Dixie Lee
- Gary Crosby
Dennis Crosby
Phillip Crosby
Lindsay Crosby
Dixie Lee (born Wilma Winifred Wyatt; November 4, 1909 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was the first wife of singer Bing Crosby.
Biography
She was born Wilma Winifred Wyatt in Harriman, Tennessee, on November 4, 1909,[1] to Evan Wyatt and the former Nora Scarborough. (When she entered show business, she gave her birth date as November 4, 1911.)[2] After moving to Chicago, she graduated from Senn High School.[3] While in Chicago she adopted the professional name "Dixie Carroll" to enter an amateur singing contest in May 1928. She won the contest and the prize was a job as a singer at a roadhouse called College Inn. While working there, she was spotted by a talent scout and given a part in the traveling company of Good News. A film contract was subsequently offered and Winfield Sheehan of the Fox film studio changed her name to Dixie Lee, to avoid confusion with actresses Nancy Carroll and Sue Carol.[4]
Marriage
She met Bing Crosby at the age of 20 and they married on September 29, 1930, at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Hollywood.[5] Dixie Lee was better known than Crosby at that time, as illustrated by the incorrect news release issued by the Associated Press, which reported she married "Murray Crosey".
There were early problems with the marriage, and on March 4, 1931, Dixie announced that they had separated and that she would soon be filing a divorce suit charging mental cruelty. She went on to say, "We have only been married about six months, but we have already found out that we are not suited for each other. Our separation is an amiable one, and the only reason for it is that we just cannot get along. 'Bing' is a fine boy as a friend, but married he and I just cannot be happy."[6] Within a week, a reconciliation came about. Dixie had gone with a party of friends to Agua Caliente for the weekend. To one of the girls in the crowd, she confided she was not half as angry with Crosby as she was at the parting a week ago. The girl got Crosby on the long-distance telephone and presently he and Dixie were talking to each other. An hour and a half later, Crosby appeared at Agua Caliente, having flown down in an airplane, and all was well again.[7]
They had four sons: Gary (1933); twins Phillip and Dennis (1934); and Lindsay (1938). Lindsay and Dennis died by suicide as adults, Lindsay in 1989 and Dennis in 1991.
After the birth of the twins, she made a brief return to show business. Dixie Lee made two appearances on the Shell Chateau radio program in 1935, and she made three more films. Her most notable film is probably Love in Bloom (1935).[8] Her last film was Redheads on Parade, but the reviews were mediocre.[9] She made a couple of records on March 11, 1935, "You've Got Me Doing Things," a song she introduced in the film Love in Bloom. This was her first record, and she backed it with "My Heart Is an Open Book."[10] She was encouraged back in to the recording studio again on July 27, 1936, and she recorded "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" and "When a Lady Meets a Gentleman Down South" for Decca Records.[11] Her final recordings were two duets with her husband recorded on August 19, 1936 - A Fine Romance and The Way You Look Tonight.[12] She then retired from show business.
Personal life
Crosby's biographer, Gary Giddins, describes Dixie Lee as a shy, private person with a sensible approach to life. Giddins recounts that Dixie and Bing, as young marrieds, were often invited to parties where liquor was plentiful, and Dixie drank socially to keep up with Bing.[13][14] She succeeded in curbing Bing's alcohol consumption, but her own alcoholism worsened.[15] This led to problems with the marriage and divorce was briefly contemplated by Crosby in January 1941.[16] In January 1945, Dixie Lee was rushed to St. Vincent's Hospital after collapsing with a "respiratory infection." Crosby accompanied his wife to the hospital in an ambulance and remained at her bedside during the night.[17] A later article in Picturegoer magazine suggested that she had taken an accidental overdose of sleeping tablets and that her life was in the balance for over a week.
Bing Crosby went to Europe in 1950 for an extended visit and there were headlines stating that the Crosby marriage was strained, but this was subsequently denied.[18]
Crosby persuaded her to take part in his radio show broadcast on December 20, 1950, her first appearance with him on radio. It was her first professional appearance since 1936. In January 1951, Press reports indicated that Crosby had recently moved back into his Holmby Hills home with Dixie Lee. He had been spending much of his time at his home at Pebble Beach.[19]
Dixie Lee died from ovarian cancer on November 1, 1952, three days shy of her 43rd birthday.[20] She was interred in the Crosby plot at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California, after a Requiem High Mass at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills on November 3.[21]
Filmography
- 1929: Knights Out (Short)
- 1929: Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 as Lead Dancer In Fashion Number
- 1929: Why Leave Home? as Billie
- 1929: Happy Days as Lead Dancer in 'Crazy Feet' number
- 1930: Harmony at Home as Rita Joyce
- 1930: Let's Go Places as Dixie
- 1930: The Big Party as Kitty Collins
- 1930: Cheer Up and Smile as Margie
- 1931: No Limit as Dotty 'Dodo' Potter
- 1931: Mr. Lemon of Orange as Hat Check Girl (uncredited)
- 1931: Quick Millions as Stone's Secretary (uncredited)
- 1931: Young Sinners as Girl (uncredited)
- 1931: Night Life in Reno as Dorothy Pierce
- 1931: Darn Tootin (Short) as Singer
- 1934: Manhattan Love Song as Geraldine Stewart
- 1935: Love in Bloom as Violet Downey
- 1935: Redheads on Parade as Ginger Blair (final film role)
In popular culture
- The 1947 film Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman is loosely based on Dixie Lee's life.[22]
Legacy
On November 8, 2019, the Tennessee Historical Commission and the City of Harriman, Tennessee, unveiled a Tennessee State Historical Marker (1F 46) near Dixie's birthplace in the Walnut Hill section of downtown Harriman.[23]
References
- ^ "censusrecords.com". censusrecords.com. Archived from the original on July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ "1057news.com". 1057news.com. July 17, 2019. Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ "Chicago Tribune". 18 Feb 1934, Page 78
- ^ Giddins, Gary (2001). Bing Crosby - A Pocketful of Dreams. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 219–220. ISBN 0-316-88188-0.
- ^ "Los Angeles Times". September 30, 1930.
- ^ "Los Angeles Examiner". March 5, 1931.
- ^ "Los Angeles Examiner". March 16, 1931.
- ^ Giddins, Gary (2001). Bing Crosby - A Pocketful of Dreams. Little, Brown and Company. pp. 358–359. ISBN 0-316-88188-0.
- ^ "Variety". September 4, 1935.
- ^ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ "The Online Discographical Project". 78discography.com. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ "A Bing Crosby Discography". BING magazine. International Club Crosby. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Malcolm Macfarlane Bing Crosby: day by day - 2001 Page 148 "... they were rewarded with a million-dollar impromptu show, when Bing Crosby sang 'Dinah' and 'I Kiss Your Hand, Madame,' Dixie Lee sang 'Lucky Star'."
- ^ Jim Heimann Out with the stars: Hollywood nightlife in the golden era -1985 Page 141 "Bing Crosby and wife Dixie Lee treated an audience at the Century Club on Beverly Boulevard one Sunday night, when Bing took the stage and belted out "Dinah" and "I Kiss Your Lucky Hand, Madame," and Dixie sang "Lucky Star" to a crowd ..."
- ^ Giddins, Gary (2001). Bing Crosby - A Pocketful of Dreams. Little, Brown and Company. p. 221. ISBN 0-316-88188-0.
- ^ Macfarlane, Malcolm. "Bing Crosby - Day by Day". www.bingmagazine.co.uk. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ "Los Angeles Evening Herald Express". January 10, 1945.
- ^ "Citizen News". May 9, 1950.
- ^ Gwynne, Edith (January 22, 1951). "Hollywood Reporter".
- ^ "Cancer kills Dixie Crosby". Sunday Herald. (Bridgeport, Connecticut). United Press. November 2, 1952. p. 1.
- ^ "Citizen News". November 3, 1952.
- ^ "Forgotten Ones: Dixie Lee Crosby"
- ^ "Community honors famous actress, former wife of Bing Crosby". WVLT News. November 8, 2019.
External links
- Dixie Lee at IMDb
- Dixie Lee at Find a Grave
- v
- t
- e
- Music of Hawaii (1939)
- Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. One (1939)
- Patriotic Songs for Children (1939)
- Cowboy Songs (Bing Crosby's first solo album) (1939)
- Victor Herbert Melodies, Vol. Two (1939)
- George Gershwin Songs, Vol. One (1939)
- Ballad for Americans (Bing Crosby's first solo studio album)(1940)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs (1940)
- Christmas Music (1940)
- Star Dust (1940)
- Hawaii Calls (1941)
- Small Fry (1941)
- Crosbyana (1941)
- Under Western Skies (1941)
- Song Hits from Holiday Inn (w/ Fred Astaire) (1942)
- Merry Christmas (1945)
- Selections from Going My Way (1945)
- Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's (1946)
- Don't Fence Me In (w/ The Andrews Sisters) (1946)
- The Happy Prince (1946)
- Selections from Road to Utopia (1946)
- Bing Crosby – Stephen Foster (1946)
- What We So Proudly Hail (1946)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. One (1946)
- Favorite Hawaiian Songs, Vol. Two (1946)
- Blue Skies (w/ Fred Astaire and Irving Berlin) (1946)
- Bing Crosby – Jerome Kern (1946)
- St. Patrick's Day (1947)
- Bing Crosby – Victor Herbert (1947)
- Cowboy Songs, Vol. One (1947)
- Selections from Welcome Stranger (1947)
- Our Common Heritage (1947)
- El Bingo (1947)
- The Small One (1947)
- The Man Without a Country (1947)
- Drifting and Dreaming (1947)
- Blue of the Night (1948)
- Selections from Showboat (1948)
- The Emperor Waltz (1948)
- St. Valentine's Day (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Al Jolson, Bob Hope, Dick Haymes and the Andrews Sisters (1948)
- Selections from Road to Rio (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Judy Garland, Mary Martin, Johnny Mercer (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings with Lionel Hampton, Eddie Heywood, Louis Jordan (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from Broadway Shows (1948)
- Cowboy Songs, Vol. Two (1948)
- Auld Lang Syne (1948)
- Bing Crosby Sings Cole Porter Songs (1949)
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949)
- Bing Crosby Sings Songs by George Gershwin (1949)
- South Pacific (1949)
- Christmas Greetings (1949)
- Ichabod – The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
- Top o' the Morning / Emperor Waltz (1950)
- Songs from Mr. Music (w/ Dorothy Kirsten and The Andrews Sisters) (1950)
- Go West Young Man (w/ The Andrews Sisters) (1950)
- Collectors' Classics, Vols. 1–8 (1951)
- Way Back Home (1951)
- Bing Crosby Sings the Song Hits from... (1951)
- Bing and the Dixieland Bands (1951)
- Yours Is My Heart Alone (1951)
- Country Style (1951)
- Beloved Hymns (1951)
- Bing and Connee (w/ Connee Boswell) (1952)
- When Irish Eyes Are Smiling (1952)
- Themes and Songs from The Quiet Man (w/ Victor Young) (1952)
- Selections from the Paramount Picture "Just for You" (w/ Jane Wyman and The Andrews Sisters) (1952)
- Road to Bali (w/ Bob Hope and Peggy Lee) (1952)
- Le Bing: Song Hits of Paris (1953)
- Some Fine Old Chestnuts (1954)
- Bing Sings the Hits (1954)
- Selections from White Christmas (w/ Peggy Lee and Danny Kaye) (1954)
- Bing: A Musical Autobiography (1954)
- The Country Girl / Little Boy Lost (1955)
- Merry Christmas (later version of 1945 78rpm album) (1955)
- Shillelaghs and Shamrocks (1956)
- Home on the Range (1956)
- Blue Hawaii (1956)
- High Tor (w/ Julie Andrews and Everett Sloane) (1956)
- A Christmas Sing with Bing Around the World (1956)
- Anything Goes (w/ Donald O'Connor, Mitzi Gaynor and Zizi Jeanmaire) (1956)
- High Society (w/ Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, and Louis Armstrong) (1956)
- Songs I Wish I Had Sung the First Time Around (1956)
- Bing Sings Whilst Bregman Swings (1956)
- Bing with a Beat (1957)
- A Christmas Story (1957)
- Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves (1957)
- New Tricks (1957)
- The Bible Story of Christmas (1957)
- Never Be Afraid (1958)
- Jack B. Nimble – A Mother Goose Fantasy (1958)
- Fancy Meeting You Here ( w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1958)
- Around the World with Bing! (1958)
- Bing in Paris (1958)
- That Christmas Feeling (1958)
- In a Little Spanish Town (1958)
- Bing’s Buddies and Beaus (1959)
- Say One for Me (w/ Debbie Reynolds and Robert Wagner) (1959)
- How the West Was Won (w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1960)
- Join Bing and Sing Along (1960)
- Bing & Satchmo (w/ Louis Armstrong) (1960)
- Songs of Christmas (1960)
- 101 Gang Songs (1961)
- El Señor Bing (1961)
- My Golden Favorites (1961)
- The Road to Hong Kong (1962)
- Bing's Hollywood (set of 15 albums) (1962)
- On the Happy Side (1962)
- I Wish You a Merry Christmas (1962)
- Holiday in Europe (1962)
- Reprise Musical Repertory Theatre (1963)
- Return to Paradise Islands (1964)
- America, I Hear You Singing (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
- Robin and the 7 Hoods (w/ Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.) (1964)
- 12 Songs of Christmas (w/ Frank Sinatra and Fred Waring) (1964)
- Bing Crosby Sings the Great Country Hits (1965)
- That Travelin' Two-Beat (w/ Rosemary Clooney) (1965)
- The Summit (w/ Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr.) (1966)
- Bing Crosby's Treasury – The Songs I Love (1966)
- Bing Crosby and The Columbus Boychoir Sing Family Christmas Favorites (w/ The Columbus Boychoir) (1967)
- Thoroughly Modern Bing (1968)
- Bing Crosby's Treasury - The Songs I Love (1968 version) (1968)
- Hey Jude/Hey Bing! (1969)
- Goldilocks (1970)
- A Time to Be Jolly (1971)
- Bing 'n' Basie (w/ Count Basie) (1972)
- Rhythm on the Range (1972)
- I’ll Sing You a Song of the Islands (1972)
- A Southern Memoir (1975)
- That's What Life Is All About (1975)
- A Couple of Song and Dance Men (w/ Fred Astaire) (1975)
- Tom Sawyer (1976)
- At My Time of Life (1976)
- Bing Crosby Live at the London Palladium (1976)
- Feels Good, Feels Right (1976)
- Beautiful Memories (1977)
- Bingo Viejo (1977)
- Seasons (Bing Crosby's last studio album released during his lifetime) (1977)
- A Little Bit of Irish (posthumous edition, recorded in 1966) (1993)
- Bing Crosby: The Voice of Christmas (1998)
- On the Sentimental Side (posthumous edition, recorded in 1962; Bing Crosby's latest studio album) (2010)
- Dixie Lee (first wife)
- Gary Crosby (son)
- Dennis Crosby (son)
- Phillip Crosby (son)
- Lindsay Crosby (son)
- Kathryn Crosby (second wife)
- Harry Crosby (son)
- Mary Crosby (daughter)
- Nathaniel Crosby (son)
- Denise Crosby (granddaughter)
- Larry Crosby (brother)
- Bob Crosby (brother)
- Category