"White Christmas"

[Skywatcher]

@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.

…

[Walloon]

@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.

[lissener]

@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.

[Skywatcher]

@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.

[Robot_Arm]

@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?!!!

[handsomeharry]

@Robot Arm

Picnic baskets are gay?!!!

Sure, didn’t you get the…

[John_Corrado]

@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 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.

[twickster]

@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.

[NDP]

@John Corrado

(… a very comprehensive biography released a few years ago; don’t remember the name, but 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?

[NailBunny]

[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 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)

[Walloon]

Marijuana was legal in most states until the late 1930s, wasn’t it?