| NAME | MESSAGE |
| Tom Degan |
posted 12/25/03 09:34 PM Central Time (US)  contact the author directly
Saw the Larry King program this evening! A very nice show. Just two years ago I was, at best, a casual fan of the old groaner. I had a two record set of his early Columbia recordings, the obligatory Christmas album and that was about it. Then something happened. I can't explain what it was. One day I was listening to a recording of him and, out of the blue, the essence of the man's artistry hit me as never before. Epiphany? Nah! It was just a case of being in the right place at the right time and in the right mood. Finding this wonderful web site a year ago has only fueled my interest in and love for the phenominon that was (and is) Bing Crosby. I might have said this before (in fact, I know I have) so forgive me for sounding trite. It's just nice to know that there is a quiet, gentle corner of this awful planet where Bing Crosby thrives. And every year at Christmastime, no matter how much more jaded western civilization may become in the future, it's also comforting to know that Bing's voice will come back to us no matter where we are. That's a pretty good legacy. |
| Malcolm Macfarlane |
posted 12/26/03 02:29 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
Just watched the Larry King show. Thought it was a great tribute to our man. Mary and Nathaniel came over exceptionally well and it was interesting to note that the family accepted some of the blame for not promoting Bing enough. Larry King moves the show on quickly which is good but this approach does not enable the contributors to develop any thoughts in depth which is a pity. I would have loved to have heard more from Nathaniel and Mary. The Gary Crosby book was put down appropriately and both Mary and Nathaniel spoke in glowing terms about the Bing the father. All in all, a very pleasing show I thought. |
| Judy Schmid |
posted 12/26/03 08:26 AM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
I taped the program as I was out of my house last night, but I too thought the 'kids' were terrific! I was VERY excited to hear Nathaniel say that we'll see something different regarding the promotion of their father in 2004! I can't WAIT to hear more about that! Even Larry said "Why is there no Bing Crosby Museum?" and I think that that's where we can work WITH the Crosby family in 2004! Gonzaga, of course, would be the best place to start - it was also fun hearing the names of Bing-fans mentioned on the show! What a treat that must've been for those named! I hope the show is repeated so more people can see it! |
| Carmela |
posted 12/26/03 01:31 PM Central Time (US)  no email address given
I enjoyed the Larry King show very much. I just want Larry King to know that Bing has a lot of fans who are in their 30's even fans in their 20's. All he has to do is come to this site. He would be amazed! Thanks Larry anyway for a Great Show! Bing Crosby was remembered and won't be forgotten! |
| Jim Kukura |
posted 12/26/03 02:40 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
It was a good show with lots of Bing film clips and audio clips interwoven throughout. There were a few errors on dates, but that did not detract from the overall positive impressions expressed. I watched it and taped it at 9:00. At midnight my wife wanted to watch it, but even though she fell asleep in 5 minutes (she has been very busy with Christmas for our family), I watched it all over again. The references to better promotion of Bing in the future have my hopes up. I pray those hopes will not be dashed. |
| David Robbins |
posted 12/26/03 03:04 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
I thought the show was outstanding. Mary is prettier than ever. She's smart, vivacious and got tons of charisma. I loved it when she gave the Sinatra's credit for putting together an organization to promote their father and said that the Crosby's were learning how to do the same. I wouldn't have recognized Nathaniel but he looks good. I guess I was expecting him to still be a teenager. Mary still comes pretty close. It just seemed too short. I would have liked another three or four hours (or days) but the hour was full, handsomely produced and the clips said it all: Why Bing Crosby belongs to the ages and Bing Appreciation should be taught in schools along with Mozart, Beethoven and the other classics. A nice moment was when Larry King asked Celeste Holm, “Why doesn’t Bing come to mind when people are considering the great stars of the past? Ms. Holm said, “He does to me.” I’ve been a Crosby fan since before I can remember. He was played daily in the household of my childhood. He’s worn out the CD player in my car. Even though I’ve had massive amounts of exposure to him, ever time I see him; I’m still amazed at how good he was. It’s almost like his talent was greater than my ability to recollect it. I’ve noticed that exceptional athletes and performers of all types often also possess an exceptional degree of ease and relaxation. That might be part of the key to performing up to one’s ability, but in Bing’s case, that doesn’t explain where he got all that ability. He was able to stand out by being ordinary. No one in memory was as good at being ordinary as Bing Crosby. He was the prototype everyman for his generation. Every sitcom dad was based on his persona from Robert Young, to Hugh Beaumont to Bill Cosby. It was a great hour. Larry King worked hard to include as much as possible. I hope he does a follow up. |
| Sue Horn |
posted 12/26/03 03:05 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
I was surprised that the family seemed to be affirming that Bing was born in 1904 not 1903. Since they say they will be doing more to get Bing out there, I guess a fake 100th year celebration in 2004 could do the trick!! Does anyone know why Harry wasn't there? I too wish there had been more time to get into things with the guests. Andy Williams looked wonderful, and Celeste Holmes was very sweet and positive. I'm hoping that more will come of this!! |
| David Foe |
posted 12/26/03 09:08 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
The Larry King Show was a wonderful program and a great tribute to Bing. It was fantastic to see the Crosby family again. I remember 30-odd years ago when these people were very familiar to most Americans, through Bing's TV specials and the ubiquitous o.j. commercials. Sometimes we bemoan how Bing has been "forgotten." That's true in some respects, but, touching on something Nathaniel mentioned, Bing is more available now than he was back in '77. I remember at that time that only three of Bing's non-Christmas albums were available from Decca/MCA at that time. Two were Irish albums and one was "The Best of Bing." That's it. I know, because I checked the catalogues back then. There was also an album called "Bing Crosby Sings" on Vocalion. Four albums total from Bing's 25-year association from Decca. The Larry King Show reminded me of the tributes to Bing that aired when he died, hailing him as a legend. What a great program. Thanks to everybody involved, especially Larry King and the Crosbys! |
| Sally |
posted 12/28/03 10:37 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
I saw the show on Christmas night. What a nice extra Christmas present. So nice to hear everyone say such nice things about our man. I noticed in the transcript that the best line of the night was deleted as "unintelligible." It was when Celeste Holm said that, on the High Society set, Frank Sinatra was always "let's go, let's go, let's go" and Bing was very relaxed. She said "it was like benzodrine and seconol." (an upper vs. a sedative) What a great analogy. However, it does raise a question in my mind; twice on the show she and/or Larry King mentioned that Frank Sinatra only liked to do one take of something and Bing was always ready to do it a couple of times. They said this in a very favorable light for Bing, but I had always read that it was the other way around--Bing was "One Take Crosby" and Frank would micro-manage a piece and require repeated takes. Is my recollection correct. I also thought the transcript was funny because it takes the dialogue between Bing and Bob Hope in the "Road to Utopia" clip and attributes their lines to "Unidentified Male." Do you think the transcriber only had an audio tape to work from (even then, their voices are pretty recognizable), or did the person have a video tape, but just didn't recognize Bing and Bob? What a great show. I just wish it had aired on almost any day, but Christmas--a day when I think few people actually watch TV. |
| Candace Scott |
posted 12/29/03 03:29 PM Central Time (US) contact the author directly
Sally, I have several books about Sinatra in films, as well as books written by Nancy Sinatra. They are all in agreement that Frank liked to do movies in one take and move on. There are some exceptions, such as "The Man with a Golden Arm" and especially "The Manchurian Candidate." Frank felt those movies were serious dramas and wanted to give the best performance possible. But in "fluff" movies (all his musicals), he wanted it down in one take, as long as that one take was "OK" in his mind. |
| Steven Lewis |
posted 12/29/03 04:04 PM Central Time (US) no email address given
If you saw "Happy Holidays with Frank and Bing" you probably noticed that Frank dropped one of the ornaments as he was decorating the tree. He reached down to retrieve it and kept on singing. When someone suggested they redo the scene Frank refused, saying that dropping ornaments happens. When it came to the recording studio, though, Frank was more of a perfectionist. |
| Anne |
posted 12/29/03 05:17 PM Central Time (US) no email address given
It's no secret that Sinatra was less concerned about movies than he was about his music. When it came to the music, he would re-do if he thought it necessary. I think he saw his music as more enduring and more worth the effort than the movies. He was right. |