Tuesday Minute
No. 93 | May 11, 2010

Act Naturally

Our theme this week
Oscar-winning singers-turned-actors

Featured this week (theme introduction)
Monday         —   Cher

Bing Crosby

Bing Crosby was one of the most popular entertainers in history.  He was the top-selling recording artist in the era before rock and roll, and his “White Christmas” is still, by some measures, the best-selling single of all time.  His films from the 1930s to the ’50s were consistent hits at the box office, and he ranks third all-time among actors in number of movie tickets sold.

Bing Crosby first made his name with Paul Whiteman’s band in the 1920s.  His singing success led to a successful radio show and a series of film musicals, including The Big Broadcast (1932), Anything Goes (1936), and Pennies from Heaven (1936).  He teamed with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in 1940 for Road to Singapore, the first of the long and winding “Road” series that eventually stopped in Zanzibar, Morocco, Utopia, Rio, Bali, and Hong Kong.  Holiday Inn (1942), with Fred Astaire, was a hit, leading to a remake twelve years later, White Christmas, named for the original’s legendary, Oscar-winning song.  The role of parish priest Father O’Malley earned Crosby two Best Actor nominations (and one win), for Going My Way and The Bells of St. Mary’s, the latter with Ingrid Bergman.  His notable films of the ’50s include The Country Girl, as a has-been with one last chance, with Grace Kelly, and High Society, a musical update to The Philadelphia Story, with Kelly again and Frank Sinatra.

Crosby’s trademark was his easy-going style, in song and on film.  The charm he exhibited before the cameras may not have been his off-screen self, by some reports, but his natural and pleasant personality was undeniably popular with audiences of the time, and that perhaps is his most enduring legacy.

Academy Award nominations
Going My Way (1944, BA)*
The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945, BA)
The Country Girl (1954, BA)
* Won Oscar

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Holiday Inn (1942)
Mark Sandrich, director
Bing Crosby, Marjorie Reynolds
“Easter Parade” (Irving Berlin)

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Road to Morocco (1942)
David Butler, director
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour
“Moonlight Becomes You” (Jimmy Van Heusen & Johnny Burke)

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High Society (1956)
Charles Walters, director
Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra
“Well, Did You Evah!” (Cole Porter)

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Quote of Note
Susan:  Are you married?
Larry:  No, I’m sane!
—Susan Sprague (Madge Evans), Larry Poole (Bing Crosby), Pennies from Heaven (1936)

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