b'As an actor, Bing Crosby appeared in 104Above: Young starlet Kathryn Grant visiting her feature films, won an Oscar in 1944 for Go- parents in Texas; Below: Daughter Mary Crosby in ing My Way, and was the top box office at- her role on Dallas as the one who shot J.R.?traction in the country from 1944 to 1948. NotunlikeherHollywoodchum,Grace Kelly, who married the Crown Prince of Monaco in 1956, Kathryn would face the choice of her career as an entertainer, or marriage into royaltyand indisputably, Bing Crosby sat at the very top of Holly-wood royalty. She said yes, and became KathrynGrandstaffCrosbyin1957,her new husband 30 years her senior.Crosby was married to his first wife, ac-tress Dixie Lee, from 1930 until her death from cancer in 1952. They had four sons, buttheirmarriagewaswroughtwith strife. While Bing was a heavy drinker early in his career and stopped, Dixies excessivelocalactingroles,wroteseveralbooks alcoholusecontinuedthroughouttheirincluding My Life with Bing, and toured marriageduring the 1940s, he juggledacross the country speaking about her life, avoidinghiswifeathomewhiletryingsinging at small gatherings, and exciting to stay close to his sons. Like Grace Kelly,Greatest Generation super fans who got Kathryn devoted her life to her husbandtheir chance to meet Hollywood royalty and to building a new family, giving up herup close and in person. One of Kathryn life of stardom in the process. The CrosbysCrosbys most sentimental tour stops was had three children, Harry Lillis Crosby IIIin Corpus Christi, where she met fans re-(named after Bing), Mary Francis Crosby,siding at Trinity Towers, and made a visit andNathanielCrosby.Marymadehertoheradoptedhometown,Robstown, own name as an actress, her most famousbackinthemid-2000s.Itwasonthat role being on the worlds top TV drama,Coastal Bend stop that this editor got a Dallas, where her character was the onechance to interview her and get to know who famously shot J.R. Ewing, in the big- her, even gifting an autographed book to gest cliffhanger in television history. my mother, who was one of her late hus-Bing Crosby died suddenly of a heart at- bands millions of living fans.tackwhilegolfinginSpain,inOctoberKathryn Grandstaff Crosby died peaceful-1977, aged 73. At 53, Kathryn was still aly at her home in Hillsborough, California, youngwomanandtookonminorandlast September, aged 90.70THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'