Run, NC.
Kathryn Crosby was born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on November 25, 1933 in West Columbia, Texas. After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin, Crosby won a beauty pageant, which earned her a screen test with William Holden. She began her film career in 1953 when she wrote a column about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper. She eventually met Bing during interviews for her column on the set of the 1954 film “White Christmas.” The two married in 1957, and in 1963 she became a nurse and teacher.
Some of her other credits include ‘Queen of the Lot’, ‘This is Life’, ‘The Initiation of Sarah’, ‘Cyrano de Bergerac’, ‘Ben Casey’, ‘Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre’, ‘The House Next By,” “1001 Arabian Nights,” “The Big Circus,” “Gunman’s Walk,” “The George Sanders Mystery Theater,” “Love Has No Alibi,” “The Brothers Rico,” “The Night the World Exploded,” “ The Guns of Fort Petticoat,” “Mister Cory,” “The Ford Television Theater,” “The Connoisseur,” “A Kiss for Santa,” “The Policies of Joe Aladdin,” “Hanrahan,” “Retaliation!” and “A touch of spring.”
Crosby is survived by her three children, Harry, Mary and Nathaniel, as well as several grandchildren.