Kathryn Crosby, actor and widow of famed singer and actor Bing Crosby, dies at 90

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Associated Press

Beth Harris

Published Sep 21, 2024  •  2 minute read

Bing Crosby stands with his wife, Kathryn, left in New York on Dec. 8, 1976. Photo by Carlos Rene Perez, File /AP photo

LOS ANGELES — Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” and “Operation Mad Ball” before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.

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She died of natural causes Friday night at her home in the Northern California city of Hillsborough, a family spokesperson said Saturday.

Appearing under her stage name of Kathryn Grant, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in “Mister Cory” in 1957 and Victor Mature in “The Big Circus” in 1959. She made five movies with film noir director Phil Karlson, including “Tight Spot” and “The Phenix City Story,” both in 1955.

Her other leading men included Jack Lemmon in “Operation Mad Ball,” James Darren in “The Brothers Rico,” and James Stewart in “Anatomy of a Murder,” directed by Otto Preminger.

Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on Nov. 25, 1933, in West Columbia, Texas, she graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in fine arts. She came to Hollywood and began her movie career in 1953.

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She met Bing Crosby while doing interviews for a column she wrote about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper. They were married in 1957, when she was 23 and he was 54.

She curtailed her acting career after the wedding, although she appeared often with Crosby and their three children on his Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice commercials. She became a registered nurse in 1963.

In the 1970s, she hosted a morning talk show on KPIX-TV in Northern California.

After Crosby’s death at age 74 in 1977, from a heart attack after golfing in Spain, she appeared in stage productions of “Same Time, Next Year” and “Charley’s Aunt.” She co-starred with John Davidson and Andrea McArdle in the 1996 Broadway revival of “State Fair.”

For 16 years ending in 2001, she hosted the Crosby National golf tournament in Bermuda Run, North Carolina.

She is survived by children Harry, Mary, an actor best known for the TV show “Dallas,” and Nathaniel, a successful amateur golfer. She was married to Maurice Sullivan for 10 years before he was killed in a 2010 car accident that seriously injured Crosby.

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