Kathryn Crosby, actress and widow of Bing Crosby, dies at the age of 90

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such films as “Sinbad's Seventh Voyage,” “Anatomy of a Murder” and “Operation Mad Ball” before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.

She died of natural causes at her home in the northern California city of Hillsborough on Friday evening, a family spokesman said on Saturday.

Under her stage name Kathryn Grant, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in Mister Cory in 1957 and opposite Victor Mature in The Big Circus in 1959. She made five films with film noir director Phil Karlson, including Tight Spot and The Phenix City Story, both in 1955.

Her other leading roles included Jack Lemmon in “Operation Mad Ball,” James Darren in “The Brothers Rico,” and James Stewart in “Anatomy of a Murder,” directed by Otto Preminger.

She was born on November 25, 1933 as Olive Kathryn Grandstaff in West Columbia, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in fine arts. She came to Hollywood and began her film career in 1953.

She met Bing Crosby while giving interviews for a column about Hollywood she was writing for her hometown newspaper. They married in 1957, when she was 23 and he was 54.

After the wedding, she limited her acting career, but often appeared with Crosby and their three children in his Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice commercials. In 1963, she became a registered nurse.

In the 1970s, she hosted a morning talk show on KPIX-TV in Northern California.

After Crosby's death at age 74 in 1977 from a heart attack following a game of golf in Spain, she appeared in stage productions of Same Time, Next Year and Charley's Aunt. She co-starred with John Davidson and Andrea McArdle in the 1996 Broadway revival of State Fair.

For 16 years until 2001, it hosted the Crosby National Golf Tournament in Bermuda Run, North Carolina.

She leaves behind her children Harry, Mary, an actress best known for her role in the television series “Dallas,” and Nathaniel, a successful amateur golfer. She was married to Maurice Sullivan for 10 years before he died in a car accident in 2010 in which Crosby was seriously injured.