Kathryn Crosby, a former beauty queen from Texas and a rising actress, passed away at the age of 90 at her home in Hillsborough, California. She had set aside her acting career after marrying Bing Crosby, the famous movie star and singer known for his smooth voice.
Who Is Kathryn Crosby?
Olive Kathryn Crosby, born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on November 25, 1933, in West Columbia, Texas, was an American actress and singer. She acted in films using the stage names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff. Her parents were Delbert Emery Grandstaff Sr. and Olive Kathryn Grandstaff, and she had four siblings. Kathryn received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1955.
In 1957, she married Bing Crosby, a noted actor and singer who was 30 years older than her and a widower. They had three children: Harry, Mary Frances, and Nathaniel.
Katherine began her acting career in 1953 with small, uncredited roles in films such as So This Is Love, Arrowhead, and Forever Female. She continued to play small roles in 1954 and 1955, after which she was given larger roles, such as Jo-Ann in Cell 2455: Death Row and Ellie Rhodes in The Phenix City Story.
Kathryn Crosby Husband
Kathryn Crosby married singer and actor Bing Crosby in 1957. Kathryn Crosby performed on stage under the names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff. Bing Crosby, who died in 1977 at age 74, was a highly popular American singer, actor, and songwriter.
He became one of the best-known crooners, with a smooth singing style, during a time when advances in radio, movies, and sound recording helped artists like him gain fame. Bing was much loved for his work in radio, music recordings, and movies.
Kathryn Crosby Career
Kathryn Crosby’s film career began in 1953. She played several notable roles, such as playing Princess Parisa in ‘The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and appearing in the courtroom drama ‘Anatomy of a Murder’ (1959). She also starred in ‘Goldilocks’ with her husband and children and appeared in the comedy ‘Operation Mad Ball’ (1957) with Jack Lemmon, the drama ‘Mr. Cory’ (1957) with Tony Curtis, and as a trapeze artist in ‘The Big Circus’ (1959). However, by the 1960s, Kathryn had nearly retired from acting.
In addition to acting, Kathryn studied at the Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles and became a registered nurse on June 16, 1963.
She guest-starred on her husband’s 1964-1965 sitcom, ‘The Bing Crosby Show’. In the mid-1970s, Katherine hosted ‘The Katherine Crosby Show’, a 30-minute local talk show on KPIX-TV in San Francisco, where her husband Bing Crosby occasionally appeared as a guest. After Bing died in 1977, she played a few small roles and starred in the short-lived 1996 Broadway musical ‘State Fair’.
From 1985 to 2001, Katherine hosted the Crosby National golf tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in North Carolina. A nearby bridge over the Yadkin River is named in her honor.
On November 4, 2010, Katherine was seriously injured in a car accident in the Sierra Nevada that tragically killed her second husband, Maurice William Sullivan, whom she married in 2000.
On June 1, 2014, Katherine performed at a concert paying tribute to Rodgers and Hart.