Gary Crosby (actor)

For other people named Gary Crosby, see Gary Crosby (disambiguation).

Gary Crosby
Gary with father, Bing, 1951.
Born	Gary Evan Crosby (1933-06-27)June 27, 1933 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Died	August 24, 1995(1995-08-24) (aged 62) Burbank, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Lung cancer
Occupation(s)	Actor, singer
Years active	1945–1993
Spouses	Barbara Cosentino (1960-1981) (divorced) 1 child Andrea Claudio (1981-?) (divorced) Carol Crosby (?-1995) (divorced)
Parents	Bing Crosby (1903–1977) Dixie Lee (1911–1952)

Gary Evan Crosby (June 27, 1933 – August 24, 1995) was an American singer and actor. His parents were Bing Crosby, of whom he wrote a highly critical memoir, and the singer/actress Dixie Lee.

Personal life and career

Gary Crosby was born in Los Angeles and attended Stanford University but dropped out. He fell into the entertainment business, and performed in a harmony singing group, The Crosby Boys, with his three brothers, Philip, Lindsay, and Dennis, during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. As a teenager, he duetted with his father on two songs, "Sam's Song" and "Play a Simple Melody", which became the first double-sided gold record in history. He also recorded duets with Louis Armstrong. He also performed on several variety programs, including ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

In the mid-1950s, he had his own radio program, the Gary Crosby Show on CBS. The musical variety program debuted June 6, 1954, as a summer replacement for Bing Crosby's show.

As an actor, Crosby was briefly under contract to 20th Century-Fox but is perhaps best-remembered for his recurring roles as Eddie the scheming bellhop on The Bill Dana Show and Officer Edward "Ed" Wells on NBC's Adam-12 from 1968-75, as well as appearances on several other shows produced by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited (including an episode of Dragnet 1969 and two episodes of Emergency!).

In 1965, he made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as singer Jazbo Williams in "The Case of the Frustrated Folk Singer". He appeared in Girl Happy (1965), starring Elvis Presley, and in "Come Wander with Me," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1964. In the 1970s, he appeared occasionally on game shows such as Match Game and Tattletales as a guest panelist. He married and divorced three times; he had one stepchild as a result.

Memoir

In 1983, six years after his father's death, Gary Crosby published an autobiography, Going My Own Way, which revealed the effect of his alcoholism and his difficult childhood as a result of his mother's alcoholism and his father's alleged emotional and physical abuse. Some, especially his brother Phillip, claimed the abuse was not as severe as Gary described. However, Lindsay and Dennis reportedly confirmed Gary's account; both men later committed suicide by gunshot.

Death

Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in Burbank, California in 1995, and is interred in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His mother, Dixie Lee, had died of ovarian cancer.

Family relations

• Brother of Phillip and Dennis (twins) and Lindsay Crosby.
• Half-sibling of Harry Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby and Mary Crosby.
• Nephew of the bandleader Bob Crosby.
• Cousin of Cathy Crosby and Chris Crosby (singer).
• Uncle of Denise Crosby, L. Chip Crosby Jr.

Select acting credits

• Mardi Gras (1958)
• Holiday for Lovers (1959)
• A Private's Affair (1959)
• Operation Bikini (1963)
• Girl Happy (1965)
• Perry Mason TV series, The Case of The Frustrated Folk Singer (1965)
• Adam-12 TV series, various episodes
• Emergency! TV series, Various episodes

Bibliography

• Crosby, Gary; Firestone, Ross (1983). Going My Own Way. Doubleday. ISBN 978-0385170550.

External links

• Gary Crosby at IMDb
• Gary Crosby at AllMusic
• Gary Crosby discography at Discogs
• Gary Crosby at Find a Grave