Bing Crosby Fun Facts Trivia Quiz

Answer: False

Bing was actually born in Tacoma, Washington, though he did grow up in Spokane. His real birth date was not May 2, 1904 either, though if you'd asked him about it when he was alive he would have said it was and thought he was telling the truth. Bing's parents shifted the date they celebrated Bing's birthday from May 3 to May 2 when his younger sister, Mary Rose, was born on May 3, 1906.

They wanted her to have that date all to herself. Somewhere along the way, they thought the year was 1904 instead of 1903, which was not an uncommon thing in those days of inexact records and large families. Only the discovery of Bing's baptismal certificate and a newspaper announcement from 1903 cleared up the mystery, years after Bing's death.

He was really born on May 3, 1903.

Answer: drummer and singer

The leader of the Musicaladers was Al Rinker. When their drummer had to quit, they needed a replacement. Bing had bought a drum set a few years earlier, and he auditioned on a lark. As soon as Rinker and the others heard Bing's voice, they knew they'd gotten a better all-round member than they'd dreamed of.

Answer: Law, Gonzaga University, quit to pursue a singing career

Bing actually excelled at law and debate at Gonzaga University and was just a few credits short of graduating when he decided his future was in entertainment. He and Al Rinker hit the road for California to find their fortunes. Bing later received an honorary degree from Gonzaga, and he supported the university throughout his life.

Answer: The Rhythm Boys

The band was called The Rhythm Boys, and they were a sensation! Their unusual style gave freshness and originality to their recordings of standards and original tunes like "Mississippi Mud". Their work can be seen in one of the earliest three-color films, "The King of Jazz" (1930), a biography of Paul Whiteman.

Answer: CBS radio

Bing's first radio appearance almost didn't happen. He got a severe case of laryngitis and had to postpone for four days while his voice recovered.

Answer: Stagecoach (1966)

One of the highlights of Bing's film career was indeed "The Road" series; seven wacky adventures with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in a variety of international settings. The trio was planning a final "Road" picture when Bing died in 1977, which was to have been called "The Road to the Fountain of Youth".

Unfortunately, it was never made. Bing did appear in "Dr. Cook's Garden" in 1971, but it was a made-for-TV movie. He also had a short cameo in Bob Hope's 1972 movie, "Cancel My Reservation." Bing's last starring role in a movie in theaters was 1966's "Stagecoach," which was made two years after "Robin and the Seven Hoods".

Answer: six boys and a girl

Bing often joked about having enough boys to form a baseball team on the radio, and lamented that he'd not yet had a girl. The children from his first marriage were all boys: Gary (who wrote a vitriolic biography about his father, after Bing's death, that he later recanted), Philip and Dennis (twins), and Lindsay.

He feared he'd never have a girl when the first kid from his second marriage was a boy, Harry. Finally, his fifth child was Mary Frances, the long-awaited girl. Bing and his wife Kathryn relaxed so much that they even had another boy after that, Nathaniel. Mary Frances later became famous for being the woman who shot JR on the nighttime soap "Dallas" in 1981.

Answer: False

Bing was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar twice in a row for playing Father O'Malley, first in "Going My Way" (1944), which he won, and next in "Bells of Saint Mary's" (1945), which he lost. Bing was later nominated for Best Actor again for "The Country Girl" (1954), and he lost to Marlon Brando for "On the Waterfront" (1954). Bing was also nominated once for a Best Actor Golden Globe, for "Here Comes the Groom (1951)", which he did not win. Later, Bing was awarded the Cecile B. De Mille Golden Globe award, an honorary award. So, by then end of his career, he'd racked up both a competitive Oscar and an honorary Golden Globe.

Not bad for a crooner who thought he couldn't really act!

Answer: The Bing Crosby Show

Though the show was called "The Bing Crosby Show" (1964-1965), for some reason his character's name was named Bing Collins. Bing's wife on the show was played by Beverly Garland, who would later go on to star as Fred MacMurray's second wife on "My Three Sons" from 1969-1972.

Answer: The unification of audio and video for simultaneous radio and television broadcasts

Groucho Marx was the one who pioneered simultaneous television and radio broadcasts for his "You Bet your Life" in the mid-fifties. All of the other accomplishments listed were Bing's. The informal yet polished style of Bing's radio shows was widely imitated when it first came out. Bing's biggest contribution to radio was his perfection of tape technology, which allowed shows to be recorded in advance, in front of a studio audience, for replay later in different time zones. The recordings were first made on wax disks, but Bing's sponsorship of Ampex's reel-to-reel tape technology made the recordings more durable and revolutionized the process. This is why so many of the classic Old Time radio shows are still available for our enjoyment today. Prolific production was another major contribution he made to radio. Bing did appear on over 4,000 radio shows during his career and was the number one radio and recording star for 18 years.

Hope you enjoyed the quiz!