This is a listing of the most important television appearances by the entertainer Bing Crosby.
Somewhat reluctantly, in 1954, Bing Crosby had started making television appearances, which were usually filmed in advance.[1] He had been concerned about over-exposure, saying, "I do think this: anybody who goes into TV should be sparing in how much work he does. No entertainer who's in everyone's home once a week can survive very long. His welcome can't be stretched that far. If a new motion picture of mine were released each week for fifty-two weeks—or even for thirty-nine weeks—I soon wouldn't have many friends coming to the theaters to see me. And they'd drop the flap on me at home, too. They'd weary of my mannerisms, my voice, my face."[2]
In 1954, Crosby's radio show had reduced in status from a major weekly program to a daily fifteen-minute show, but after the success of the film High Society and hit records such as "True Love" and "Around the World," he was tempted to become more heavily involved in television. The big breakthrough came in 1957 with the live, award-winning "Edsel Show." Afterwards, he settled into a routine of making at least two television specials each year, but he never really attempted to dominate the sector as he had other media. He eschewed a weekly variety series while singers such as Perry Como, and later, Andy Williams, embraced such exposure enthusiastically, with considerable benefits accruing to their record sales and to their long-term images.[3]
Crosby was especially closely associated with ABC's variety show The Hollywood Palace. He was the show's first and most frequent guest host, and appeared annually on its Christmas edition with his wife Kathryn and his younger children. The coverage of his annual golf tournament gave him regular exposure as did his appearances on The American Sportsman program. He did try his hand with a weekly sit-com series in 1964-65, but this was not renewed after the first season.
Crosby's last TV appearance was a Christmas special taped in London in September 1977 and aired just weeks after his death.[1] It was on this special that Crosby recorded a duet of "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Peace on Earth" with rock star David Bowie. It was released in 1982 as a single 45-rpm record and reached No.3 in the UK singles charts.[4] It has since become a staple of holiday radio, and the final popular hit of Crosby's career. At the end of the century, TV Guide listed the Crosby–Bowie duet as one of the 25 most memorable musical moments of 20th-century television.[5]
| Original airdate | Title | Principal guests |
| January 3, 1954 | Jack Benny, Sheree North | |
| April 25, 1954 | The Bing Crosby Show | Joanne Gilbert and The Wiere Brothers |
| March 10, 1956 | Julie Andrews, Everett Sloane, Nancy Olson | |
| October 13, 1957 | The Edsel Show | Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Rosemary Clooney |
| October 1, 1958 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Dean Martin, Patti Page, Mahalia Jackson |
| March 2, 1959 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Jo Stafford, James Garner, Dean Martin |
| September 29, 1959 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Peggy Lee |
| February 29, 1960 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Perry Como, The Three Crosby Brothers, Sandy Stewart |
| October 5, 1960 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Carol Lawrence, Rosemary Clooney, Johnny Mercer, The Three Crosby Brothers |
| March 20, 1961 | The Bing Crosby Show for Oldsmobile | Maurice Chevalier, Carol Lawrence |
| December 11, 1961 | The Bing Crosby Show | Bob Hope, Shirley Bassey, Terry-Thomas, Dave King, Marion Ryan |
| May 14, 1962 | The Bing Crosby Show | Bob Hope, Edie Adams, Gary Crosby, Smothers Brothers |
| December 24, 1962 | The Bing Crosby Show for Clairol | Mary Martin, André Previn |
| November 7, 1963 | The Bing Crosby Show | Caterina Valente, Buddy Ebsen, The Young Americans |
| 1964-1970 | The Hollywood Palace | Various |
| February 15, 1964 | The Bing Crosby Show for Lever Brothers | Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, Kathryn Crosby, Peter Gennaro |
| September 13, 1964 | ABC's Wide World of Entertainment | Mickey Rooney, David Janssen, Jimmy Dean, Lawrence Welk |
| 1964-1965 | The Bing Crosby Show | Beverly Garland, Frank McHugh and many guest stars |
| March 10, 1965 | The Grand Award of Sports | John Glenn, Kathryn Crosby |
| 1967- 1976 | The American Sportsman | |
| March 14, 1967 | A Little Bit of Irish | Milo O'Shea, Kathryn Crosby |
| 1968-1977 | Bing Crosby National Pro-Am | |
| October 23, 1968 | The Bing Crosby Special | Bob Hope, Diana Ross and The Supremes, José Feliciano, Stella Stevens, Dorothy Lamour |
| February 15, 1969 | Feelin' Groovy at Marine World | Anissa Jones, The Rascals, Kathryn Crosby |
| December 17, 1969 | Bing & Carol - Together Again for the First Time | Carol Burnett, Juliet Prowse, Roy Clark |
| March 31, 1970 | Goldilocks | Kathryn Crosby, Mary Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby, Paul Winchell, Avery Schreiber |
| April 13, 1970 | Bing Crosby - Cooling It | Dean Martin, Flip Wilson, Bernadette Peters |
| December 16, 1970 | Bing Crosby's Christmas Show for the Bell System Family Theatre | Melba Moore, Jack Wild, The Doodletown Pipers, The Crosby Family |
| January 19, 1971 | Dr. Cook's Garden | Frank Converse, Blythe Danner |
| December 14, 1971 | Bing Crosby and the Sounds of Christmas | Robert Goulet, Mary Costa, Mitchell Singing Boys, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| February 27, 1972 | Bing Crosby and Friends | Bob Hope, Pearl Bailey, Carol Burnett |
| December 10, 1972 | Christmas with the Bing Crosbys | Sally Struthers, David Hartman, Edward Villella, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| December 9, 1973 | Bing Crosby's Sun Valley Christmas Show | John Misha Petkevich, John Byner, Michael Landon, Connie Stevens, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| October 9, 1974 | Bing Crosby and His Friends | Bob Hope, Pearl Bailey, Sandy Duncan |
| December 15, 1974 | Christmas with the Bing Crosbys | Mac Davis, Karen Valentine, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| December 3, 1975 | Merry Christmas Fred, from the Crosbys | Fred Astaire, The Young Americans, Joe Bushkin, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| March 26, 1976 | Bell Telephone Jubilee | Liza Minnelli, Ben Vereen, Joel Grey, Marvin Hamlisch, Roy Clark, Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé |
| December 1, 1976 | Bing Crosby's White Christmas | Jackie Gleason, Bernadette Peters, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| March 20, 1977 | Bing - A 50th Anniversary Gala | Bob Hope, Rosemary Clooney, Pearl Bailey, Bette Midler, Mills Brothers, Paul Anka, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| August 27, 1977 | Bing in Norway | Harry Crosby |
| November 30, 1977 | Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas | Twiggy, Ron Moody, Stanley Baxter, David Bowie, Kathryn Crosby and family |
| Original airdate | Title | Other guests |
| December 19, 1948 | Philco Playhouse - A Christmas Carol | As an epilogue, Crosby sang Silent Night in a filmed insert with The Bob Mitchell Boys' Choir |
| June 21, 1952 | Olympic Fund Telethon | Dorothy Lamour, Frank Sinatra, Abbott and Costello, Burns and Allen, Martin and Lewis, Liberace, Paul Douglas, Ezio Pinza, Phil Harris, Edward G. Robinson |
| March 21, 1954 | The Jack Benny Show | George Burns, Bob Hope, Eddie Rochester Anderson |
| December 3, 1954 | Person to Person | Interviewed by Edward R. Murrow |
| November 11, 1956 | The Ed Sullivan Show | Phil Silvers, Marcel Marceau, Julie Andrews, Louis Armstrong and Kate Smith |
| January 22, 1957 | The Phil Silvers Show - Sgt. Bilko Presents Bing Crosby | |
| December 20, 1957 | Happy Holidays with Bing & Frank | Frank Sinatra show |
| March 2, 1958 | The Bob Hope Show | Anita Ekberg, Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner |
| November 22, 1958 | The Dean Martin Show for Timex | Phil Harris, The Treniers |
| October 19, 1959 | The Frank Sinatra Timex Show | Dean Martin, Mitzi Gaynor, Jimmy Durante |
| March 16, 1960 | Perry Como's Kraft Music Hall | Genevieve, Peter Gennaro |
| August 26, 1961 | A Big Night Out with Peggy Lee | |
| April 3, 1962 | Picture Parade | Bob Hope |
| October 24, 1962 | The Bob Hope Show | Juliet Prowse, Lucille Ball |
| February 17, 1963 | The Dinah Shore Show | |
| December 13, 1963 | The Bob Hope Comedy Hour | Jack Benny, Danny Thomas, Juliet Prowse. |
| October 6, 1964 | The Bell Telephone Hour | Burl Ives, McGuire Sisters, Grant Johannesen |
| June 27, 1965 | The Eamonn Andrews Show | Spike Milligan, Cilla Black, Patrick Campbell, Harry H. Corbett |
| July 6, 1965 | Late Night Line-Up | Interviewed by Joan Bakewell |
| December 15, 1965 | The Bob Hope Comedy Special | Jack Benny, Nancy Wilson, Janet Leigh |
| January 6, 1966 | Telescope | |
| March 27, 1966 | Timmy's Easter Parade of Stars (Canada) (aka The Easter Seal Show) | Robbie Lane and the Disciples, Juliette, Kathryn Crosby |
| April 20, 1966 | The Road to Lebanon (A Danny Thomas Special) | Hugh Downs, Claudine Auger, Sheldon Leonard, Bob Hope. |
| May 1, 1966 | The Magic of Broadcasting | John Scott Trotter, Sheldon Leonard, Diane Sherry, Kerry McLane, Rod Serling, Arthur Godfrey, Lucille Ball |
| October 30, 1966 | The Andy Williams Show | The Young Americans, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Kate Smith |
| November 16, 1966 | The Bob Hope Chrysler Comedy Special | Bach-Yen |
| April 13, 1967 | The Dean Martin Show | |
| October 9, 1967 | The Danny Thomas Hour - ‘The Demon under the Bed' | |
| October 19, 1967 | The Dean Martin Show | The Golddiggers, Lena Horne, Dom DeLuise |
| October 25, 1967 | The Joey Bishop Show | Dorothy Lamour, Matt Monro, Regis Philbin, Kathryn Crosby |
| November 25, 1967 | The Jackie Gleason Show | |
| February 12, 1968 | The Bob Hope Variety Special | Barbara Eden, Pearl Bailey |
| May 5, 1968 | The Ed Sullivan Show - A Tribute to Irving Berlin | The Fred Waring Glee Club, Robert Goulet, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Ethel Merman, Peter Gennaro, Bob Hope |
| February 17, 1969 | Chrysler Presents The Bob Hope Special | Lisa Miller, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Martha Raye, George Burns |
| October 4, 1969 | The Jackie Gleason Show - The Honeymooners In Hollywood | |
| November 6, 1969 | The Dean Martin Show | Jack Gilford, Eva Gabor, Dom DeLuise |
| November 10, 1969 | The Carol Burnett Show | |
| February 16, 1970 | The Bob Hope Chrysler Special | Oleg Cassini, Johnny Carson, Johnny Cash, Raquel Welch, Ray Bolger |
| November 29, 1970 | The John Wayne TV Special - Swing Out, Sweet Land | Ann-Margret, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Dan Blocker, Glen Campbell, Johnny Cash, and many more |
| January 7, 1971 | The Flip Wilson Show | David Steinberg, The Supremes |
| January 23, 1971 | The Pearl Bailey Show | Andy Williams, Louis Armstrong |
| February 10, 1971 | The David Frost Show | Louis Armstrong |
| February 15, 1971 | Chrysler Presents The Bob Hope Special | Jerry Colonna, Teresa Graves, Jo Anne Worley, Petula Clark |
| March 18, 1971 | Ver-r-r-ry Interesting | Arte Johnson (host), Peter Marshall, Nancy Kulp, Joe Flynn, Elke Sommer, Billy De Wolfe |
| October 7, 1971 | The Dean Martin Show | Rip Taylor, Richard Castellano, Lou Jacobi, Kay Medford |
| November 29, 1971 | Monsanto Presents Mancini | Hoagy Carmichael, Michael Landon, Sérgio Mendes & Brasil ‘66 |
| January 3, 1972 | The Merv Griffin Show | Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, David Butler |
| March 15, 1972 | The Carol Burnett Show | Paul Lynde, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner |
| March 16, 1972 | The Flip Wilson Show | Tim Conway, Melba Moore |
| December 23, 1972 | The Parkinson Show | |
| February 22, 1975 | Grandstand | |
| July 24, 1975 | Top of the Pops | |
| July 25, 1975 | Today | Thames TV, London program - interviewed by Llew Gardiner |
| July 25, 1975 | The Merv Griffin Show | Rich Little |
| August 30, 1975 | Parkinson | |
| September 4, 1975 | The Mike Douglas Show | Kathryn Crosby |
| September 14, 1975 | Stars on Sunday | |
| September 24, 1975 | The Vera Lynn Show | |
| October 12, 1975 | Stars on Sunday | |
| October 15, 1975 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Don Rickles, Bob Hope, John Wayne |
| October 24, 1975 | Texaco Presents - A Quarter Century Of Bob Hope On Television | John Wayne, Frank Sinatra |
| October 28, 1975 | The Mike Douglas Show - Kathryn and Bing at Home | Kathryn Crosby |
| November 12, 1975 | Dinah! | Pat Boone, Phil Harris |
| November 16, 1975 | Stars on Sunday | |
| December 14, 1975 | Stars on Sunday | |
| January 27, 1976 | International Pro-Celebrity Golf | Tom Weiskopf, Peter Oosterhuis, Val Doonican |
| March 5, 1976 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Ray Bolger, Marvin Hamlisch, Burt Mustin |
| April 5, 1976 | The Rich Little Show | Bob Hope (cameo) |
| April 12, 1976 | The Bob Hope Olympic Benefit | Shirley Jones, Lynn Anderson, René Simard, Freddie Prinze |
| December 3, 1976 | The Joe Franklin Show WOR-TV | Arthur Tracy, Kathryn Crosby |
| December 3, 1976 | Bing with Pat - A Look at a Legend | Interviewed by Pat Collins |
| December 6, 1976 | Today | Interviewed by Gene Shalit |
| December 6, 1976 | An Hour with Bing & Kathryn Crosby - AM New York | Kathryn Crosby - Interviewed by Stanley Siegel |
| December 10, 1976 | Good Morning America | Kathryn Crosby |
| January 12, 1977 | International Pro-Celebrity Golf | Johnny Miller, Tony Jacklin, Peter Alliss, Sean Connery |
| May 31, 1977 | Barbara Walters Special | |