Gary Crosby

**Gary Evan Crosby** (27 June 1933 – 24 August 1995) was an American singer and actor. His parents were Bing Crosby, of whom he wrote a highly critical memoir, and the singer and actress Dixie Lee.

He was a panelist in two incarnations of *Match Game*:

* Match Game (1973)
* Match Game PM

## Biography

Gary Crosby was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Stanford University. He entered the entertainment business and performed in a harmony singing group, The Crosby Boys, with his three brothers, Philip, Lindsay, and Dennis, during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. As a teenager, he sang two duets with his father, "Sam's Song" and "Play a Simple Melody", which became the first double-sided gold record in history. He also recorded duets with Louis Armstrong and at least one 45-single with Sammy Davis Jr. He also performed in several variety programs, including ABC's *The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom* and NBC's *The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford*.

### Radio

In the mid-1950s, he had his own radio program, *The Gary Crosby Show* on CBS. The musical variety program debuted 6 June 1954 as a summer replacement for Bing Crosby's show.

## Acting

As an actor, Crosby appeared in many television programs. On 20 March 1955, he appeared in the *Jack Benny Program* Season 5, Episode 13. Later, he was briefly under contract to 20th Century-Fox in the late 1950s. He appeared in a number of supporting roles for the studio, normally comedies in which Crosby played a soldier: *Mardi Gras* (1958) with Pat Boone; *Holiday for Lovers* (1959), as Carol Lynley's love interest; *A Private's Affair* (1959), with Sal Mineo; and *The Right Approach* (1961) with Frankie Vaughan.

He is perhaps best-remembered for his recurring roles as Eddie the scheming bellhop in *The Bill Dana Show* and Officer Edward "Ed" Wells in NBC's *Adam-12* from 1968 to 1975, as well as appearances in several other shows produced by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited, including an episode of *Dragnet 1969* and five episodes of *Emergency!* In addition, he appeared in three episodes of *The Rockford Files*.

In 1965, he made a guest appearance in *Perry Mason* as singer Jazbo Williams in "The Case of the Frustrated Folk Singer". He appeared in *Girl Happy* (1965), starring Elvis Presley, with whom he had been stationed in the Army in Germany, and in "Come Wander with Me," an episode of *The Twilight Zone* in 1964. In the 1970s, he appeared occasionally in game shows such as *Tattletales* as a guest panelist.

## Memoir

In 1983, six years after his father's death, Crosby published an autobiography, *Going My Own Way*, which revealed the effects of his alcoholism and his difficult childhood as a result of his mother's alcoholism and his father's emotional and physical abuse. Some, especially his brother Phillip, said the abuse was not as severe as Crosby described. However, his brothers Lindsay and Dennis reportedly confirmed Crosby's account; both men later committed suicide by gunshot.

## Personal Life

He married and divorced three times; he had one stepchild as a result.

Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in Burbank, California, and is interred at Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills Cemetery.