Silver screen icon Kathryn Crosby has died aged 90 at her US home.
The widow of fellow acting great and crooner Bing Crosby – who died in October 1977 while golfing with friends in Spain, after a sudden heart attack aged 74 – died on Friday from natural causes at her home in Hillsborough, California.
A representative for the Crosby family announced the news to Variety on Saturday.
Kathryn Crosby was probably best known for her roles in The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Anatomy of a Murder and Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window.
She starred in more than 20 films throughout her stellar career, with other highlights including appearances in Operation Mad Ball and The Wild Party.
Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in Texas, she typically performed under the stage names Kathryn Grant and Kathryn Grandstaff.
She also frequently appeared on Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas specials and hosted her The Kathryn Crosby Show.
After Bing’s death she performed in several stage productions such as the 1996 Broadway revival of ‘State Fair’, and hosted the Crosby National Golf Tournament for charity in Bermuda Run, North Carolina.
Her showbiz career kicked off after she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin and won a beauty contest that landed her a screen test with William Holden.
She began her film career in 1953 while writing a column about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper and met Bing while conducting interviews for her articles on the set of the film White Christmas.
The pair married in 1957 and she became a registered nurse and teacher in 1963.
She is survived by her three children, Harry, Mary and Nathaniel, as well as several grandchildren.
In an interview with PBS about how she met Bing she said he called out to her by referencing her home state: “Hi Tex, what’s your hurry?”
“He invited me for a cup of tea and we had tea and I looked into his big blue eyes and about 15 minutes later, I realised I was in love.”
Kathryn was more than 30 years younger than Bing and converted to Catholicism before marrying him in 1957.
She mainly gave up her acting career to stay at home with their three children, with their daughter Mary Frances Crosby becoming an actress who starred on the TV series Dallas.
