STAR GONE Kathryn Crosby dead: Anatomy of a Murder actress & Hollywood star Bing Crosby’s widow dies aged 90 as tributes pour in
HOLLYWOOD icon Kathryn Crosby – widow of fellow acting legend Bing Crosby – has died aged 90.
Kathryn was best known for her roles in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Anatomy of a Murder.
She also appeared alongside her late husband Bing, who died in 1977.
Kathryn died of natural causes at her home in Hillsborough, California on Friday, Variety reports.
The legendary actress was surrounded by her family – presumably the three children she shared with Bing – when she died.
She was born Olivia Kathryn Grandstaff in Texas and worked for years under the stage name Kathryn Grant.
One of the actresses’ earlier appearances was in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 Rear Window.
She met her husband actor and singer Bing on a Paramount Picture studio lot.
In an interview with PBS she said he called out “Hi Tex, what’s your hurry?”
“He invited me for a cup of tea and we had tea and I looked into his big blue eyes and about 15 minutes later, I realized I was in love,” she said.
Kathryn was more than 30 years younger than Bing – converting to Catholicism and marrying him in 1957.
She appeared as a guest star on her his TV series – The Bing Crosby Show – between 1964 and 1965.
The actress also starred in five ‘film noir’ movies – a classic Hollywood crime drama – including Tight Spot and The Phenix City Story.
Kathryn had made a name for herself on the beauty pageant scene in Texas as a teen before moving into acting – earning the nickname “Golden Girl of the Texas Baseball League”.
In 1952 she was named first runner-up in the state Miss Texas pageant and landed a Paramount studios contract, aged 20.
She met Bing – then 50 – the following year after he had been recently been widowed.
Working as a part-time actress and columnist at the time, Kathryn asked him for an interview, The Washington Post reports.
He said: “You a reporter?”, to which she replied “I’m a columnist”.
Bing apparently said: “The dickens you are, I didn’t know they came so pretty.”
It was after the interview that the pair had tea together and a mutual attraction formed.
Kathryn mostly gave up her acting career to stay at home with their three children, including actress Mary Frances Crosby who starred on the TV series Dallas.
They also had two sons – Nathaniel and Harry.
She would occasionally model, appear on TV specials to sing duets with her husband and did a Minute Maid juice commercial with their kids.
Bing died in October 1977 while golfing with friends in Spain, after a sudden heart attack.
Kathryn dipped her toes back into acting after his death, working in a cabaret act that paid tribute to Bing and with a touring theatre company.
