With his boyish charm and everyman good looks, Bing was definitely a ladies man. But only two lucky women bore the name Mrs. Crosby.
Dixie Lee Crosby (10/04/1911 - 11/01/1952) Dixie Lee Crosby, formerly Wilma Wyatt, was born in Harriman, Tennessee, to Evan and Nora Wyatt on October 4th, 1911. Wilma was undeniably gorgeous and talented. She won a singing contest in Chicago which included a part in a Broadway play. She was soon on her way to Hollywood and at the age of eighteen, she was signed to a contract with Fox. When Bing and Dixie met, she, indeed, was the bigger star. The two first met in November 1928 and
Bing was immediately Wedded bless followed and so did a yard full of children. Gary Crosby arrived first in October 1933, the twins, Phillip and Dennis came along in 1934, and Lindsay rounded out the bunch in 1938. Today, only Phillip is left from Bing's first group of children. Dennis and Lindsay both reportedly committed suicide and Gary died of lung cancer in the '90s.
Dixie had not been in good health for awhile but it was during the filming of "Little Boy Lost" in France that Bing learned that Dixie was suffering from terminal ovarian cancer. She died of the disease November 1, 1952
Bing was truly devastated by Dixie Lee's death and the task of raising four boys was placed squarely in his lap. Two years after Dixie's death and many dates with beautiful women later, Bing found the woman who would become the second Mrs. Crosby.
Kathryn Crosby (11/25/1933 - present)
Kathryn Crosby, formerly Olive Kathryn
Grandstaff, was born in Houston, Texas, November, 25, 1933. Kathryn,
it turns out, is the same age as Bing's oldest child from his first
marriage. Regardless of the age difference. It was romance
from the start. In her home state of Texas, Ms. Grandstaff won a number of beauty pageants and her good looks eventually opened doors for her in Hollywood. She was signed at Paramount in 1954 and writing a column for her hometown's newspaper. Bing just happened to be shooting "White Christmas" that same year. She was doing some work for the costume department on the lot of Paramount when she wandered past one of the bungalows. A voice from inside called out, "what's your hurry!" And after playfully mocking her southern accent, Bing asked her inside for tea. Many invitations were extended after
that day, some kept and some refused. The two had a rather
tumultuous on again-off again relationship, which included periods in
which they did not communicate at all. Wedding dates were set and
dashed. Finally, all the kinks were
The Crosby's lived quite happily until that fateful day in October. Bing died in Spain while playing golf. This left Kathryn a 44 year old widow, which is not much younger than Bing was when Dixie Lee died. To this day, Kathryn has never wed again. She is the author of several books on Bing Crosby and lends her talents to numerous plays and productions. She is currently promoting her new book, "My Last Years With Bing," and helping fans to celebrate Bing Crosby's Centennial year.
*Much of this information was taken from Richard Gruden's "Crooner of the Century" and Malcolm MacFarlane's "A Diary of a Lifetime"
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