Kathryn Crosby, beloved actor, singer, and widow of Bing Crosby, died Friday of natural causes at her California home. She was 90.
Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in Texas in 1933, the actress launched her career as Kathryn Grant in 1953 after graduating from the University of Texas at Austin. Though she held small roles, she appeared alongside major stars such as Dean Martin, Jimmy Stewart, and Bob Hope.
A year later, the actress traveled to the set of White Christmas to interview actors for a column in her hometown newspaper. It was there that she met her future husband, Bing Crosby, who she married in 1957.
“We kept meeting each other, and then we’d plan to get married, and he would have a kidney stone or something dreadful like that,” Crosby said of her late husband in a 2014 talk with Smashing Interviews. “We kept waiting, and I kept working. Later on, we finally managed to get married, which was a secret.”
Kathryn Crosby Hosted Her Own Daytime Talk Show
After landing a few more roles, Kathryn Crosby retired from the screen and became a registered nurse. Though no longer an actress by trade, she appeared in many Christmas specials alongside her husband and children.
Along with guest starring on The Bing Crosby Show, Kathryn hosted her own daytime talk show based in San Francisco, The Kathryn Crosby Show.
Following the death of her husband in 1977, she performed in several stage productions and made a few TV appearances. Crosby also wrote two autobiographies: Bing and Other Things (1967) and My Life With Bing (1983).
In 2000, Crosby remarried, tying the knot with Maurice William Sullivan. The pair remained married until his unexpected death in 2010.
Kathryn Crosby is survived by her three children, Harry, Mary, and Nathaniel, as well as numerous grandchildren.