# "White Christmas" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2005, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177 "2005-12-25T17:36:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/21 "2005-12-28T17:51:04Z")
> [@Mama Tiger](#): > > Bing Crosby was a child abuser? :eek: _Alleged_ child abuser. Gary Crosby depicted Bing as a Daddy Dearest but that view is not shared by his siblings. Not publicly, anyway. > [@Phillip Crosby in 1999](#): > > My dad was not the monster my lying brother said he was, He was strict, but my father never beat us black and blue and my brother Gary was a vicious, no-good liar for saying so. I have nothing but fond memories of dad, going to studios with him, family vacations at our cabin in Idaho, boating and fishing with him. To my dying day, I’ll hate Gary for dragging dad’s name through the mud. He wrote [Going My Own Way] out of greed. He wanted to make money and knew that humiliating our father and blackening his name was the only way he could do it. He knew it would generate a lot of publicity and that was the only way he could get his ugly, no-talent face on television and in the newspapers. My dad was my hero. I loved him very much. And he loved all of us too, including Gary. He was a great father. … ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/22 "2005-12-28T19:37:22Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > It’s funny watching the whole Vera-Ellen/Danny Kaye subplot knowing now that DK was gay There were rumors, but nothing has ever been confirmed. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/23 "2005-12-28T21:00:53Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > _Alleged_ child abuser. Gary Crosby depicted Bing as a Daddy Dearest but that view is not shared by his siblings. Not publicly, anyway. … FWIW, my dad beat ME black and blue, but my sister rarely saw any of it and still defends him. Just sayin. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/24 "2005-12-28T22:07:13Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > FWIW, my dad beat ME black and blue, but my sister rarely saw any of it and still defends him. Just sayin. Well, yeah, it is possible that he abused one without the others really noticing. I know how that is. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/25 "2005-12-28T22:25:28Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > Danny Kaye was gay?!!! > > Am I the last to know these things? > Oh sure, he was handsome, funny x 25 and talented and could sing…but does that mean he is gay as a picnic basket? > Where the hell is the memo on these kinda things? Picnic baskets are gay?!!! ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/26 "2005-12-29T18:48:43Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > Picnic baskets are gay?!!! Sure, didn’t you get the… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/27 "2005-12-29T20:04:06Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > FWIW, my dad beat ME black and blue, but my sister rarely saw any of it and still defends him. Just sayin. True, but it should be pointed out that most recent biographers of Crosby (including a _very_ comprehensive biography released a few years ago; don’t remember the name, but [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) gave it high marks, and it went into interesting detail about Crosby’s marijuana use) don’t lend much credence to Gary’s account, and agree with Phillip that Bing might have been strict, but Gary embelleshed a great deal in order to get publicity for his book. As for Danny Kaye being gay: it’s extremely debatable. His family still maintains that he was straight; Laurence Olivier’s widow insists that Danny and Laurence had a long-lasting affair. Unfortunately, there’s no real proof either way. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/28 "2005-12-29T21:32:34Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > As for Danny Kaye being gay: it’s extremely debatable. His family still maintains that he was straight; Laurence Olivier’s widow insists that Danny and Laurence had a long-lasting affair. Unfortunately, there’s no real proof either way. Proof seems almost irrelevant when imagining Laurence Olivier and Danny Kaye making goo-goo eyes at each other. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/29 "2005-12-29T22:19:51Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > (… a _very_ comprehensive biography released a few years ago; don’t remember the name, but [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) gave it high marks … went into interesting detail about Crosby’s marijuana use). If you think about it, _that_ revelation really isn’t that surprising. The guy hung out with jazz musicians (including Louie Armstrong) during the 20’s and 30’s–you do the math. It would’ve actually been more surprising if he’d never inhaled. > [@John Corrado](#): > > As for Danny Kaye being gay: it’s extremely debatable. His family still maintains that he was straight; Laurence Olivier’s widow insists that Danny and Laurence had a long-lasting affair. Unfortunately, there’s no real proof either way. Never mind about the gay rumors–what about his temper? I recall reading stories that even though Kaye had the image as the kindly UNICEF ambasssador, he often displayed a vicious streak that would’ve made Sinatra take pause. Ahh, smearing the reputations of dead celebrities is fun isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/30 "2005-12-29T22:58:38Z")
[QUOTE=John Corrado] True, but it should be pointed out that most recent biographers of Crosby (including a _very_ comprehensive biography released a few years ago; don’t remember the name, but [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) gave it high marks, and it went into interesting detail about Crosby’s marijuana use) don’t lend much credence to Gary’s account, and agree with Phillip that Bing might have been strict, but Gary embelleshed a great deal in order to get publicity for his book. QUOTE] Wow, I’ll have to look for this biography! I’ve always been really saddened by the child-abuser rumours surrounding my distant relative. For the record, the members of our family who had the oppourtunity to meet him said he was a wonderful and kind man. Now _Denise_ Crosby, on the other hand… 😃 (just kidding, never met her either) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177/31 "2005-12-30T01:22:42Z")
Marijuana was legal in most states until the late 1930s, wasn’t it? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-christmas/337177.md?page=1)