| 1 9 7 0 | |
| Jan 3 | Hollywood Palace anniversary show airs. |
| Jan 22-25 | Bing is at the Bing Crosby Pro-Am Tournament at Pebble Beach which is won by Bert Yancy. Bing and Curt Gowdy act as commentators on NBC-TV and the telecast attains the highest audience rating of any golf tournament to date. |
| Jan 27 | In Grand Ballroom of Waldorf-Astoria in New York, Bing takes part in a benefit with Bob Hope, Johnny Cash, Ray Bolger and Raquel Welch for the Eisenhower Medical Centre which is being built at Palm Desert. He and Hope sing a medley. Extracts are shown on Bob Hope's TV program on February 16. |
| Feb | Bing joins David M. Sacks to form Electrovision Productions Inc. which produces multimedia sight and sound experiences of various cities. |
| Feb 7 | Hosts the final show of 'The Hollywood Palace' series. This program consists of edited highlights of earlier shows with the Bing segments being the only new material. |
| Feb 8 | 'American Sportsman' program with Bing fishing for salmon in Iceland is shown. |
| Feb 26/27 | Guests in 'The Movie Game' TV show. |
| Mar 31 | Goldilocks, a TV show combining animation with filmed scenes involving Bing and his family, airs on NBC. |
| Apr 12 | The final 'American Sportsman' program of the current series is shown and features Bing and others talking about conservation. |
| Apr 13 | A Bing Crosby Special 'Cooling It' is shown on NBC. The guests are Dean Martin, Flip Wilson and Bernadette Peters. |
| Apr - May | Bing and family on vacation at Las Cruces. |
| Apr 30 | Inger Stevens (Bing's co-star in Man On Fire with whom he was romantically linked in the 1950s) dies from a barbiturate overdose. |
| Jun 1 | 'San Francisco Experience', the first film in the new Electrovision technique, opens in San Francisco with an introduction by Bing. |
| Jul 16 | Bing has guest spot in 'Happy Days' TV program with Lionel Hampton. |
| Jul 30 - Aug | Bing and his son, Harry Jr., leave for an African Safari vacation. They return home via Rome. |
| Sep | Films Dr. Cook's Garden (a Paramount production for TV) with Frank Converse. Location shots are filmed at Woodstock, Vermont. |
| Sep 8 | Bing's three young children are involved in a car crash at Redding, North California. The vehicle in which they were travelling was being driven by their grandfather, Delbert Grandstaff. Their grandmother, Mrs. D.E. Grandstaff, is badly hurt in the crash and dies from her injuries on September 13. |
| Sep 15 | Decca Records awards Bing a platinum record of 'Silent Night' on a plaque that notes Bing's sales of more than 300,650,000 records. |
| Nov 16 | Bing sings four Christmas songs with an orchestra conducted by Les Brown at Mercury Sound Studio West on Mission Street, San Francisco in his only recording date of 1970. The tracks are issued by Daybreak Records. |
| Nov | Tapes 'Flip Wilson Show' which airs January 7. |
| Nov 29 | The John Wayne TV Special 'Swing Out, Sweet Land' is shown on NBC and Bing has a guest spot. The special is the most expensive single show ever produced for TV and it costs the sponsor, Budweiser, over $2 million. It achieves a 39.3 rating and is number one in the ratings for the week. It is estimated that 77 million people watch it. |
| Dec 16 | Bing's Christmas TV show airs on NBC. Guests include Melba Moore and
Jack Wild.
Takes part in the annual show at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco for the disabled and chronically ill. |
| Dec 24/25 | At Hillsborough house with family and relatives. There are 45 guests at the Christmas Eve party for staff and friends. His older sons visit on Christmas Day. |
| 1 9 7 1 | |
| Jan 7 | Guests on 'Flip Wilson Show' on NBC-TV and is presented with the platinum disc for record sales of over 300 million. |
| Jan 14-17 | At the Bing Crosby Pro-Am tournament at Pebble Beach. The TV coverage on January 17 (which follows the Super Bowl) is seen by 11.5 million people and is ranked by Nielsen as not only the top ranking golf tournament of 1971, but also of all time. The winner is Tom Shaw. |
| Jan 19 | Dr. Cook's Garden is aired on ABC-TV. |
| Jan 20 | Bing is the guest of honour at a dinner held by Committee for Atlantic Salmon Emergency at Waldorf Astoria, New York. A Danish film distributor announces he will cease distribution of Crosby's films in Denmark because of Bing's support for the Atlantic salmon fishing ban. |
| Jan 23 | Bing guests on the premiere of 'The Pearl Bailey Show' with Louis Armstrong and Andy Williams on ABC-TV. |
| Feb 5 | Bill Morrow, Bing's writer and friend, dies of lung cancer at the age of 63. He had undergone surgery 14 months previously. |
| Feb 10 | Bing appears on the David Frost Show in New York with Louis Armstrong. |
| Feb 15 | Bob Hope TV special featuring Bing, Petula Clark and Jo Anne Worley is shown on NBC. |
| Mar 12 | Bing joins four others (including Bob Hope) to offer $10 million in ransom money for American prisoners of war in Vietnam. The matter does not proceed. |
| Mar 18 | 'The Arte Johnson Show' featuring Bing is transmitted on NBC-TV. |
| Mar 19 | Bing in Nairobi, Kenya on a photographic safari. |
| Mar 28 | 'American Sportsman' program with Bing talking about the history of wildlife is shown. |
| Apr 8 | Bing is in Mexico. |
| Jun 14 | Frank Sinatra gives his last performance prior to his announced retirement. |
| Jun 21 | Bing is interviewed on CBS-TV Morning News by Belva Davis of KPIX/SF. |
| Jun 22 | Bing is visited at his Hillsborough home by Fathers Dussault and
Twohy from Gonzaga in connection with proposed charitable donations.
Has a fishing holiday in Seven Islands, northern Quebec where he catches a 17-pound salmon. |
| Jul 1 | In Montreal for opening of Electrovision movie 'The Hawaiian Experience'. Stays at the Chateau Champlain. |
| Jul 6 | Louis Armstrong dies. |
| Aug 5 | Arrives at Prestwick Airport in Scotland en route to Gleneagles for a week's golf. He has not played for two years until the last month or so. |
| Aug 9 | Plays at St. Andrews with Jim Wilson, his partner there in 1950. |
| Aug 12 | In London staying at Staffords Hotel. He is interviewed for the BBC's 'Today' TV program while sheltering from the rain in Oxford Street. The main purpose of his visit is to promote Electrovision. Subsequently travels home via Munich (where he again promotes Electrovision and also arranges tickets for the 1972 Olympic Games) and Pittsburgh. |
| Aug 28 | Elvis Presley receives the Bing Crosby lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS). The five previous recipients were Bing Crosby (for whom the award was named), Frank Sinatra, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Irving Berlin. |
| Sep 7/8 | Sings six Christmas songs (with Les Brown conducting the Orchestra) for Daybreak Records as his only recordings of 1971. Goes on to his Rising River ranch in Northern California. |
| Oct 7 | Dean Martin Show featuring Bing and Rip Taylor airs on NBC-TV. |
| Oct | Tapes annual Christmas show with Robert Goulet and Mary Costa. |
| Oct 13 | Bing throws out the ceremonial first ball at the first-ever World Series game played at night. The game is played at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh between the Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles. Bing, who has been a part-owner of the Pirates since 1946, sits with baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn along the first-base side. The Pirates defeated the Orioles 4 to 3. |
| Oct 17 | Pittsburgh Pirates win World Series. |
| Dec 5 | Bing guests in 'Monsanto Presents Mancini' TV show. |
| Dec 14 | Annual Christmas TV show is aired on NBC. It receives a 31% rating by
Nielsen.
Stars in the annual show at Laguna Honda Hospital again. |
|
Christmas | At home in Hillsborough near San Francisco. |
| 1 9 7 2 | |
| Bing joins Kathryn and the children in the Minute Maid orange juice adverts which continue until his death. | |
| Jan 3 | Guests on the Merv Griffin TV show on CBS with Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and David Butler. |
| Jan 9 | 'American Sportsman' program features Bing and Phil Harris hunting White Wing in Mexico. |
| Jan 12 | Bing is appointed as the national campaign chairman of the 1972 fund raising drives of the Arthritis Foundation. Bing is said to have had arthritis himself for several years. |
| Jan 13-16 | At the Bing Crosby Pro-Am Tournament at Pebble Beach which is won by Jack Nicklaus. Goes on to hunt quail in Texas. |
| Feb 22 | Bing at Las Cruces, Mexico. |
| Feb 27 | 'Bing Crosby and Friends' special is shown on NBC-TV with Bob Hope, Pearl Bailey and Carol Burnett as the guests. |
| Late Feb. | Tapes Flip Wilson show which is shown on NBC-TV on March 16. |
| Feb/Mar | Films a cameo role in Bob Hope's film Cancel My Reservation. |
| Mar 14/15/16 | Records 'Bing 'N' Basie' LP singing to pre-recorded tracks at Coast Recorders Studio, Bush Street, San Francisco for Daybreak Records. |
| Mar 15 | A Carol Burnett show with Bing as guest is transmitted on CBS-TV. |
| Mar 22 | The 'This is Your Life' TV show in the UK features 'flying doctor' Micky Wood. Bing sends a tribute which has been filmed outside his Hillsborough home. |
| Mar 26 | Bing narrates 'American Sportsman' program about the Guide Dogs for the Blind school in San Rafael. John Scott Trotter is on the school's board. |
| Apr - May | Bing and family at Las Cruces. They now have a 38-foot Chris craft, the 'Dorado,' which has replaced his former boat 'True Love'. |
| Apr 22/23 | Bing's Oscar on display at Gonzaga is stolen and a statuette of Mickey Mouse is put in its place by the thief. |
| May 2 | Bing's Oscar is returned by a student who had taken it for a prank. |
| May 25 | John Montague, the golfer who once defeated Bing with a bat, a shovel and a rake, dies of a heart attack in Studio City, California. He was 68. |
| Jul 31 | (3:15 - 4:40 p.m.) Having arrived that day, Bing then meets several
ICC members in London at Staffords Hotel. He declines to be photographed without his toupee. Bing stays at the hotel until August 2.
Goes on to Nairobi, Kenya for a safari, where Mary Frances shoots a 12 foot killer crocodile on the Tana River in Coast Province. They then go to the Seychelles and then Rome, Italy. BBC producer Richard Drewett meets Bing in Rome and arranges for him to appear in a 'Parkinson' TV show. |
| Aug 27 - Sep 10 | Attends Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany. |
| Sep 5 | Arab guerrillas storm Israeli compound at Olympic Games. Nine hostages are killed. |
| Sep 11 | Arrives at Heathrow and goes to Scotland for golf. |
| Sep 14 | Golfs at Carnoustie, and during his stay in Scotland also golfs at Dornoch. Is interviewed by Renton Laidlaw for BBC Scotland about the trophy he has given for senior golfers. |
| Sep 15 | Golfs at St. Andrews in the Bing Crosby Trophy for Senior Golfers before presenting the silver rose bowl. He is partnered by Jim Wilson again. |
| Sep 16 | Golfs at St. Andrews again. |
| Sep 17 | Arrives back in London. |
| Sep 18 | Tapes 'Parkinson' show for BBC TV in London which is shown on December 23. |
| Sep 24 | Bing golfs at Southport and Ainsdale Golf Club in a charity event for the National Society for Cancer Relief with Gary Player, Tony Jacklin, Bruce Forsyth and many other stars. |
| Oct 4 | Bing appears on the Dick Cavett TV show. |
| Oct 15 | Cancel My Reservation is released. |
| Nov 7 | Republican Richard Nixon is re-elected President. |
| Nov 18 | Bing appears on Lee Trevino TV show. |
| Dec 10 | Annual TV special called 'Christmas with the Bing Crosbys' is shown on NBC. Guests include Sally Struthers and David Hartman. |
| Dec 14 | Stars in the annual show at Laguna Honda Hospital for the disabled and chronically ill. |
| Dec 28 | Records two songs in San Francisco for Old St. Mary's Church, which are issued on a limited edition LP to raise funds for the church. |
| Dec 31 | Roberto Clemente killed in a plane crash. Clemente was a star Pittsburgh Pirates baseball player. |
| 1 9 7 3 | |
| Jan 25-28 | Bing attends the Bing Crosby Pro-Am at Pebble Beach which is won again by Jack Nicklaus. |
| Feb | Records his 1973 Christmas show at Sun Valley, Idaho with guests Michael Landon, Connie Stevens and John Byner. |
| Feb 4 | 'American Sportsman' program about Bing and Phil Harris shooting pheasant in Iowa is shown.
Bing contributes a tribute to the Roberto Clemente Memorial Album. |
| Mar | Frank Sinatra refuses to contribute to the 14-part series on Bing's life which is being prepared by BBC Radio, as he is bitter about earlier treatment of him by the BBC. |
| Apr 8 | BBC Radio premiers the first hour-long installment of a 14-week series recounting Bing's career. The series is titled Bing: The story of a man who became a legend within a lifetime and is written by Charles Thompson and narrated by Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. |
| May | Bing is at Las Cruces for his birthday. |
| Jun 8 | Bing records 'Tie A Yellow Ribbon' and another song at MGM Studios with the Billy Byers Orchestra for Daybreak Records, having been encouraged by the success of the BBC radio series. |
| Jun | Goes to Alaska to fish for 'American Sportsman' TV program. |
| Jun 25 | In New York for several days to announce 'The New York Experience' movie. Goes to the theatre several times during his stay and sees 'Seesaw', 'Pippin' and 'A Little Night Music'. |
| Aug | Goes to Guadalajara, Mexico to make arrangements for the Bing Crosby
Open Golf International Classic golf tournament. Buys house at Bosques De San Isidro.
Mary Frances enrolls at a school in Mexico having been given permission to do so by Kathryn. Bing is unhappy with the decision and relations between him and Mary Frances become strained with Bing refusing to answer her letters. |
| Sep 24 | Attends Ducks Unlimited event. |
| Oct 10 | At Lingfield Races (near East Grinstead), Sussex, England. |
| Oct 12 | Leaves Connaught Hotel, London. |
| Nov 18 | Frank Sinatra begins his comeback after his 'retirement'. |
| Nov 25 | Bob and Dolores Hope visit Bing and his family at their Hillsborough home for a Thanksgiving Dinner. |
| Dec 9 | 'Bing Crosby's Sun Valley Christmas Show' is shown on NBC-TV and
attains the record audience of 49,270,000.
Bing films a spot as one of the hosts for M-G-M's compilation That's Entertainment which is released in 1974. |
| Dec 13 | Takes part in the annual Laguna Honda Hospital show again. |
| Dec 19 | Ted Crosby dies in Spokane, apparently of a heart attack, at the age of 73. |
| Dec 25 | Dixie's father dies, but Bing is ill and unable to attend the funeral. |
| Dec 31 | Kathryn drives Bing to Burlingame's Peninsula Hospital, where doctors initially treat him for pleurisy and investigate a lung abscess and lesion. |
| 1 9 7 4 | |
| Jan 3-6 | The Bing Crosby Pro-Am takes place and the winner is Johnny Miller. The event is shortened by rain and Miller is declared the winner after 54 holes. A herd of deer damages the fifth green as well. Bing misses the tournament as he is still in hospital. |
| Jan 13 | After two weeks of tests, Bing undergoes three and a half hours of surgery. Two-fifths of his left lung and an abscess the size of a small orange are removed. The tumour is a rare fungus called nocardia. He is left with a 35 inch scar on his back. It is revealed that Bing would have died within five days if the operation had not been undertaken. While in hospital, Bing telephones Mary Frances and a reconciliation takes place when she returns from Mexico to see her father in hospital. |
| Jan 18 | Bing comes out of intensive care. About 1000 letters a day are flooding into the hospital. |
| Jan 27 | Goes home to recuperate and gives up smoking completely. His recovery has been delayed as he has suffered a cracked rib in a fall at the hospital. |
| Feb 10 | 'American Sportsman' features Bing talking about the lifestyle of the cheetah. |
| Feb 24 | Bing and Phil Harris are on 'American Sportsman' program shown today shooting grouse in Southern Alberta. |
| Mar 15-17 | The first Bing Crosby International Classic under the Ladies Professional Golf Association takes place at San Isidro Country Club, Guadalajara. The winner is Jane Blalock. |
| Apr 5 | Bing leaves San Francisco for Easter vacation in Baja California. |
| May 26 | Bing's sister, Catherine Mullin, dies. |
| Jul | Gord Atkinson, a noted Canadian broadcaster, visits Bing at his home and tapes recollections for a forthcoming radio series called 'The Crosby Years'. |
| Aug 7 | It is reported that Bing has written to the PGA seeking permission for women to take part in the 1975 Bing Crosby National Pro-Am Tournament. The PGA quickly says that it is not permissible under their rules. |
| Aug 8 | President Nixon resigns and is succeeded by Gerald Ford. |
| Aug 10/11 | Bing records a TV show for CBS at the Palace Theatre, Hollywood with Bob Hope and Pearl Bailey. The show airs on October 9. |
| Aug 21/22 | Takes part in Mills Bros. Charity Show Telethon. |
| Aug 26 | Golfs at San Isidro, near Guadalajara, Mexico. |
| Sep 9 | British record producer Ken Barnes visits Bing at his Hillsborough home to discuss a recording project. |
| Sep 12 | Bing visits Expo '74 World's Fair at Spokane. Launches Gonzaga's Second Century Endowment Fund campaign. |
| Sep | In Mexico. |
| Oct 2 | Has recently returned from Mexico.
Ken Barnes and Pete Moore visit Bing at his home to firm up the keys and routines for the planned recording session. Gord Atkinson again visits Bing at his home in connection with 'The Crosby Years' radio program. |
| Oct 17 | In his only recording date of 1974, starting at 10:30 a.m. at Johnny Mercer's own 'Heritage' recording studio at Oak Street in Burbank, Bing sings two songs with Mercer for United Artists Records under Ken Barnes' direction. |
| Oct 25 | Bing is interviewed with Phil Harris on Kathryn's morning TV talk show in San Francisco. |
| Nov 18 | Bing Crosby Enterprises signs a contract with Raymond Rohauer in Hollywood for a compilation film of Bing's early films with a linking commentary by Bing. |
| Nov | Bing films a commercial with his family for Minute Maid at Visalia, near Fresno, California. |
| Nov 25 | A surprise 41st birthday party is held for Kathryn at the Hillsborough house. Bing sings at the party. |
| Nov | Tapes his Christmas show with Mac Davis and Karen Valentine. |
| Dec 15 | 'Christmas with the Bing Crosbys' airs on NBC and is very popular, rating third of the week with a 31% audience share. |
| Dec 16 | Takes part in the annual show at Laguna Honda Hospital for the disabled and chronically ill. |
| 1 9 7 5 | |
| Jan 16/21 | Records 'A Southern Memoir' album at T.T.G. Studios in Los Angeles with Paul Smith Orchestra. |
| Jan 17 | Bing is a guest on the Merv Griffin show with Danny Thomas, comedienne Phyllis Diller, singer Louis Prima and comedian Gabriel Kaplan. |
| Jan 22-26 | Bing attends the 34th Bing Crosby National Pro-Am and returns to his role as a commentator in the TV coverage. Gene Littler is the winner. The tournament sets an all-time gate receipt record of nearly $600,000. Bing and Kathryn drop in at the house occupied by Francis Brown and Winona Love for drinks on the Friday night. On the Saturday night, Bing and Ray Herzog (CEO of 3M) host the annual cocktail party in the Del Monte Lodge library. |
| Feb 11 | Rejects, like Bob Hope, the terms of the PGA, which wants some of the television revenue from private tournaments. Expresses hope that 1976 tournament will be able to go ahead. |
| Feb 12 | Brother Larry, age 80, dies from cancer at Century City Hospital in Los Angeles and Bing attends his funeral at St. Victor's Church, West Hollywood on February 15. |
| Feb 18 | Bing arrives in London to record two albums for United Artists which are to be produced by Ken Barnes. He stays at Claridges. |
| Feb 19/20/22/24/25/26 | Recording sessions at Chappells, London with the Pete Moore Orchestra. After the recording session on February 26, Bing meets members of the ICC in the listening room at Chappells Studio. |
| Feb 22 | Appears on 'Grandstand' a live BBC-TV sports program. |
| Feb 23 | Bing presents rosettes at the indoors horse show held at the Priory School of Equitation in Frensham, Surrey. |
| Feb 27 | Interviewed on Pete Murray's Open House BBC Radio Two program in London. Later appears on BBC-TV program 'Pebble Mill At One'. |
| Feb 28 | Bing goes to Decca House on the Albert Embankment in London for a private luncheon with Sir Edward Lewis, director Bill Townsley and executive Geoff Milne. While there, he also films a segment for a forthcoming Thames TV program. |
| Mar 21-23 | At the Bing Crosby International Classic at Guadalajara. |
| Easter | At Las Cruces, Mexico. |
| Apr 29 | American troops withdraw from Vietnam. Bing's recording of White Christmas is played over the American Forces radio as a signal that the evacuation should begin. |
| Jun 23 | Records first part of 'Bingo Viejo' album at United Recorders, Hollywood with Paul Smith Orchestra. |
| Jul 1 | Arrives at Turnberry in Scotland. |
| Jul 4 | Golfs with sons Nathaniel and Harry at Turnberry. |
| Jul 5 | Teeing off at 1:30 p.m., Bing takes part in the Pineapple Pro-Am for Cancer Relief at Turnberry. He partners Ryder Cup golfer Bernard Gallacher. |
| Jul 6 | Golfs at Dalmahoay, Edinburgh in a pro-am organised by Jimmy Tarbuck.
Golfs with his two youngest sons at various courses. |
| Jul 9-12 | Bing attends the British Open Golf Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland. The winner is Tom Watson. |
| Jul 13 | Bing checks into Claridges in London and refuses a request by Ken Barnes to rehearse with Fred Astaire on July 14 because he has too many appointments. |
| Jul 15 | Thames TV transmit 'The Day War Broke Out' in which Bing and others give recollections of entertainment during WWII. |
| Jul 15-17 | Bing records 'A Couple of Song and Dance Men' album with Fred Astaire at The Music Centre, Wembley. |
| Jul 17 | Interviewed by Jack De Manio for BBC Radio program 'Jack De Manio Precisely'. (Broadcast July 23) |
| Jul 18 | Interviewed by Michael Aspel on Capital Radio in the morning and then tapes another Parkinson TV show for BBC which is shown on August 30. |
| Jul 22 | Appears on Terry Wogan's morning BBC Radio Two show in London. Possibly tapes further material for use in the radio program 'Wogan's World'. |
| Jul 23 | Tapes TV appearance on BBC program 'Top Of The Pops' when he sings 'That's What Life Is All About'. The program airs July 24. |
| Jul 24 | At Bushey, Herts to narrate documentary about golf at Cygnet Films studio. Plays golf at Moor Park afterwards. |
| Jul 25 | Lives in a rented house near Holland Park Avenue during his stay in London. |
| Jul 25 | Interviewed by Llew Gardiner on 'Today' program for Thames TV. |
| Jul 26 | Brief appearance on BBC Junior Choice radio program.
Is interviewed by Derek Jones for a BBC Radio 4 program called Sounds Natural and Bing makes various bird calls and discusses other wildlife matters. The program is broadcast on January 26, 1976. Records an appearance on the BBC Radio 4 program Desert Island Discs and interviewed by Roy Plomley, Bing selects the eight gramophone records he would take if abandoned on a desert island. The program is broadcast on December 27, 1975. |
| Jul 27 | Tapes guest appearance on Vera Lynn BBC-TV show in London. The show
airs on September 24.
Tapes a 'Disneytime' program for BBC TV which is shown on December 26. The filming is done in a private house in Chiswick. |
| Jul 31 | With his son Nathaniel at the German Open at Bremen.
Golfs at Rye. |
| Aug 5 | Golfs at Sunningdale in a charity event and is interviewed on TV. Bing's handicap is now nine. |
| Aug 7 | Golfs in Hilversum, Holland in Pro-Am and is interviewed by Dutch TV.
In Yorkshire (near Ripon) for the grouse shooting. Harry Crosby is with him. Tapes three appearances for Yorkshire Television program 'Stars On Sunday'. Receives a nominal fee of £250 which he passes on to the playing fields committee at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, North Yorkshire. He has already given £1000 to this cause. Tapes a TV commercial for Tennents Lager. |
| Aug 13 | It is announced that Bing, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour will make a film called The Road to Tomorrow. |
| Aug 14 | Bing leaves for Paris for a few days.
Records 'International Pro-Celebrity Golf' TV program on King's Course, Gleneagles in Scotland with Val Doonican, Tom Weiskopf and Peter Oosterhuis. The program is shown on January 27, 1976. |
| Aug 21 | At Claridges in London. |
| Aug 25 | Bing introduces recordings in a one hour BBC Radio 2 program produced by Brian Willey. |
| Sep 3 | In London for photo session at Decca House at 10:30 a.m. before going to Argo Studios, with Decca record producer Geoff Milne, where Bing records the first part of the 'Tom Sawyer' album. Bing returns to his rented house at 4:30 p.m. |
| Sep 4 | Mike Douglas afternoon TV show in the U.S. has Bing and Kathryn plus Mike Preminger and Sandra Harman as the guests, with David Brenner as co-host. The show had been taped before Bing's departure for the UK. |
| Sep 5 | Completes 'Tom Sawyer' album at Argo Studios between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. |
| Sep 15 | Having returned to California, Bing records remainder of 'Bingo Viejo' album at United Recorders, Hollywood. |
| Sep 21 | Sings three songs at benefit at Getty Museum in Malibu to raise funds for Hirsch Mental Health Center. Goes to the Mills Brothers Charity Show at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion celebrating the Mills Brothers 50th. anniversary in show business. |
| Oct 5 | Emcees Command Performance show at Treasure Island, San Francisco and sings two songs.
Tapes appearances on a tribute to Bob Hope, the Tonight show (with Don Rickles as guest host) and on the Dinah Shore show. |
| Oct 24 | Takes part in TV tribute on NBC to Bob Hope's 25 years on television. |
| Oct 29 | John Scott Trotter dies of cancer at age 67. |
| Nov 12 | Appears on Dinah Shore TV show on CBS with Phil Harris and Pat Boone. |
| Nov 20-22 | Tapes his Christmas show with Fred Astaire, Joe Bushkin and the Young Americans which is transmitted on NBC-TV on December 3. Also records a radio show for BBC which is aired on Christmas Day in the UK. |
| Nov 25 | Jack Harris, a radio personality whose voice resembles that of Bing, files a $2 million damage suit against Bing and his companies. Harris claims that the Crosby organisation is preventing him from gaining work. |
| Nov 28 | Bing tapes an appearance on the Mike Douglas TV show. |
| Dec 22 | Bing stars in the annual show at Laguna Honda Hospital. |
| Dec 31 | Mel Torme has lunch at Bing's Hillsborough home. Bing, Mel and Harry Crosby have a music session during the afternoon. That night, Bing and his family attend Mel's show at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. |
| 1 9 7 6 | |
| January |
Bing's 16-year-old daughter, Mary, begins dating 24-year-old Edmund "Eb" Lottimer. They marry in 1978 and divorce in 1989. Canadian broadcaster Gord Atkinson visits Bing's Hillsborough home to present a hand crafted wooden case containing The Crosby Years radio series. Bing is rehearsing the song 'At My Time of Life' and gives a special performance for Gord and his wife. |
| Jan 4 | KXL Radio in Portland, Oregon, broadcasts the first hour of a 26-part retrospective of Bing's life and times called Fifty fabulous years, honoring Bing Crosby's fifty years in show business and KXL Radio's fifty years on the air. The series is written and narrated by John Salisbury, a prominent Oregon news commentator and celebrity interviewer. Bing cooperates with the production, introducing and closing each episode. |
| Jan 19 | Bing records four songs (including 'At My Time of Life') at United Western Studios, Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood with the Pete Moore Orchestra. |
| Jan 21 | The clambake before the Golf Tournament. Bing sings for the first time in eight years and does a medley of 24 songs. |
| Jan 22-25 | The Crosby National Pro-Am Golf Championship is won by Ben Crenshaw. Bing acts as one of the commentators for the TV coverage as usual. |
| Jan 26 | In Las Vegas, Bing makes a walk-on guest appearance on the Merv Griffin TV show on CBS to surprise Rich Little who is impersonating him. |
| Jan 31 | Bing, Kathryn and their children present Bing Crosby and Friends as a benefit performance for the Houston Symphony Association at Houston, Texas. |
| Feb 20 | American Indians protest plans by Bing and his business partners to refurbish a resort at Mineral Hot Springs, near San Diego, which was bought three months earlier for $2.4 million. The Indians claim that the changes would desecrate an ancient burial ground. |
| Mar | Bing and Phil Harris form their own import company and launch their first product, Herradura Tequila, by recording a TV commercial. |
| Mar 5 | Bing is interviewed by Johnny Carson on the 'Tonight' show on NBC-TV where he sings "Where the Morning Glories Grow" and The Only Way to Go with Ray Bolger and Marvin Hamlisch (at the piano). |
| Mar 17 | Bing Crosby and Friends stage show (with guests Kathryn Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Rich Little, Nelson Riddle and Joe Bushkin) is presented at the Music Center in the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The proceeds go to charity. Gary and Lindsay Crosby are in the audience. |
| Mar 18 | Interviewed on ABC-TV News.
At Guadalajara, Mexico where he meets Derek Jewell of The Sunday Times. Jewell writes the program notes for Bing's forthcoming UK tour. |
| Mar 26 | In conjunction with Liza Minelli, Bing hosts the 90-minute 'Bell Telephone Jubilee' on NBC-TV. Guests are Ben Vereen and Marvin Hamlisch. |
| Mar | Charles Thompson's authorised biography of Bing goes on sale in the United States. |
| Apr 5 | Bing guests on The Rich Little Show on NBC-TV with Bill Cosby. |
| Apr 11 | Arrives in Montreal and stays at the Bonaventure Hotel. |
| Apr 12 | Bing Crosby and Bob Hope perform a benefit concert in the round for the 1976 Olympics at the Montreal Forum in Canada before an audience of 19,000. It would be the last time Hope and Crosby sing together. Bing opens with Where The Morning Glories Grow, a song from this 1975 album A Southern Memoir, and At My Time of Life, the title track of his then forthcoming United Artists album before joining Bob for a medley of songs from their 'road' pictures. The show airs on NBC-TV April 21. |
| Apr 16 | In New York. Visits Aqueduct Race Track. |
| Apr 18 | 'American Sportsman' TV program features Bing and Phil Harris. |
| May 24 | Bing is hospitalised overnight in Columbus, Ohio, after a piece of meat lodges in his throat. He is given a general anaesthetic but the food is removed without surgery. He withdraws from a golf match with Jack Nicklaus, Flip Wilson and Governor James A Rhodes. |
| Jun 2 | Bing Crosby and Friends stage show at Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco. Flip Wilson replaces Rich Little as the comedian in the show. |
| Jun 15 | Bing goes to London. |
| Jun 16 | At Ascot races where he is turned away from the Royal Enclosure as he is inappropriately dressed. Is interviewed by BBC TV. |
| Jun 17 | Again at Ascot and is interviewed by Derek Johnson for BBC Radio 2. |
| Jun 21 - Jul 4 | Bing Crosby and Friends stage show at the London Palladium. Pete Moore and the Orchestra provide support, with Ted Rogers taking the comedian spot. The proceeds go to the National Society for Cancer Relief, the Playing Fields Association and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. |
| Jun 24 | Decca producer Geoff Milne visits Bing at his West End apartment to discuss songs for a forthcoming album. |
| Jun 25 | Johnny Mercer dies. |
| Jun 27 | Bing records a brief TV tribute to Johnny Mercer while at the Palladium. |
| Jun 29 | Presented with a scroll for services to Britain by Lord Ponsonby, Chairman, Greater London Council at County Hall. |
| Jul 1 | Bing and family plus Rosemary Clooney are guests of the Duke of
Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. Prince Philip spends an hour talking to Bing
at a drinks party in the 1844 room and the Queen unexpectedly joins the
gathering as well.
At Elstree studios, Bing records his annual Christmas TV special (which airs on December 1) with Jackie Gleason and Bernadette Peters. |
| Jul 7 | Photo session at ATV Studios at Elstree. |
| Jul 11 | Golfs at Hermitage in Dublin with Christie O'Connor and performs in a hotel cabaret show that night. Stays at the Gresham. |
| Jul 12/13 | Bing Crosby and Friends stage show at Gaiety Theatre, Dublin. Proceeds go to the Artane Boys School and to the Madonna House. |
| Jul 14 | Arrives in Edinburgh. |
| Jul 15/16 | Bing Crosby and Friends stage show at Usher Hall, Edinburgh. The proceeds go to the Ochtertyre Theatre Appeal Fund. |
| Jul 19 | Bing at Churchill Hotel in London. |
| Jul 20 | Records first part of 'Feels Good - Feels Right' album at Decca Studios in London, working from 10:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. |
| Jul 21 | Continues recording the Decca album between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. |
| Jul 22 | Further recording session at Decca Studios between 10 a.m. and
12:20 p.m.
Lunches at the Railway Arms, South Ascot. |
| Jul 27-31 | The annual horse race meeting at Goodwood, near Chichester, West Sussex takes place. Bing attends at some time during the meeting. |
| Aug 2 | Bing at Decca House at 3 p.m. to listen to acetates of his recent recording sessions before returning to Claridges. |
| Aug 3 | Golfs in Pro-Am curtain raiser for Colgate European Women's Championship at Sunningdale. |
| Aug 5 | (evening) Visits Ashington, West Sussex and dines at Old Smithy restaurant, off the London Road as one of a party of guests of Capt. H. Ryan Price, the Findon racehorse trainer. |
| August 10 | In Germany, Bing golfs at Frankfurt Golf Club with his two sons, Harry and Nathaniel, in the American Express ProAm prelude to the 42nd German Open. Bing tells a Stars and Stripes reporter, "The basis of a sound community is sound family life within the community and sound communities make for a sound country." |
| Aug 11 | Flies in to stay at Godfrey Bostock's house near Ripon, North Yorkshire. |
| Aug 12 | After grouse shooting on Dallowgill Moor in a party led by Godfrey Bostock (he shoots six and a half brace), Bing calls at Kirkby Malzeard, near Ripon, to see the Highside Playing Fields he has helped construct with donations totalling £1250. Briefly plays cricket there. |
| Aug 16-18 | Bing accompanies his 14 year old son Nathaniel to Sunningdale for the British Boys' Golf Championship. Nathaniel reaches the fourth round before he is knocked out. |
| Aug 17 | Records four more songs at the Decca studios in London. Three of the songs are not issued until after Bing's death. |
| Aug 22-27 | Golfs at Gleneagles in Scotland with Sean Connery, Phil Harris and Jackie Stewart as they tape further 'International Pro-Celebrity Golf'' TV programs which are shown on BBC-TV in January 1977. |
| Aug 26 | Films "Bing's Britain," a 25-minute Crosby monologue to promote British tourism. Interviewed by a Scottish schoolgirl (Judy Allen) on video at Gleneagles. |
| Aug 30 | Bing flies to Spain. |
| Sep 10 | (8 pm. - 9 p.m.) Bing entertains at the Gala Archdiocesan Charities Ball at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, New Orleans, in front of an audience of 1800 who have paid $100 each to attend. |
| Sep 19 | Attends the Radio Awards evening at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, San Francisco where he is presented with the Armstrong Award for pioneering contributions to radio and for 50 years as an entertainer. |
| Sep 29 | While driving to his home at Las Cruces, Bing gets caught up in Hurricane Liza and has to turn back and stay in the El Presidente Hotel in La Paz. He is given a room on the seventh floor but has to evacuate this when rain smashes through the windows. Stays in the basement discotheque with the other guests until the morning of October 2. 433 die in La Paz and the surrounding area. |
| Oct 2 | Flies from La Paz to Los Angeles in the CBS camera plane. |
| Oct 2 | Bing, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour are honoured with the 'Mr. Wonderful Award' at the 21st Annual Thalian Show, a benefit charity ball in Los Angeles. They announce that they will make the film The Road to Tomorrow. |
| Oct 11 | Connee Boswell dies of cancer in New York City. Bing remembers her as "a great lady with boundless courage and divine talent." |
| Oct 19/29/Nov 5 | Bing records at Devonshire Sound Studios, Magnolia Boulevard, North Hollywood for United Artists. Most of the tracks appear on the 'Beautiful Memories' LP. |
| Oct 23 | Tapes TV commercial for K-Tel Palladium LP set in San Francisco. |
| Nov 2 | Democrat Jimmy Carter is elected President. |
| Nov 26 | Brings Bing Crosby and Friends show to Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas to raise funds for a church. Billy Byers leads the orchestra. |
| Dec 1 | Bing's annual Christmas show is televised on CBS and is fourth in the weekly ranking of prime TV shows. |
| Dec 3 | Guests on Joe Franklin TV show in New York. |
| Dec 6 | Appears on 'Today' and 'Critics Circle' TV programs. That evening he performs at New York's Avery Fisher Hall before 2,500 people who paid as much as $250 to attend. The audience included the New York Mayor Abraham Beame, President Nixon's two daughters, Gloria Swanson and Ethel Mermen. Bing is called out to do 40 minutes of encore performance before moving on to the Promenade of the New York State Theatre to attend a gala dinner. Bing's performance raised more than $150,000 for New York City charities. |
| Dec 7 | Interviewed on Pat Collins TV program. |
| Dec 7-19 | "Bing Crosby on Broadway" stage show at the Uris Theatre, New York City, that includes his family and Rosemary Clooney. The proceeds are split equally between the Association for Aid to Retarded Children and the Manners School of Music (whose President is Rise Stevens, who starred with Bing in Going My Way). Gary Giddins, Bing's future biographer, attends one of the concerts and writes an approving review of Bing's performance while dissing that of Bing's wife, Kathryn. |
| Dec 9 | The American Legion give Bing their 'Entertainer of the Year' award. |
| Dec 10 | Bing does a media blitz to counteract disappointing attendance at his Uris concerts. He is interviewed on several TV programs, including "A.M. America" and "Pat Collins Show." He is joined by his family, Melba Moore and Rise Stevens on Bill Boggs Mid-Day program. |
| Dec 15 | Sings 'White Christmas' at City Hall Christmas Tree lighting ceremony, New York. |
| Dec 17 | Interviewed on AM America.
Records interview for German TV which is shown there on Christmas Day. |
| Dec 21 | Takes part in the annual Laguna Honda Hospital show in San Francisco. |
| 1 9 7 7 | |
| Jan 4 | The California Legislature passes a resolution commending Bing. |
| Jan 20-23 | Bing is at the 37th Crosby National Pro-Am Tournament at Pebble Beach. In very good weather, the professional winner is Tom Watson with a record breaking 273 for the four rounds. The crowd on Saturday of 28,000 is thought to be the biggest gallery in the history of golf. Gerald Ford is the first ex-president to play in the Crosby while Nancy Lopez and Marianne Bretton become the first women to play in the tournament since 1939. Because of drought conditions, the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club is substituted for the Spyglass course. |
| Feb 18-24 | Bing Crosby and Friends show at Deauville Star Theater, Miami Beach. |
| Feb 26 | Bing Crosby and Friends show at San Jose Center for Performing Arts in California. |
| Mar 3 | After videotaping a three-hour performance, Bing falls 20 feet into the orchestra pit of the Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena, California. Bing is taken to Pasadena's Huntington Memorial Hospital, where it is found that there are no fractures but that he has ruptured a disc at the base of his spine. |
| Mar 20 | "Bing!," a 90-minute television special, edited from his Pasadena performance, airs on CBS at 9 p.m. sponsored by Kraft. Guest stars include Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler, the Mills Brothers, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney and Paul Anka. There is no mention of Bing's accident during the telecast. |
| Mar 23 | Still in hospital, Bing is transferred by air ambulance to the Peninsula Hospital at Mill Brae near Hillsborough. |
| Apr 5 | Is released from the hospital. |
| Apr 15 | Records 'Don't Get Around Much Anymore' for Concord Records, his last recording in the USA. The recording is done as tribute to the late Duke Ellington and is issued on a memorial album. |
| Apr 24 | 'American Sportsman' TV program about Tanzania is shown. |
| Apr 25 | An ABC-TV show 'Paul Anka - Music My Way' includes Bing singing a snatch of 'My Way' as part of a procession of guest stars. No doubt recorded before his fall. |
| Apr 27 | Gives telephone interview to radio station 5DN, Adelaide, Australia. |
| May 31 | 'Barbara Walters Special' appears on ABC-TV, in which Bing is interviewed about his children at his Hillsborough home. |
| Jun 6 | Bing signs his final "last will and testament," a 9-page document leaving $400,000 in cash gifts to relatives, friends and charities. The largest cash gift, $150,000, goes to his wife, Kathryn. None goes to his 7 children. In the will Bing warns that if anyone contests it then "I specifically disinherit each such person." The bulk of his estate is placed in a private ("Harry L Crosby") trust. The named executor is Richard C. Bergen. |
| Jun 7 | Bing writes to his childhood friend Jimmy Cottrell seeking "anecdotal material for a new book". |
| Jun 27 | Executes his last will in which he leaves a number of bequests and then executes a Declaration of Trust which, among other things, establishes an inter vivos trust for his benefit. |
| Jun 30 | At Las Cruces, Mexico. |
| July | In San Diego with Nathaniel. Bing visits Del Mar for the first time in 30 years. |
| Jul 26 | The 'London Experience' Electrovision film opens in London. |
| Jul 28 | Film expert Bob DeFlores visits Bing at his Hillsborough home and during the afternoon Bob shows Bing over two hours of rare movie clips. |
| Aug 15 | Says he is "still a little limpy" from his accident but "I'd never retire completely." |
| Aug 16 | Performs in a new stage show at Concord, California, with his family. This is his 'come-back' after the Pasadena accident. |
| Aug 16 | The death of Elvis Presley. |
| Aug 19 | Groucho Marx dies. |
| Aug 23 | Bing arrives in London. |
| Aug 25 | Arrives at Oslo's Fornebu Airport, Norway. |
| Aug 27 | Gives an open air performance for the benefit of the Norwegian Red Cross at Momarkedet, near Mysen, commemorating 100 years of recorded sound. Harry Crosby and Joe Bushkin accompany Bing. |
| Sep 6-9 | Tapes his final Christmas Show at Elstree, near London for CBS. Guests include David Bowie, Twiggy, Ron Moody and Stanley Baxter. The show airs on November 30 in the USA. Bing plays golf at Mill Hill while at Elstree. |
| Sep 12 | Press conference at London Palladium to publicise tour.
Agrees to appear in Royal Variety Performance on November 12. |
| Sep 12-14 | Records his last album 'Seasons' at CBS Studios, Whitfield Street, London for Polydor. |
| Sep 15 | Appears on Pete Murray's Open House BBC Radio Two program in London. |
| Sep 21 | Interviewed on BBC2 TV. |
| Sep 22 | The British tour of Bing's new stage show opens at the Guild Hall, Preston, England, with Bing's voice "still strong." Rosemary Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, Joe Bushkin and Ted Rogers are in support while Gordon Rose leads the orchestra. Stays overnight at the Midland Hotel, Manchester. |
| Sep 23 | Thought to have played golf at Mere Golf Club, Knutsford and to have visited Belle Vue Zoo. At night, performs at Belle Vue, Manchester in front of over 2,000 people. |
| Sep 26 - Oct 8 | Bing Crosby and Friends show at the London Palladium. |
| Oct 1 | Bing speaks on the telephone with John Bassett of the International Crosby Circle regarding the arrangements for his annual message to the Circle. |
| Oct 4 | Bing sings 'Now You Has Jazz' and 'Sail Away from Norway' at Olympic Studios, London as his last commercial recordings. |
| Oct 6 | Records his last message to the International Crosby Circle in his London flat in the presence of ICC members John Bassett and Wally Oldfield. |
| Oct 8 | Interviewed in his dressing room at the London Palladium for the American TV program "60 Minutes" regarding a singer called Jack Harris who cannot obtain work because he sounds too much like Bing (see November 25, 1975). |
| Oct 9 | Calls in at Railway Arms, South Ascot. Thought to have golfed at Swinley Forest G.C. near Ascot. |
| Oct 10 | Bing's stage show has its final performance at the Conference Centre in Brighton. |
| Oct 11 | Bing discovers that his London flat in Davies Street, Mayfair was burglarised while he was in Brighton. After dealing with the police, Bing records eight songs for a radio program at BBC Studios, Maida Vale with Alan Dell in the morning. These are his last recordings. In the afternoon there is a photo session for the 'Seasons' LP with photographer Gered Mankowitz. In a rush, Bing declines to wear any of the specially selected outfits. Later Mankowitz said Bing was "the worst, most miserable subject I had ever photographed." Bing also meets Decca recording producer Geoff Milne to discuss sessions for a planned album of Noel Coward songs. |
| Oct 12 | Kathryn and the two youngest children fly back to the USA. Harry stays on in London to study music and drama. Bing plays 11 holes at Cranbrook golf course in Kent (which he is apparently interested in buying) before returning to his flat, where he is interviewed by journalist Peter Green at 5:20 p.m. |
| Oct 13 | Leaves London early and flies to Spain for golf and hunting. Lord Lew Grade announces the planned film production of Road to the Fountain of Youth with a July 1978 starting date. |
| Oct 14 | Friday, 6:00 p.m. Bing falls unconscious from a massive heart attack after completing the 18th hole at La Moraleja Golf Club, Madrid. He has been playing in a foursome with Spanish pro Manuel Pinero, Valentin Barrios and club president Cesar de Zulueta. Bing Crosby is dead on arrival at the Red Cross Hospital, Madrid. |
| Oct 16 | Harry L. Crosby III and Alan Fisher fly to Spain to claim Bing's body and return to Los Angeles that night. The body is returned to the Cunningham and O'Connor Funeral Home in Los Angeles. Several memorial services are held at locations around the world including Westminster Cathedral, London (where 2,000 people attend) and St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York. |
| Oct 17 | A private wake is held at a Los Angeles hotel. Bob Hope cannot be there as he is attending the funeral of his mother-in-law. |
| Oct 18 | Tuesday, 6 a.m., a private funeral service is held for Bing at a tiny chapel adjacent to St. Paul's The Apostle Church in Westwood. The ceremony is conducted by Father Ellwood Kieser. Mary Frances leads the 41 mourners in a reading of the 23rd Psalm. Bing's casket is lowered beside Dixie's at Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery. His simple gravestone perpetuates the incorrect date of his birth as it reads:
Beloved By All
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