Kathryn Crosby, the actress best known for “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, “Anatomy of a Murder” and “Operation Mad Ball” and the widow of iconic singer Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.
Crosby died of natural causes on Friday at her home in Hillsborough, California while surrounded by her family, a spokesperson for the Crosby family confirmed to Fox News Digital.
Often credited under her stage name of Kathryn Grant, Crosby starred opposite Tony Curtis in 1957’s “Mister Cory” in 1957 and Victor Mature in 1959’s “The Big Circus.” Â
Crosby co-starred with Richard Kiley in 1955’s “The Phenix City Story,” Jack Lemmon in 1957’s “Operation Mad Ball” and James Stewart in 1959’s “Anatomy of a Murder.”
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She made five movies with famed film noir director Phil Karlson, including “The Phenix City Story,” 1955’s “Tight Spot” and 1957’s “The Brothers Rico,” the latter of which she starred opposite James Darren.
Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on Nov. 25, 1933, in West Columbia, Texas, she earned a degree in fine arts from the University of Texas. After graduating from college, Crosby moved to Hollywood and launched her acting career in 1953.
The actress met Bing Crosby when he was filming “Little Boy Lost” in 1953. While working on the set of Bing’s movie “White Christmas,” Crosby interviewed the Academy Award winner for “Texas Girl,” a weekly column that she wrote for her hometown newspaper.
She became Bing’s second wife after the two married in 1957, when she was 23 and he was 54. The two shared sons Harry and Nathaniel and daughter Mary.
Following her marriage to Bing, Crosby mostly stepped away from her acting career, although she appeared frequently with Bing and their three children on his Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice commercials.Â
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Crosby became a registered nurse in 1963. She appeared in a 1963 episode of “Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theater” and guest-starred in an episode of “The Bing Crosby Show” in 1965.
In 1967, Crosby authored the memoir “Bing and Other Things,” which she followed up with 1983’s “My Life With Bing” and 2002’s “My Last Years With Bing.”
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In the 1970s, she hosted the morning talk show “The Kathryn Crosby Show” on KPIX-TV in Northern California.Â
Crosy was married to Bing until the Hollywood legend died of a heart attack after golfing in Spain in 1977.
Following Bing’s death, she appeared in stage productions of “Same Time, Next Year” and “Charley’s Aunt.” Crosby co-starred with John Davidson and Andrea McArdle in the 1996 Broadway revival of “State Fair.”
From 1985 to 2001, she hosted the Crosby National golf tournament in Bermuda Run, North Carolina.
She was married to Maurice Sullivan for 10 years before he died at the age of 85 in a 2010 car accident that seriously injured Crosby.
Crosby is survived by her children Harry, an investment banker and former actor, Mary, an actress known for the TV show “Dallas,” and Nathaniel, a successful amateur golfer, as well as several grandchildren.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
