Kathryn Crosby (born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff; November 25, 1933) is a retired American actress and singer who performed in films under the stage names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff.

Life and career

Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in West Columbia, Texas, she graduated from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachel ...

degree in 1955. Two years later she became

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

's second wife, being more than thirty years his junior. The couple had three children,

Harry Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show ...

, Mary Frances, and

Nathaniel , nickname = {{Plainlist, * Nat * Nate , footnotes = Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Greek name Nathanael. People with the name Nathaniel * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate ...

. She appeared as a guest star on her husband's 1964–1965 ABC sitcom '' The Bing Crosby Show''. Crosby largely retired from acting after her marriage, but did have featured roles as Princess Parisa in ''

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad ''The 7th Voyage of Sinbad'' is a 1958 Technicolor heroic fantasy adventure film directed by Nathan H. Juran and starring Kerwin Mathews, Torin Thatcher, Kathryn Grant, Richard Eyer, and Alec Mango. It was distributed by Columbia Pictures ...

'' (1958), and in the courtroom drama '' Anatomy of a Murder'' (1959). She also played the part of "Mama Bear" alongside her husband and children in ''

Goldilocks "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" (originally titled "The Story of the Three Bears") is a 19th-century English fairy tale of which three versions exist. The original version of the tale tells of an obscene old woman who enters the forest hom ...

'' and co-starred with

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadi ...

in the comedy ''

Operation Mad Ball ''Operation Mad Ball'' is a 1957 military comedy from Columbia Pictures, produced by Jed Harris, directed by Richard Quine, that stars Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Kathryn Grant, Arthur O'Connell, and Mickey Rooney. The screenplay is by Blake Edw ...

'' (1957), with Tony Curtis in the drama '' Mister Cory'' (1957) and as a trapeze artist in ''

The Big Circus ''The Big Circus'' is a 1959 film starring Victor Mature as a circus owner struggling with financial trouble and a murderous unknown saboteur. It was produced and cowritten by Irwin Allen, later known for a series of big-budget disaster films. Pl ...

'' (1959). In the mid-1970s, she hosted ''The Kathryn Crosby Show'', a 30-minute local talk-show on

KPIX-TV KPIX-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to San Francisco, California, United States, serving as the San Francisco Bay Area's CBS network outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside ...

in San Francisco. Husband Bing appeared as a guest occasionally. Since Bing Crosby's death in 1977, she has taken on a few smaller roles and the lead in the short-lived 1996 Broadway musical '' State Fair''. On June 16, 1963, Crosby received her nurse's cap, signifying her becoming a registered nurse after studying at Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles. For 16 years ending in 2001, Crosby hosted the Crosby National Golf Tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in Bermuda Run, North Carolina. A nearby bridge carrying U.S. Route 158 over the

Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river are impounded by dams for water, p ...

is named for Kathryn Crosby.Jim Sparks, "Crews to Start Work on Bridge," ''Winston-Salem Journal'', November 21, 2007. On November 4, 2010, Crosby was seriously injured in an automobile accident in the Sierra Nevada that killed her 85-year-old second husband, Maurice William Sullivan, whom she had married in 2000.

Filmography

Vincent Edwards Kathryn Crosby Ben Casey 1965

*'' So This Is Love'' (1953) – Showgirl (uncredited) *''

Arrowhead An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...

'' (1953) – Miss Mason (uncredited) *'' Forever Female'' (1953) – Young Hopeful (uncredited) *''

Casanova's Big Night ''Casanova's Big Night'' is a 1954 American comedy film starring Bob Hope and Joan Fontaine, which is a spoof of swashbuckling historical adventure films. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod. Hope plays a tailor who impersonates Giacomo Casanova ...

'' (1954) – Girl on Bridge (uncredited) *'' Living It Up'' (1954) – Manicurist (uncredited) *''

Rear Window ''Rear Window'' is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story "It Had to Be Murder". Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film st ...

'' (1954) – Girl at Songwriter's Party (uncredited) *'' Unchained'' (1955) – Sally Haskins (uncredited) *''

Tight Spot ''Tight Spot'' is a 1955 American film noir crime film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Ginger Rogers, Edward G. Robinson and Brian Keith. The story was inspired by Senator Estes Kefauver's tactics in coercing Virginia Hill to testify in th ...

'' (1955) – Girl Honeymooner (uncredited) *'' Cell 2455 Death Row'' (1955) – Jo-Anne *''

5 Against the House ''5 Against the House'' is a 1955 American heist film directed by Phil Karlson and starring Guy Madison, Kim Novak and Brian Keith. The supporting cast includes William Conrad. The screenplay is based on Jack Finney's 1954 novel of the same nam ...

'' (1955) – Jean, Young Woman in Nightclub (uncredited) *'' The Phenix City Story'' (1955) – Ellie Rhodes *''

My Sister Eileen ''My Sister Eileen'' is a series of autobiographical short stories by Ruth McKenney, originally published in ''The New Yorker'', which eventually inspired many other works: her 1938 book ''My Sister Eileen'', a play, a musical, a radio play (an ...

'' (1955) – Young Hopeful (uncredited) *''

Storm Center ''Storm Center'' is a 1956 American film noir drama directed by Daniel Taradash. The screenplay by Taradash and Elick Moll focuses on what were at the time two very controversial subjects— Communism and book banning—and took a strong stance a ...

'' (1956) – Hazel Levering *'' Reprisal!'' (1956) – Taini *'' The Wild Party'' (1956) – Honey *'' Mister Cory'' (1957) – Jen Vollard *''

The Guns of Fort Petticoat ''The Guns of Fort Petticoat'' is a 1957 American Western film produced by Harry Joe Brown and Audie Murphy for Brown-Murphy Pictures. It was based on the 1955 short story "Petticoat Brigade" by Chester William Harrison (1913–1994) that he ex ...

'' (1957) – Anne Martin *''

The Night the World Exploded ''The Night the World Exploded'' is a 1957 science fiction, disaster film. The film was written by Jack Natteford and Luci Ward, and directed by Fred F. Sears for producer Sam Katzman. Both Katzman and Sears were great exponents of the low-budget ...

'' (1957) – Laura Hutchinson *''

'' (1957) – Lt. Betty Bixby *'' The Brothers Rico'' (1957) – Norah Malaks Rico *'' Gunman's Walk'' (1958) – Clee Chouard *''

'' (1958) – Princess Parisa *'' Anatomy of a Murder'' (1959) – Mary Pilant *''

'' (1959) – Jeannie Whirling *''

1001 Arabian Nights ''One Thousand and One Nights'' ( ar, أَلْفُ لَيْلَةٍ وَلَيْلَةٌ, italic=yes, ) is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales compiled in Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. It is often known in English as the ''Arabian ...

'' (1959) – Princess Yasminda (voice) *''

Queen of the Lot ''Queen of the Lot'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Henry Jaglom and starring Tanna Frederick and Noah Wyle. It is the sequel to Jaglom's 2006 film '' Hollywood Dreams''. Cast *Tanna Frederick *Noah Wyle * Christo ...

'' (2010) – Elizabeth Lambert

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crosby, Kathryn 1933 births Living people 20th-century American actresses Actresses from Houston American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses American television personalities American voice actresses American women singers American women television personalities Bing Crosby People from West Columbia, Texas University of Texas at Austin alumni