Bing Crosby remains a beloved figure in popular culture decades after his death. However, to his family, Bing was much more than just a crooner and film star. The legendary figure was married two times over the course of his life and had seven children. Sadly, many of these children went on to lead tragic lives. Join Facts Verse as we explore how Bing Crosby got busy with two wives and seven children.
Bing Crosby Had a Lot of Family Troubles
There are few figures in popular culture more wholesome on the surface than the late Bing Crosby, whose Christmas songs are still played every holiday season by families around the world. Though Bing Crosby’s legacy in the entertainment industry has helped bring families together, the actor didn’t have a very easy time keeping his own family together before his death in 1977. Bing was married twice over the course of his life, and the first of these marriages ended in tragedy after his first wife passed away.
Bing Crosby had several children with his first wife, and most of these kids went on to lead tragic lives. In fact, two of them committed suicide! Bing Crosby married his first wife in 1930, and she was a nightclub singer by the name of Dixie Lee. They remained happily married for over two decades before she tragically passed away from ovarian cancer in 1952. During this time period, the couple had four children.
Gary Crosby Was Bing’s First Kid
The first of Bing Crosby’s children was Gary Crosby, who was born in the summer of 1933. Bing groomed his first child in his own image. The young boy was named after Gary Cooper, who had been a friend of his father’s. The first time that Gary Crosby appeared on screen was in 1942’s Star-Spangled Banner. At the time, Gary was only nine years old. Despite being ushered into Hollywood stardom at the behest of his father, Gary decided that he still wanted to pursue an education. He attended Stanford University and graduated before resuming his Hollywood career.
During the 1940s, Gary Crosby began performing alongside his three siblings. Together, they formed a group by the name of the Crosby Boys. Gary also worked with his father on a couple of songs, including “Play a Simple Melody”. Given how well Bing Crosby and his first son worked professionally, many have falsely assumed that they had a close relationship. However, the relationship between Bing and Gary behind closed doors was much more turbulent.
Gary Crosby alleged after his father’s death and before his own that Bing Crosby had been physically abusive towards him while he was growing up. Gary’s younger siblings substantiated these claims, though they seem to have rationalized their father’s beatings as being the star’s own unique brand of corporal punishment. Given that Gary was the child that Bing was the most adamant about making a star, it seems that Gary received a bit more physical abuse than his siblings. Gary claimed before his death that his father would carefully watch his weight as he was growing up, and he would cane him if he gained just an extra pound.
Gary Ended Up Being the Second Crosby Kid to Die
Before Gary’s death, many of his younger siblings suggested that he had come up with his stories about Bing Crosby’s abuse in order to sell copies of his autobiography. There may be some truth to this, but it’s also undeniable that Bing crossed the line with his eldest sons numerous times as they were growing up. All of the other children that Bing had with his first wife agreed that their father could be physically abusive. Those other children were twins Philip and Dennis, as well as youngest son Lindsay. All of these four children went on to lead miserable lives before dying tragically.
Gary Crosby was the second of the Crosby kids to pass away, after the suicide of fourth child Lindsay in 1989. Gary passed away in 1995 of lung cancer. At the time of his death, he was 62 years old. He had been married three times over the course of his life, and had one son. Of the four children that Bing Crosby had with his first wife, Gary’s life was undeniably the least tragic. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Did the Crosby Twins Suffer from Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
After Bing Crosby and his first wife had Gary Crosby in 1933, they had a pair of twins named Philip and Dennis in the summer of 1934. To this day, there are numerous people that allege that Philip and Dennis suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome. It seems that Dixie Lee was an alcoholic, which is something that Bing may or may not have known. Regardless of whether or not Philip and Dennis suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, that wasn’t the thing that ended up making their lives so tragic. Everyone agreed that Philip was the good twin, and that Dennis was the evil twin.
Like Gary before them, both Philip and Dennis were ushered into the entertainment industry by their father. However, neither twin found as much success as their older sibling. As an adult, Philip Crosby decided to enroll in the army. This occurred during the 1950s. Upon returning from service, Philip attended Washington State University and became a fairly successful college football player. Philip then went on to settle down and have a family. Despite the fact that he was alleged to have suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, Philip ended up providing his father with four grandchildren.
Phillip passed away from a heart attack in early 2004, at the age of 69. Before his death, Phillip defended his late father against the posthumous accusations that had been brought up by Gary, saying that their father never hit any of them more than they deserved. As the bad twin, Dennis was not so successful in his life as Phillip. Dennis had four failed marriages over the course of his lifetime and had several children. However, he remained estranged from them in the years leading up to his suicide in the early 1990s.
Both Dennis and Lindsay Crosby Committed Suicide
Towards the end of his life, the only of his siblings that Dennis maintained a positive relationship with was Lindsay. After Lindsay took his own life in 1989, Dennis quickly followed suit. Dennis took his own life in 1991, at the age of 56. Thankfully, Bing Crosby was no longer around to witness the tragic suicides of two of his children. Lindsay was the final child born during Bing Crosby’s first marriage. He was born in 1938, and his life is arguably the most tragic out of all of Bing’s seven kids. Like his three elder siblings, Lindsay made up a part of the popular singing group the Crosby Boys. In fact, it was Lindsay’s 1962 nervous breakdown that caused the group to come to an end for good.
Over the course of his life, Lindsay married and divorced three times and had five children. His life was fairly similar to that of his older sibling Dennis, which is perhaps why they got along so well. Both Lindsay and Dennis sank into severe depression and alcoholism over the course of their lives as a result of their failed marriages. They also both suffered from significant financial problems, particularly after the death of their father. When Lindsay took his own life in 1989, he became the first of the Crosby kids to pass away.
Bing Crosby dated around for a bit before marrying second wife Kathryn Grant, who was an aspiring actress. The two married in 1957 and remained married until Bing’s 1977 death. Over the course of their marriage, the two had three children. When the first of these children came, Bing made a pledge to himself that he was going to try harder than he did with his first four children. Because of this, the children that Bing had with his second wife have gone on to have much less disturbed lives then the ones he had with his first.
Bing Tried Harder During His Second Marriage
The first child that Bing had with his second wife was named Harry, and he was born in August of 1958. Though Harry was ushered into the entertainment industry like his elder stepsiblings, his father never physically abused him. As an adult, Harry earned a master’s degree at Fordham University. Today, he works in investment banking. Before his father’s death, Harry had a close relationship with Bing and the two often performed together on the stage as singers. It seems that Harry has a voice much like his father’s. In 1959, Bing Crosby’s only daughter was born.
Bing Crosby’s only daughter is Mary Crosby, who has become somewhat successful in the acting world in the decades since her father’s death. Though Mary has no big roles to her name, she has been a reliable presence on television over the years. Her most iconic role came via the primetime soap opera Dallas. The youngest of the Crosby kids is Nathaniel Crosby, who was born in 1962. Nathaniel alleges that, although his father never physically abused him, he would make him perform physical labor as a child so that he learned the meaning of hard work.
Bing Crosby had seven children over the course of his life, and two of these children committed suicide not long after the singer’s own death. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Bing Crosby was physically abusive towards his first four kids, and that two of those kids were rumored to have suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
