Bing Crosby was and is a Palm Springs legend.
Born Harry Lillis Crosby on May 3,
1903, "Bing" grew up to become one of America's most popular
entertainers of all time. In 1931, Crosby launched his hugely popular radio
show. He soon started starring in films, winning an Academy Award for Going My Way in
1944. Throughout much of his career, Crosby dominated the music charts with
nearly 300 hit singles to his credit.
To most Americans, he was the eternal Crooner: a much
celebrated and beloved performer of unparalleled popularity. Yet Bing Crosby
was far more than that: He was an architect of 20th century entertainment, a
force in the development of three industries that barely existed when he came
into the world: recordings, motion pictures, and broadcasting. As the most
successful recording artist of all time; an abiding star of movies, radio, and
television; and a firm believer in the wonders of technology, he helped to
transform and define the cultural life not only of the United States, but of
the world.
Paramount Pictures brought him to Hollywood to star in The
Big Broadcast; the studio quickly signed him to a three-picture deal that grew
into a 20-year association.
Bing’s popularity really took off a year later, when NBC
asked him to take over its faltering program, The Kraft Music Hall. Bing turned
it into the archetypal broadcast variety show, a template still in use today.
Crosby's film career continued to
flourish, reaching its peak in the 1940s. He co-starred with comedian Bob Hope
in the wildly popular series of Road pictures, which began with 1940's The Road to Singapore. The on-screen dynamic duo forged a genuine affection for each
other off-screen as well. Crosby and Hope remained friends for life, and
appeared together in numerous films. Dorothy Lamour was their female
lead, together the three made seven Road movies together.
Bing’s friends, the people who visited him Palm Springs and the
greater Palm Springs area included Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Armstrong, Phil Harris,
Jack Benny, Claudette Colbert, Phil Harris and Danny Kaye.
Bing understood the potential of Palm Springs and the greater
Palm Springs real estate. He invested in Palm Springs and greater Palm Springs
real estate. His friends invested too. We see that influence even today.
Blue Skies Trailer Village founded by Bing Crosby in the
mid-1950s exists today as a private mobile home park. It is located at 70260 Highway
111 in Rancho Mirage, California.
One of the highlights
of the, Blue Skies Trailer Village is the street signs. Every street is named after one of the
original investors including many Hollywood stars such as Jack Benny, Claudette
Colbert and Phil Harris.
Bing’s first Palm Springs home was at 1011 East El Alameda,
near the movie colony, in Palm Springs
In 1957Bing built his luxurious Thunderbird Country Club residence. It is located at 70375 Calico Road in nearby Rancho Mirage, California.
For many years Bing Crosby had a restaurant in Rancho
Mirage, California on at 71743 Highway 111, just minutes from downtown Palm
Springs.
Bing loved sports. He spent considerable time on the golf at
horse racing tracks and on the golf course. He was instrumental in building the
Del Mar race track. He helped establish the Bing Crosby
National Pro-Amateur tournament in the late 1930s.
Bing Crosby earned many accolades and
awards during his life. Perhaps the most prestigious was in 1944 when Bing
won an Academy Award for his performance as Father O’Malley in Leo McCarey’s Going My Way.
Bing Crosby died in 1977.
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