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112-460: The movie (which aired on April 15, 1974 as an ABC Movie of the Week ) was the second attempt by writer/producer Lane Slate to adapt the 1972 movie They Only Kill Their Masters into a TV series. The movie starred James Garner as Abel Marsh, a Police Chief in a small, beachside community. The first adaptation attempt was 1973's Isn't It Shocking? , starring Alan Alda as police chief Dan Barnes and

224-670: A Peabody Award and citations from the NAACP and American Cancer Society for an airing of Brian's Song in 1972. The 1971–72 season of the series finished as the fifth highest rated series of the year. The series was documented by Michael Karol in his 2005 book, The ABC Movie of the Week Companion: A Loving Tribute to the Classic Series , which was updated in 2008 ( ISBN   1-60528-023-2 ), and by Michael McKenna in The ABC Movie of

336-642: A double agent that the West wants to plant high in the KGB . Starring: Robert Horton , Jill St. John , Sebastian Cabot , Eric Pohlmann , Dudley Foster , Eleanor Summerfield A racist commando must lead an all-African-American squad of misfits on a secret mission in Nazi Germany . Starring: Stephen Boyd , Robert Hooks , Susan Oliver , Roosevelt Grier **, Moses Gunn **, Richard Pryor **, Billy Dee Williams **, Glynn Turman **, Paul Stewart ** A documentary tracing

448-474: A pacifistic hippie draftee . Starring: Darren McGavin , Jan-Michael Vincent , Earl Holliman Three of the gang reunite to help a geriatric comrade, especially after he becomes marshal of Waco and has to face down bank robbers. Starring: Walter Brennan , Edgar Buchanan , Chill Wills , Andy Devine , Fred Astaire **, Parley Baer , Walter Burke , Lana Wood Two notorious outlaws work to earn amnesty , but their former gang has other plans for

560-410: A $ 2 million diamond from a tycoon, but they find they have competition. Starring: Patrick Macnee , Connie Stevens , Herbert Lom , Marty Allen Double-crosses abound as various people try to get $ 38,000 that was embezzled from a Santa Fe bank. Starring: Roger Davis , Pete Duel , Walter Brennan , Joan Hackett , Wally Cox A man blinded by guilt comes home to live with his sister, but

672-461: A 120-minute time slot was unnecessary. His proposal was rejected by NBC and CBS but became the subject of a cover story in the March 21, 1968 issue of Variety magazine. ABC executives read the article and contacted Huggins, who did not want to sell the idea but could produce the series through Universal , where he was under contract. Universal demanded a larger budget than ABC wanted to spend, as well as

784-520: A 1975 interview, "During my days in the Navy in World War II , I remember walking the streets of Calcutta, India, on the coast; it was a lonely night, so far from my home and from my new wife, Gen. I needed something to lift my spirits. As I passed a Hindu sitting on the corner of a street, I heard something surprisingly familiar. I came back to see the man playing one of those old Vitrolas, like those of RCA with

896-502: A Christmas Day radio broadcast in 1941. A copy of the recording from the radio program is owned by the estate of Bing Crosby and was loaned to CBS Sunday Morning for their December 25, 2011, program. The song appeared in his films Holiday Inn (1942), and—a decade later—in White Christmas (1954). Crosby's record hit the charts on October 3, 1942, and rose to number 1 on October 31, where it stayed for 11 weeks. A holiday perennial,

1008-509: A Five and Ten Cent Store) " were among the best-selling songs of 1931. Ten of the top 50 songs of 1931 included Crosby with others or as a solo act. A "Battle of the Baritones" with singer Russ Columbo proved short-lived, replaced with the slogan "Bing Was King". Crosby played the lead in a series of musical comedy short films for Mack Sennett, signed with Paramount, and starred in his first full-length film, 1932's The Big Broadcast (1932),

1120-797: A Hot Time in the Town of Berlin (When the Yanks Go Marching In)", and "Is You Is or Is You Ain't (Ma' Baby?)" which helped the morale of the American public. In 1962, Crosby was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . He has been inducted into the halls of fame for both radio and popular music. In 2007, Crosby was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame and in 2008 the Western Music Hall of Fame. Crosby's popularity around

1232-463: A bad situation. Fred Allen, Jack Benny, Phil Harris, and also Crosby were masters at this, and the networks weren't about to give it up easily. Crosby's insistence eventually factored into the further development of magnetic tape sound recording and the radio industry's widespread adoption of it. He used his clout, both professionally and financially, for innovations in audio. But NBC and CBS refused to broadcast prerecorded radio programs. Crosby left

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1344-583: A bookkeeper, and Catherine Helen "Kate" (née Harrigan; 1873–1964). His mother was a second-generation Irish-American . His father was of Scottish and English descent; an ancestor, Simon Crosby, emigrated from the Kingdom of England to New England in the 1630s during the Puritan migration to New England . Through another line, also on his father's side, Crosby is descended from Mayflower passenger William Brewster ( c. 1567 – 1644). In 1917, Crosby took

1456-417: A cab driver. Starring: Jason Evers , Judy Pace , Zalman King , Tom Fielding, Anjanette Comer *, Keenan Wynn *, James Shigeta *, Richard Pryor *, Dick Bass *, Michael Parks **, George Macready ***, Louise Latham ***, Barry Atwater ***, Georg Stanford Brown *** Former government assassin turned private investigator John Smith finds himself caught in a web of deceit involving a notebook containing

1568-676: A chance to present an independent act, they were spotted by a member of the Paul Whiteman organization. Whiteman needed something different to break up his musical selections, and Crosby and Rinker filled this requirement. After less than a year in show business, they were attached to one of the biggest names. Hired for $ 150 a week in 1926, they debuted with Whiteman on December 6 at the Tivoli Theatre in Chicago. Their first recording, in October 1926,

1680-526: A clear vocal style. Crosby credited Kapp for choosing hit songs, working with many other musicians, and most important, diversifying his repertoire into several styles and genres. Kapp helped Crosby have number one hits in Christmas music , Hawaiian music , and country music , and top-30 hits in Irish music , French music , rhythm and blues , and ballads . Crosby elaborated on an idea of Al Jolson's: phrasing, or

1792-479: A contract with Paramount, and he began a pattern of making three films a year. Crosby led his radio show for Woodbury Soap for two seasons while his live appearances dwindled. Crosby's records produced hits during the Depression when sales were down. Audio engineer Steve Hoffman stated, "By the way, Bing actually saved the record business in 1934 when he agreed to support Decca founder Jack Kapp's crazy idea of lowering

1904-433: A degree. As a freshman, Crosby played on the university's baseball team. The university granted him an honorary doctorate in 1937. Gonzaga University houses a large collection of photographs, correspondence, and other material related to Crosby. On November 8, 1937, after Lux Radio Theatre 's adaptation of She Loves Me Not , Joan Blondell asked Crosby how he got his nickname: Crosby: "Well, I'll tell you, back in

2016-524: A demonstration of a German broadcast quality reel-to-reel tape recorder brought to the United States by John T. Mullin , Crosby invested $ 50,000 in the California electronics company Ampex to build copies. He then persuaded ABC to allow him to tape his shows and became the first performer to prerecord his radio shows and master his commercial recordings onto magnetic tape . Crosby has been associated with

2128-547: A dying billionaire after his blood is found to provide almost miraculous healing and life extension properties. Starring: Christopher George , Carol Lynley *, Barry Sullivan *, Jessica Walter *, Ralph Bellamy * Four elderly Texas Rangers come out of retirement to oust the corrupt crime boss mayor of a frontier town. Starring: Walter Brennan , Pat O'Brien *, Edgar Buchanan *, Chill Wills *, Edward Andrews *, Jack Elam *, Andy Devine *, Gypsy Rose Lee *, Ricky Nelson * Unlicensed private investigator Gus Monk

2240-520: A famed gunslinger gives up violence but has to find a way to save a frontier town. Starring: Lloyd Bridges , John Beck , Ed Begley, Sr. , Edd Byrnes , Pernell Roberts , Susan Howard After breaking up with Moondoggie, Gidget becomes a United Nations tour guide and begins a love affair with an older Australian agriculture consultant. Starring: Karen Valentine , Edward Mulhare , Paul Peterson , Warner Anderson **, Bob Cummings **, Nina Foch **, Paul Lynde ** Independent scholars try to find

2352-778: A fortune from the Minute Maid Orange Juice Corporation, in which he was a principal stockholder. During the Golden Age of Radio , performers had to create their shows live, sometimes even redoing the program a second time for the West Coast time zone. Crosby had to do two live radio shows on the same day, three hours apart, for the East and West Coasts. Crosby's radio career took a significant turn in 1945, when he clashed with NBC over his insistence that he be allowed to pre-record his radio shows. The live production of radio shows

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2464-470: A handbuilt glider . Starring: Doug McClure , Rene Auberjonois , Richard Basehart **, Max Baer Jr. **, Chuck Connors **, Tom Skerritt An ESP researcher investigates mysterious happenings surrounding a widow to find out if she is being gaslighted by someone with psychic powers. Starring: Alex Dreier , Stefanie Powers **, Pat Hingle , Louise Latham , Steve Ihnat , Brenda Scott , Chris Robinson Death takes human form and falls in love with

2576-465: A jazz singer, he was not strictly only a jazz singer as he modeled the style and techniques to a broad scope of music that he performed, ranging from Jazz to Country to even such material as operetta arias. During the early portion of his solo career (about 1931–1934), Crosby's emotional, often pleading style of crooning was popular. But Jack Kapp, manager of Brunswick and later Decca, talked Crosby into dropping many of his jazzier mannerisms in favor of

2688-414: A kidnapped scientist who has developed a biological agent that can turn humanity into mindless slaves. Starring: Christopher George , Avery Schreiber , Marlyn Mason *, William Windom *, John Vernon *, William Schallert *, Gloria Grahame * An OSS officer tasked with smuggling a nuclear physicist out of Nazi Germany plots to fly themselves out of a POW camp located in a mountain castle using

2800-430: A kind of symbol of America, of the amiable, humorous citizen of a free land. Crosby, however, seldom bothers to contemplate his future. For one thing, he enjoys hearing himself sing, and if ever a day should dawn when the public wearies of him, he will complacently go right on singing—to himself." The biggest hit song of Crosby's career was his recording of Irving Berlin 's " White Christmas ", which Crosby introduced on

2912-547: A list of names of spies. Starring: Robert Horton , Jill St. John , Sebastian Cabot , Lee Montague , Eleanor Summerfield , Barbara Shelley Struggling wedding consultants desperately try to get three couples legally married after finding out they accidentally had an actor officiate the original weddings. Starring: Michael Callan , Ann Prentiss , Eve Arden **, Ruth Buzzi **, Christopher Connelly ,** Bill Daily **, Elinor Donahue **, Herb Edelman **, Paul Ford ,** Elsa Lanchester ** After nearly shooting an innocent,

3024-462: A long lost Spanish galleon while an unscrupulous, wealthy thief shadows them to get the treasure for himself. Starring: Keir Dullea , Bradford Dillman , France Nuyen , Aron Kincaid , Lana Wood , Jacques Aubuchon , Paul Hampton , Ricardo Montalbán ** Former government agent turned private investigator John Smith agrees to participate in a scheme to be captured by the Soviets and exchanged for

3136-509: A looser corporate structure allowed ABC to consider plans that the other two networks would not. Barry Diller , then a junior executive at ABC and later a co-founder of the Fox network, is often cited as the creator of the Movie of the Week (MotW), although the concept was actually originated by producer Roy Huggins . Huggins reasoned that many older theatrical films ran shorter than 90 minutes so requiring

3248-593: A motorhome on a journey of self-discovery to a hippie music festival , where he falls in love with gravely ill girl. Starring: Carl Betz , Vera Miles , Jeff Bridges , Ruth McDevitt , Michael Anderson, Jr. *, Howard Duff *, Kim Hunter *, Renne Jarrett *, Sal Mineo *, Tyne Daly An African American sheriff tries to prove that a racist raped a young black girl. Starring: Ossie Davis , Kaz Garas , Kyle Johnson , John Marley *, Edward Binns *, Lynda Day George *, Ruby Dee *, Moses Gunn *, Ross Martin *, Brenda Sykes * A famed escape artist has to find

3360-442: A mysterious boarder may be trying to kill him. Starring: Anthony Perkins , Julie Harris , Joan Hackett , Kent Smith , Robert H. Harris A man with a steel plate in his skull sees everyone else in a town he is visiting leave in a trance -like state every night. Starring: James Franciscus , Lee Grant , Leslie Nielsen **, Tisha Sterling . An elderly man sees a close friend beaten to death, but all witnesses contradict him,

3472-431: A number of television series, including Crosby's own unsuccessful ABC sitcom The Bing Crosby Show in the 1964–1965 season (with co-stars Beverly Garland and Frank McHugh ). The company produced two ABC medical dramas, Ben Casey (1961–1966) and Breaking Point (1963–1964), the popular Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) military comedy on CBS, as well as the lesser-known show Slattery's People (1964–1965). Crosby

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3584-664: A partnership that produced four million-selling singles: " Pistol Packin' Mama ", " Jingle Bells ", " Don't Fence Me In ", and "South America, Take It Away". They made one film appearance together in Road to Rio singing "You Don't Have to Know the Language", and sang together on radio airwaves throughout the 1940s and 1950s. They appeared as guests on each other's shows and on Armed Forces Radio Service programming during and after World War II. The quartet's additional Top-10 Billboard hits from 1943 to 1945 include "The Vict'ry Polka", "There'll Be

3696-554: A performer and was in demand as a solo singer. Crosby became the star attraction of the Rhythm Boys. In 1928, he had his first number one hit, a jazz-influenced rendition of " Ol' Man River ". In 1929, the Rhythm Boys appeared in the film King of Jazz with Whiteman, but Crosby's growing dissatisfaction with Whiteman led to the Rhythm Boys leaving his organization. They joined the Gus Arnheim Orchestra, performing nightly in

3808-454: A platform to show pilots for possible series for the network. It allowed the network to air pilots that it had already commissioned and paid for but had not ordered as regular series. As well, pilots that had already been sold as ongoing series or were being tested such as Kung Fu , The Six Million Dollar Man , Starsky and Hutch , Longstreet , Toma , Alias Smith and Jones and Get Christie Love! premiered here and returned on

3920-472: A song composed by Burt Bacharach and named for his daughter. The theme was chosen by Marks and arranged by Harry Betts . Over the music was narration voiced by Dick Tufeld . "The Movie of the Week. Presenting the world premiere of an original motion picture produced especially for ABC (or 'for the Movie of the Week' in some seasons)." That would be followed by a promotional teaser for the movie. The opening for

4032-403: A summer job as property boy at Spokane's Auditorium, where he witnessed some of the acts of the day, including Al Jolson , who held Crosby spellbound with ad-libbing and parodies of Hawaiian songs . Crosby later described Jolson's delivery as "electric". Crosby graduated from Gonzaga High School in 1920 and enrolled at Gonzaga University. He attended Gonzaga for three years but did not earn

4144-413: A threat of divorce in March 1931, he applied himself to his career. On September 2, 1931, 15 Minutes with Bing Crosby , his nationwide solo radio debut, began broadcasting. The weekly broadcast made Crosby a hit. Before the end of the year, he signed with both Brunswick Records and CBS Radio . " Out of Nowhere ", "Just One More Chance", " At Your Command ", and " I Found a Million Dollar Baby (in

4256-426: A week, if he chose, and then take a month off. But the networks and sponsors were adamantly opposed. The public wouldn't stand for 'canned' radio, the networks argued. There was something magical for listeners in the fact that what they were hearing was being performed and heard live everywhere, at that precise instant. Some of the best moments in comedy came when a line was blown and the star had to rely on wit to rescue

4368-449: A woman who was supposed to die, so people stop dying. Starring: Yvette Mimieux , Monte Markham , Myrna Loy , Bert Convy , Melvyn Douglas Bing Crosby#Television Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American actor, singer, television producer, television and radio personality, and businessman. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of

4480-511: Is "White Christmas" 2,000,000 impressions of which have been sold in the U.S. and 250,000 in Great Britain." "Nine out of ten singers and bandleaders listen to Crosby's broadcasts each Thursday night and follow his lead. The day after he sings a song over the air—any song—some 50,000 copies of it are sold throughout the U.S. Time and again Crosby has taken some new or unknown ballad, has given it what

4592-543: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . ABC Movie of the Week The ABC Movie of the Week was an American weekly television anthology series featuring made-for-TV movies that aired on the ABC network in various permutations from 1969 to 1975 . In the 1960s, movie studios viewed television as a second-rate medium but also as a threat to their theatrical revenue, so they charged high fees for

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4704-428: Is entangled in a scheme involving a Mob-connected lawyer who claims his boss is out to kill him. Starring: George Maharis , Janet Leigh , Rick Jason , Carl Betz *, Jack Albertson **, Raymond St. Jacques ***, William Smithers , Jack Soo , Mary Wickes A Boston attorney leaves to take control of a legal aid program staffed by students. Their first case is to defend two Black men accused of robbing and beating

4816-635: Is known in trade circles as the 'big goose' and made it a hit single-handed and overnight... Precisely what the future holds for Crosby neither his family nor his friends can conjecture. He has achieved greater popularity, made more money, attracted vaster audiences than any other entertainer in history. And his star is still in the ascendant. His contract with Decca runs until 1955. His contract with Paramount runs until 1954. Records which he made ten years ago are selling better than ever before. The nation's appetite for Crosby's voice and personality appears insatiable. To soldiers overseas and to foreigners he has become

4928-449: Is lower than most opera basses care to venture, and they tend to sound as if they were in the cellar when they get there. Crosby's was among the most popular and successful musical acts of the 20th century. Billboard magazine used different methodologies during his career, but his chart success remains impressive: 396 chart singles, including roughly 41 number 1 hits. Crosby had separate charting singles every year between 1931 and 1954;

5040-634: The ABC Friday Night Movie and the ABC Sunday Night Movie . The Tuesday Movie of the Week would later be incorporated as part of ABC Late Night , a replacement of ABC's Wide World of Entertainment that ran from 1976 to 1982; the late-night version would mainly feature repeats of movies, both made for television and traditional theatrical releases, that were previously seen on ABC and other networks. ABC continued to premiere new TV films on Sunday nights in prime time until 2005. During

5152-482: The ABC Suspense Movie , and usually consisting of thriller, mystery and horror type films (some of which were reruns of movies which had originally aired as Movie s of the Week ). The title sequence was designed by Harry Marks and animated by Douglas Trumbull using the slit-scan process that he had created for 2001: A Space Odyssey . The accompanying theme music was an orchestral version of "Nikki",

5264-521: The Christmas season since he starred in Irving Berlin 's musical film Holiday Inn and also famously sang " White Christmas " in the movie. Through audio recordings, Crosby produced his radio programs with the same directorial tools and craftsmanship (editing, retaking, rehearsal, time shifting ) used in motion picture production, a practice that became the industry standard. In addition to his work with early audio tape recording, Crosby helped finance

5376-757: The Coconut Grove of the Ambassador Hotel. Singing with the Arnheim Orchestra, Crosby's solos began to steal the show while the Rhythm Boys' act gradually became redundant. Harry Barris wrote several of Crosby's hits, including "At Your Command", " I Surrender Dear ", and " Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams ". When Mack Sennett signed Crosby to a solo film contract in 1931, a break with the Rhythm Boys became almost inevitable. Crosby married Dixie Lee in September 1930. After

5488-610: The " belting " associated with Al Jolson and Billy Murray , who had been obligated to reach the back seats in New York theaters without the aid of a microphone. As music critic Henry Pleasants noted in The Great American Popular Singers , something new had entered American music, a style that might be called "singing in American" with conversational ease. This new sound led to the popular epithet crooner . Crosby admired Louis Armstrong for his musical ability, and

5600-767: The 1930s, Crosby starred with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in six of the seven Road to musical comedies between 1940 and 1962 (Lamour was replaced with Joan Collins in The Road to Hong Kong and limited to a lengthy cameo), cementing Crosby and Hope as an on-and-off duo, despite never declaring themselves a "team" in the sense that Laurel and Hardy or Martin and Lewis ( Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis ) were teams. The series consists of Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), Road to Morocco (1942), Road to Utopia (1946), Road to Rio (1947), Road to Bali (1952), and The Road to Hong Kong (1962). When they appeared solo, Crosby and Hope frequently made note of

5712-455: The 1970s, ABC's local owned-and-operated stations ( in a few of the nation's biggest cities ; at the time, they all broadcast on channel 7) featured The 4:30 Movie on weekday afternoons (the actual time varied by city, but generally after ABC's morning/midday game shows and soap operas); it featured mainly major Hollywood theatrical releases, but some installments of the Movie of the Week were also rebroadcast here. A man flees from

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5824-533: The 1971 season, ABC added a second MotW on Saturday night and adjusted the titles of the shows to the Movie of the Week and Movie of the Weekend . The following season, the Saturday installment was moved to Wednesday night, and the titles were adjusted to Tuesday Movie of the Week and Wednesday Movie of the Week . During the 1973–74 season, ABC added another movie on Saturday nights to their schedule, this time titled

5936-564: The 20th century worldwide. Crosby was a leader in record sales , network radio ratings, and motion picture grosses from 1926 to 1977. He was one of the first global cultural icons . Crosby made over 70 feature films and recorded more than 1,600 songs. Crosby's early career coincided with recording innovations that allowed him to develop an intimate singing style that influenced many male singers who followed, such as Frank Sinatra , Perry Como , Dean Martin , Dick Haymes , Elvis Presley , and John Lennon . Yank magazine said that Crosby

6048-873: The Clemmer Theatre in Spokane (now known as the Bing Crosby Theater ). Crosby was initially a member of a vocal trio called The Three Harmony Aces with Al Rinker accompanying on piano from the pit, to entertain between the films. Crosby and Al continued at the Clemmer Theatre for several months, often with three other men—Wee Georgie Crittenden, Frank McBride, and Lloyd Grinnell—and they were billed The Clemmer Trio or The Clemmer Entertainers depending who performed. In October 1925, Crosby and Rinker decided to seek fame in California. They traveled to Los Angeles, where Bailey introduced them to her show business contacts. The Fanchon and Marco Time Agency hired them for 13 weeks for

6160-510: The Guinness Book, as it is not an organization that counts or audits artists' sales in the United States or worldwide. According to different sources, Bing Crosby's sales number varies between: 300 million, 500 million, or even 1 billion, making him one of the best-selling singers in history. The single "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies according to Guinness World Records . For 15 years (1934, 1937, 1940, 1943–1954), Crosby

6272-472: The Saturday Movie of the Weekend featured footage of a silhouetted "rotating cameraman " operating a 35 mm movie camera ( [1] ). This footage would later be incorporated into the opening of ABC's New York City television station WABC-TV 's various movie umbrellas beginning around 1972–73, including and especially their weekday afternoon movie showcase The 4:30 Movie . The series was often used as

6384-620: The Week: Big Movies for the Small Screen . The MotW originally aired on Tuesday nights at 8:30 pm Eastern /7:30 pm Central . Established series The Mod Squad acted as a lead-in from 7:30 to 8:30, bringing the younger demographic . The shorter running time of the film freed the 10 p.m. time slot for a full 60-minute program, initially Marcus Welby, M.D. during the first season. Starting earlier at 8:30 could also prevent viewers from switching to competing movies at 9:00. Beginning with

6496-694: The actors in non-recurring roles appeared only once or twice in the series. Notable exceptions who appeared in three or more films as different characters include Doug McClure , Darren McGavin , Dennis Weaver , Clint Walker , Earl Holliman , Leonard Nimoy , Robert Culp , Barbara Eden , Larry Hagman , Elizabeth Montgomery , Donna Mills , Ed Nelson , Ken Berry , Connie Stevens , Lee Majors , James Brolin , Lloyd Bridges , Cloris Leachman , Ricardo Montalbán , Richard Anderson , Lesley Anne Warren , Janet Leigh , John Marley , William Schallert , Karen Valentine , Ben Murphy , Barra Grant , Myrna Loy , Carl Betz , Henry Jones and William Windom . Many of

6608-429: The addition of pianist and aspiring songwriter Harry Barris made the difference, and The Rhythm Boys were born. The additional voice meant they could be heard more easily in large New York theaters. Crosby gained valuable experience on tour for a year with Whiteman and performing and recording with Bix Beiderbecke , Jack Teagarden , Tommy Dorsey , Jimmy Dorsey , Eddie Lang , and Hoagy Carmichael . Crosby matured as

6720-447: The annual re-release of "White Christmas" extended that streak to 1957. He had 24 separate popular singles in 1939 alone. Statistician Joel Whitburn at Billboard determined that Crosby was America's most successful recording act of the 1930s and again in the 1940s. The number of Bing Crosby record sales varies. Organizations that audit record sales do not have an official tally, but some claim sales are notable, namely: In 1960, Crosby

6832-455: The art of making a song's lyric ring true. "I used to tell Sinatra over and over," said Tommy Dorsey, "there's only one singer you ought to listen to and his name is Crosby. All that matters to him is the words, and that's the only thing that ought to for you, too." Critic Henry Pleasants wrote in 1985: [While] the octave B flat to B flat in Bing's voice at that time [1930s] is, to my ears, one of

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6944-523: The bank where they are employed. Starring: Pete Duel , Ben Murphy , Forrest Tucker , Susan Saint James , James Drury , Jeanette Nolan , Earl Holliman ** Cold War intrigue with traitors trying to steal top secret anti-ballistic missile controls being tested on a U.S. nuclear submarine. Starring: Leonard Nimoy *, Joseph Cotten *, William Windom *, Keenan Wynn *, Lloyd Haynes *, Dewey Martin *, Malachi Throne , Ron Masak A medical intern visiting his home town comes to believe his mentor ,

7056-654: The blame on ABC's overreliance on the MotW, which had suffered from ratings fatigue and a perceived drop in quality despite some notable films. The latter was symptomized by an increased number of pilots as well as remakes and variations of established intellectual properties, such as The Swiss Family Robinson, The Mark of Zorro , The Hatfields and the McCoys and Matt Helm. After that, ABC's made-for-TV movies were aired either as stand-alone specials or shown in time slots that included both original and theatrical movie presentations, notably

7168-534: The book Million Selling Records . The Recording Industry Association of America did not institute its gold record certification program until 1958 when Crosby's record sales were low. Before 1958, gold records were awarded by record companies. Crosby charted 23 Billboard hits from 47 recorded songs with the Andrews Sisters , whose Decca record sales were second only to Crosby's throughout the 1940s. They were his most frequent collaborators on disc from 1939 to 1952,

7280-489: The claim in his book The ABC Movie of the Week Companion: A Loving Tribute to the Classic Series that the Movie of the Week was Diller's idea, but this was based on hearsay. The shorter format allowed a smaller budget than two-hour TV movies. At $ 350,000 per film, it was less than half the budget of NBC's World Premiere movies. It featured the work of producers like Aaron Spelling , David Wolper and Harve Bennett (all of whom later developed hit series of their own), and

7392-518: The close of World War II, Crosby topped the list as the person who had done the most for G.I. morale, ahead of President Franklin D. Roosevelt , General Dwight Eisenhower , and Bob Hope . The June 18, 1945, issue of Life magazine stated, "America's number one star, Bing Crosby, has won more fans, made more money than any entertainer in history. Today he is a kind of national institution." "In all, 60,000,000 Crosby discs have been marketed since he made his first record in 1931. His biggest best seller

7504-572: The development of videotape, bought television stations, bred racehorses, and co-owned the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team, during which time the team won two World Series ( 1960 and 1971 ). Crosby was born on May 3, 1903, in Tacoma , Washington, in a house his father built at 1112 North J Street. Three years later, his family moved to Spokane in Eastern Washington state , where Crosby

7616-553: The exclusive right to produce all future TV movies for ABC, conditions that pushed ABC to control production on their own, purchasing films from various studios and production companies. As the Variety article had effectively placed the concept into the public domain , ABC continued to develop it without Huggins' permission or involvement. ABC consoled Huggins by allowing him to produce several films, including The Young Country, precursor to Alias Smith and Jones . Michael Karol repeated

7728-565: The film High Society (1956). In Crosby's performances, the presence of jazz phrasing, jazz rhythm and jazz improvisation varied depending on the piece of music, but those were elements that Crosby frequently used. This can be observed particularly in his straight jazz work during the late 1920s/early 1930s, Crosby's recordings with Buddy Cole and His Trio from the mid-1950s, as well as in his numerous collaborations with such jazz musicians as Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Venuti, or Eddie Lang. However, while Crosby can be called

7840-471: The first Grammy Global Achievement Award . Crosby is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording. He was also known for his collaborations with his friend Bob Hope , starring in the Road to ... films from 1940 to 1962. Crosby influenced the development of the post–World War II recording industry . After seeing

7952-490: The first of 55 films in which he received top billing. Crosby would appear in almost 80 pictures. He signed a contract with Jack Kapp 's new record company, Decca , in late 1934. Crosby's first commercial sponsor on radio was Cremo Cigars and his fame spread nationwide. After a long run in New York, Crosby went back to Hollywood to film The Big Broadcast . His appearances, records, and radio work substantially increased his impact. The success of his first film brought Crosby

8064-552: The flight or to meet Armstrong's "crude, mob-linked but devoted manager, Joe Glaser ". Crosby threatened to leave the film and refused to discuss the matter. Cohn gave in; Armstrong's musical scenes and comic dialogue extended his influence to the silver screen, creating more opportunities for him and other African Americans to appear in future films. Crosby also ensured behind the scenes that Armstrong received equal billing with his white co-stars. Armstrong appreciated Crosby's progressive attitudes on race, and often expressed gratitude for

8176-427: The genre to a wider audience. In the framework of the novelty-singing style of the Rhythm Boys , Crosby bent notes and added off-tune phrasing, an approach that was rooted in jazz. He had already been introduced to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith before his first appearance on record. Crosby and Armstrong remained warm acquaintances for decades, occasionally singing together in later years, e.g. "Now You Has Jazz" in

8288-447: The horn speaker. The man was listening to Bing Crosby sing, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive". I stopped and smiled in grateful acknowledgment. The Hindu nodded and smiled back. The whole world knew and loved Bing Crosby." His popularity in India led many Hindu singers to imitate and emulate him, notably Kishore Kumar, considered the "Bing Crosby of India". Throughout Europe and Russia, Crosby

8400-788: The knee-britches day, when I was a wee little tyke, a mere broth of a lad, as we say in Spokane, I used to totter around the streets, with a gun on each hip, my favorite after school pastime was a game known as " Cops and Robbers ", I didn't care which side I was on, when a cop or robber came into view, I would haul out my trusty six-shooters, made of wood, and loudly exclaim bing ! bing !, as my luckless victim fell clutching his side, I would shout bing ! bing !, and I would let him have it again, and then as his friends came to his rescue, shooting as they came, I would shout bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing ! bing !" Blondell: "I'm surprised they didn't call you "Killer" Crosby! Now tell me another story, Grandpa! Crosby: "No, so help me, it's

8512-648: The local paper called The Bingville Bugle which the young Harry liked. In time, Bingo got shortened to Bing. In 1923, Crosby was invited to join a new band composed of high-school students a few years younger than himself. Al and Miles Rinker (brothers of singer Mildred Bailey ), James Heaton, Claire Pritchard and Robert Pritchard, along with drummer Crosby, formed the Musicaladers, who performed at dances both for high school students and club-goers. The group performed on Spokane radio station KHQ , but disbanded after two years. Crosby and Al Rinker obtained work at

8624-416: The loveliest I have heard in forty-five years of listening to baritones, both classical and popular, it dropped conspicuously in later years. From the mid-1950s, Bing was more comfortable in a bass range while maintaining a baritone quality, with the best octave being G to G, or even F to F. In a recording he made of ' Dardanella ' with Louis Armstrong in 1960, he attacks lightly and easily on a low E flat. This

8736-551: The much younger Joan Collins and Peter Sellers . Collins was used in place of their longtime partner Dorothy Lamour, whom Crosby felt was getting too old for the role, though Hope refused to do the film without her, and she instead made a lengthy and elaborate cameo appearance. Shortly before his death in 1977, Crosby had planned another Road film in which he, Hope, and Lamour search for the Fountain of Youth. Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Going My Way in 1944 and

8848-494: The narration and song vocals for The Legend of Sleepy Hollow segment. In 1960, he starred in High Time , a collegiate comedy with Fabian Forte and Tuesday Weld that predicted the emerging gap between Crosby and the new younger generation of musicians and actors who had begun their careers after World War II. The following year, Crosby and Hope reunited for one more Road movie, The Road to Hong Kong , which teamed them up with

8960-507: The network as a legitimate competitor to rivals CBS and NBC . The films themselves varied in quality and were often escapist or sensationalistic in nature ( suspense , horror and melodrama were staples), but some were critically well received. For example, Duel (1971), based on a Richard Matheson short story from Playboy , was director Steven Spielberg 's first feature film, catapulting his career and enabling him to move from television to theatrical films. ABC earned four Emmys ,

9072-472: The original 1942 master had become damaged due to its frequent use in pressing additional singles. In 1977, after Crosby died, the song was re-released and reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. Crosby was dismissive of his role in the song's success, saying "a jackdaw with a cleft palate could have sung it successfully". In the wake of a solid decade of headlining mainly smash hit musical comedy films in

9184-419: The other in a comically insulting fashion. They performed together countless times on stage, radio, film, and television, and made numerous brief and not so brief appearances together in movies aside from the "Road" pictures, Variety Girl (1947) being an example of lengthy scenes and songs together along with billing. In the 1949 Disney animated film The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad , Crosby provided

9296-550: The police won't believe him and his son suspects him of paranoia . Starring: Edward G. Robinson , Diane Baker , Ruth Roman , Percy Rodrigues , Sam Jaffe , Martin Balsam **, Edward Asner , Martin E. Brooks , Virginia Christine A woman who has inherited an old Georgetown manor learns that her family property is a breeding ground for the supernatural. Starring: Barbara Stanwyck , Richard Egan , Michael Anderson Jr. , Kitty Winn A Marine drill instructor comes to respect

9408-481: The political life and career of Robert F. Kennedy . Starring: John Huston (narrator) Conflict and crises at a hospital run by a medical patriarch and his three sons – all doctors – including a cholera outbreak and a movie star with kidney failure . Starring: Gary Collins , John Dehner , Susan Howard , Gordon Pinsent , Dan Ferrone, Wally Cox *, Sam Jaffe *, Terry Moore *, Sharon Farrell ** Suave con artist Dudley Jerico and his sidekick scheme to steal

9520-458: The price of singles from a dollar to 35 cents and getting a royalty for records sold instead of a flat fee. Bing's name and his artistry saved the recording industry. All the other artists signed to Decca after Bing did. Without him, Jack Kapp wouldn't have had a chance in hell of making Decca work and the Great Depression would have wiped out phonograph records for good." His first son Gary

9632-479: The privilege to broadcast their films. The networks experimented with having films made specifically for TV to lower expenses. NBC created the first weekly umbrella for such films with their World Premiere Movie in 1966, running in a two-hour time slot. Until the late 1960s, ABC ran a distant third behind rivals CBS and NBC , leading to jokes about it coming in fourth among the three networks or about its acronym meaning "Almost Broadcasting Company". Desperation and

9744-580: The regular schedule after minor to major alterations to the premise and/or cast. Other programs are sometimes mistakenly believed to have aired under the Movie of the Week banner. Marcus Welby, M.D. , for example, premiered after Seven in Darkness and was the lead-out for the Tuesday installment. Still others, like Earth II and Robert Conrad 's version of Nick Carter were actually shown on other movie series, such as The ABC Sunday Night Movie . Most of

9856-685: The revue The Syncopation Idea starting at the Boulevard Theater in Los Angeles and then on the Loew's circuit . They each earned $ 75 a week. As minor parts of The Syncopation Idea , Crosby and Rinker started to develop as entertainers. They had a lively style that was popular with college students. After The Syncopation Idea closed, they worked in the Will Morrissey Music Hall Revue. They honed their skills with Morrissey, and when they got

9968-471: The role in later years. During World War II , Crosby made live appearances before American troops who had been fighting in the European Theater . He learned how to pronounce German from written scripts and read propaganda broadcasts intended for German forces. The nickname "Der Bingle" was common among Crosby's German listeners and came to be used by his English-speaking fans. In a poll of U.S. troops at

10080-587: The setting relocated to Oregon. Next, Griffith stepped in as the now-renamed Sam McNeill ( Andy Griffith ) in Winter Kill and then again in 1975 with two episodes of Adams of Eagle Lake (this time, the character was renamed Sam Adams). Two more reworkings followed in 1976 and 1977 starring Griffith, with the character's name restored to Abel Marsh: The Girl in the Empty Grave and Deadly Game . This article related to an American television thriller film

10192-450: The song was repeatedly re-released by Decca, charting another 16 times. It topped the charts again in 1945 and a third time in January 1947. The song remains the bestselling single of all time. Crosby's recording of "White Christmas" has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. His recording was so popular that Crosby was obliged to re-record it in 1947 using the same musicians and backup singers;

10304-492: The telefilms had actors credited as guest stars , special guest stars and "special appearance by", even if the movie was not a pilot for a series. Death Race and The Weekend Nun billed their lead actors as special guest stars. In the unusual case of Assault on the Wayne , all of the first-billed cast members were credited as guest stars. The series proper ended in 1975 as ABC's ratings collapsed that season. Analysts laid part of

10416-568: The town's doctor, is murdering troublesome residents with poison. Starring: Bing Crosby , Frank Converse , Blythe Danner **, Barnard Hughes , Bethel Leslie Insurance investigator Mike Longstreet searches for the culprit who bombed his home, killing his wife and leaving him blind . Starring: James Franciscus , Martine Beswick *, Bradford Dillman *, John McIntire *, Jeanette Nolan *, Barry Russo A college dropout convinces his parents and grandmother to join him in an old bus converted into

10528-473: The trumpet maestro was a formative influence on Crosby's singing style. When the two met, they became friends. In 1936, Crosby exercised an option in his Paramount contract to regularly star in an out-of-house film. Signing an agreement with Columbia for a single motion picture, Crosby wanted Armstrong to appear in a screen adaptation of The Peacock Feather that eventually became Pennies from Heaven . Crosby asked Harry Cohn , but Cohn had no desire to pay for

10640-468: The truth, ask Mister De Mille." De Mille: "I'll vouch for it, Bing." As it happens, that story was pure whimsy for dramatic effect; the Associated Press had reported as early as February 1932—as would later be confirmed by both Bing himself and his biographer Charles Thompson—that it was in fact a neighbor—Valentine Hobart, circa 1910—who had named him "Bingo from Bingville" after a comic feature in

10752-459: The world was such that Dorothy Masuka , the best-selling African recording artist, stated that, "Only Bing Crosby the famous American crooner sold more records than me in Africa." His great popularity throughout the continent led other African singers to emulate him, including Masuka, Dolly Rathebe , and Míriam Makeba, known locally as "The Bing Crosby of Africa". Presenter Mike Douglas commented in

10864-541: Was "I've Got the Girl" with Don Clark's Orchestra, but the Columbia-issued record was inadvertently recorded at a slow speed, which increased the singers' pitch when played at 78 rpm. Throughout his career, Crosby often credited Bailey for getting him his first important job in the entertainment business. Success with Whiteman was followed by disaster when they reached New York. Whiteman considered letting them go. However,

10976-628: Was "the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen" during World War II. In 1948, American polls declared him the "most admired man alive", ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII . In 1948, Music Digest estimated that Crosby's recordings filled more than half of the 80,000 weekly hours allocated to recorded radio music in America. Crosby won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Going My Way (1944) and

11088-626: Was a frequent guest on the musical variety shows of the 1950s and 1960s, appearing on various variety shows as well as numerous late-night talk shows and his own highly rated specials. Bob Hope memorably devoted one of his monthly NBC specials to his long intermittent partnership with Crosby titled "On the Road With Bing". Crosby was associated with ABC's The Hollywood Palace as the show's first and most frequent guest host and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children, and continued after The Hollywood Palace

11200-516: Was also known as "Der Bingle", a pseudonym coined in 1944 by Bob Musel, an American journalist based in London, after Crosby had recorded three 15-minute programs with Jack Russin for broadcast to Germany from ABSIE. According to Shoshana Klebanoff, Crosby became one of the richest men in the history of show business. He had investments in real estate, mines, oil wells, cattle ranches, race horses, music publishing, baseball teams, and television. Crosby made

11312-595: Was among the top 10 acts in box-office sales, and for five of those years (1944–1948) he topped the world. Crosby sang four Academy Award -winning songs—"Sweet Leilani" (1937), "White Christmas" (1942), " Swinging on a Star " (1944), "In the Cool, Cool, Cool of the Evening" (1951)—and won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Going My Way (1944). A survey in 2000 found that with 1,077,900,000 movie tickets sold, Crosby

11424-587: Was born in 1933 with twin boys following in 1934. By 1936, Crosby replaced his former boss, Paul Whiteman, as host of the weekly NBC radio program Kraft Music Hall , where he remained for the next decade. " Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day) ", with his trademark whistling, became his theme song and signature tune. Crosby's vocal style helped take popular singing beyond

11536-488: Was eventually canceled. In the early 1970s, Crosby made two late appearances on the Flip Wilson Show , singing duets with the comedian. His last TV appearance was a Christmas special, Merrie Olde Christmas , taped in London in September 1977 and aired weeks after his death. It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of " The Little Drummer Boy " and " Peace on Earth " with rock musician David Bowie . Their duet

11648-412: Was honored as "First Citizen of Record Industry" based on having sold 200 million discs. The Guinness Book reported some of the singer's worldwide sales on a few occasions: In 1973, Crosby had sold more than 400 million records worldwide, and by 1977 he had sold 500 million discs, being ranked as the most successful and best-selling musical artist in 1978. Some sources contradict these alleged sales to

11760-458: Was nominated for its sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's (1945), opposite Ingrid Bergman , becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. Crosby was the number one box office attraction for five consecutive years from 1944 to 1948. At his screen apex in 1946, Crosby starred in three of the year's five highest-grossing films: The Bells of St. Mary's , Blue Skies , and Road to Utopia . In 1963, he received

11872-508: Was nominated for the 1945 sequel, The Bells of St. Mary's . He received critical acclaim and his third Academy Award nomination for his performance as an alcoholic entertainer in The Country Girl . The Fireside Theater (1950) was his first television production. The series of 26-minute shows was filmed at Hal Roach Studios rather than performed live on the air. The "telefilms" were syndicated to individual television stations. Crosby

11984-409: Was one of the first singers to exploit the intimacy of the microphone rather than use the loud, penetrating vaudeville style associated with Al Jolson . Crosby was, by his own definition, a "phraser", a singer who placed equal emphasis on both the lyrics and the music. Paul Whiteman's hiring of Crosby, with phrasing that echoed jazz, particularly his bandmate Bix Beiderbecke 's trumpet, helped bring

12096-417: Was produced by different production companies such as Bing Crosby Productions and the network's own ABC Circle Films . Spelling was particularly prolific, producing films under his own credit as well as through Spelling-Goldberg Productions and Thomas-Spelling Productions (partly owned by Danny Thomas ). The MotW provided ABC with a ratings hit and, along with Monday Night Football , helped establish

12208-552: Was raised. In 1913, his father built a house at 508 E. Sharp Avenue. The house stands on the campus of Crosby's alma mater, Gonzaga University , as a museum housing over 200 artifacts from his life and career, including his Oscar. Crosby was the fourth of seven children: brothers Laurence Earl "Larry" (1895–1975), Everett Nathaniel (1896–1966), Edward John "Ted" (1900–1973), and George Robert "Bob" (1913–1993); and two sisters, Catherine Cordelia (1904–1974) and Mary Rose (1906–1990). His parents were Harry Lillis Crosby (1870–1950),

12320-506: Was reinforced by the musicians' union and ASCAP , which wanted to ensure continued work for their members. In On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio , John Dunning wrote about German engineers having developed a tape recorder with a near-professional broadcast quality standard: [Crosby saw] an enormous advantage in prerecording his radio shows. The scheduling could now be done at the star's convenience. He could do four shows

12432-533: Was released in 1982 as a single 45 rpm record and reached No. 3 in the UK singles charts. It has since become a staple of holiday radio and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the 20th century, TV Guide listed the Crosby-Bowie duet one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television. Bing Crosby Productions, affiliated with Desilu Studios and later CBS Television Studios , produced

12544-554: Was the third-most-popular actor of all time, behind Clark Gable (1,168,300,000) and John Wayne (1,114,000,000). The International Motion Picture Almanac lists Crosby in a tie for second-most years at number one on the All Time Number One Stars List with Clint Eastwood , Tom Hanks , and Burt Reynolds . His most popular film, White Christmas , grossed $ 30 million in 1954 ($ 340 million in current value). Crosby received 23 gold and platinum records, according to

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