Kathryn Grant Crosby, the actress known for The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Anatomy of a Murder, has died. She was 90.
The widow of Bing Crosby died of natural causes on Friday night at her Hillsborough, California home, according to a spokesperson for the Crosby family.
Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on Nov. 25, 1933 in West Columbia, Texas, she graduated from University of Texas at Austin before winning a beauty contest with the prize being a screen test in Hollywood with William Holden.
Beginning her onscreen career as Kathryn Grant in 1953, she appeared in such films as So This Is Love (1953), Rear Window (1954) and The Wild Party (1956).
While penning a column about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper, Kathryn met Bing during an interview on the set of his beloved 1954 holiday classic White Christmas. They wed in 1957, and she went on to become a registered nurse and teacher.
Bing Crosby performs with wife Kathryn Grant Crosby on Dec. 22, 1975 at San Francisco’s Laguna Honda Hospital. (Bettmann)
Kathryn continued appearing onscreen over the years in such films as Operation Mad Ball (1957), The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958), Anatomy of a Murder (1959) and The Initiation of Sarah (1978). She also continued appearing with her family on Bing’s popular Christmas specials, in addition to hosting The Kathryn Crosby Show, a local San Francisco talk show in the ’70s. On stage, Kathryn appeared in the 1996 Broadway revival of State Fair.
Following Bing’s death in 1977, Kathryn Crosby is survived by their three children, Harry, Mary and Nathaniel, as well as multiple grandchildren.
