White Christmas - Cast

Bing Crosby(1903-1977)

Bing Crosby was born Harry Crosby in 1903. He started his musical career while in college by singing and playing drums with a local band in Spokane. By 1925, he had a partner, Al Rinker, and they moved to Los Angeles. In 1926, Paul Whiteman hired them after hearing them sing and play. He added a pianist to the duet and called the group "The Rhythm Boys." The group worked with big bands, like the Tommy Dorsey Band, and by 1928, Crosby had become the star of the group. In that year, he had his first number one hit with a rendition of "Ol' Man River." The group eventually split up and Bing became a solo hit. In 1931, ten of the top fifty songs in the US had Bing singing solo or with the group.

Crosby's first film role was a bit part in 1930. He made several more films from 1930-1932 in which he played himself. He also worked in radio throughout the 1930s.

Crosby made 79 movies over a long, successful career. His most popular movie was "White Christmas," but it was the 1944 dramatic film, "Going My Way," that earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. In addition to making movie musicals, like "White Christmas," and occasional dramas, Bing forged a partnership with Bob Hope that led to seven successful "Road" films from 1940-1962. Crosby's last film was the 1966 western, "Stagecoach."

Crosby also had success on television with specials and guest appearances. His last TV appearance was in 1971. Crosby appeared on Broadway in 1976 for two weeks in a special concert.

Official Website: www.bingcrosby.com

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Danny Kaye(1913-1987)

Danny Kaye was born David Daniel Kaminski in 1913. His show business career started at the early age of 13 when he left high school to work in the Catskill Mountains as an entertainer.

After many years of trying to make it in show business, Kaye got his break on Broadway in 1939 in the "Straw Hat Revue." The next year he starred in "Lady in the Dark" on Broadway and this proved to be the role that won him fame. In the show, he sang a song, "Tchaikovsky," in which he had to sing the names of Russian composers at an extremely fast pace and this performance won him recognition. In years to come, Kaye would often be identified with this show-stopping number. Kaye followed "Lady in the Dark" with another Broadway show in 1941, "Let's Face It." He returned to Broadway three more times: in 1953 and 1963 in special one-man shows, and again in 1970 in the Broadway musical "Two By Two." Kaye won a special Tony award in 1953 for his work on Broadway.

Kaye's first ventures in film were low-budget short comedies made from 1935 to 1937. However, these did not get noticed until years later. In 1944, Samuel Goldwyn signed Kaye to star in the movie "Up in Arms." The film was a success and 20 more films followed in the 1940s and 1950s.

By 1960, the film market for Kaye's humor had disappeared, so he moved to television. From 1963 to 1967, he had a successful TV variety show.

Kaye's last performances were in 1981 in the TV film, "Skokie," and in 1986 as a guest star on "The Cosby Show." Kaye died in 1987.

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Rosemary Clooney(1928-2002)

Rosemary Clooney started singing with her sister when they were growing up in Kentucky. Their first public appearance was on a radio show in Cincinnati when Rosemary was still a teenager. In 1946, the sisters were hired to appear at Atlantic City's famous Steel Pier. She and her sister broke up the act in 1949 and Rosemary became a solo singer.

Clooney's first big hit came in 1951 with a song she hated, "Come On-a My House," but was forced to record because of her singing contract. In the 1950s, Clooney had three more number one hit songs: "Half as Much" in 1952, "Hey There" in 1954 and "This Ole House" also in 1954. She also made five films from 1951 to 1954, with "White Christmas" the only successful one.

Throughout much of the 1940s and 1950s, Clooney also worked in radio and television. She continued recording songs, appearing on televison and doing concerts until her death from lung cancer in 2002. Her last TV appearance was in 1999.

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Vera Ellen(1921-1981)

Vera Ellen Westmeier Rohe was born in 1921 in Ohio. She began dancing as a child as therapy for some health problems she had. By the age of 16, she was so good that she won first place on the Major Bowes Amateur Hour. As a teenager, Ellen appeared in nightclub acts and, at the age of 18, she became one of the youngest Radio City Music Hall Rockettes.

Prior to going to Hollywood, Vera Ellen had a four-year career on Broadway, beginning in 1939 with the play, "Very Warm for May." From 1940 to 1943, Vera Ellen appeared in four other musicals: "Higher and Higher" and "Panama Hattie" in 1940, "By Jupiter" in 1942 and "A Connecticut Yankee" in 1943.

Vera Ellen was discovered by Samuel Goldwyn in 1945 and he cast her with Danny Kaye in the film, "Wonder Man." She was reunited with Kaye in 1954 in "White Christmas," where they had the chance to dance together again. From 1945 to 1957, Vera Ellen appeared in 13 films, most of them movie musicals. Her last film was "Let's Be Happy" in 1957.

Vera Ellen, unfortunately, had personal problems, including a battle with anorexia, that caused her to retire from show business in 1957. She became a recluse and died at the age of 60 from cancer.

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