The iconic crooner is on screens this afternoon alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly, as they star in High Society. The 1956 musical comedy is airing on BBC Two from 2.20pm, and remains a firm favourite among Hollywood fans, thanks in part to Cole Porter’s brilliant score. The story follows a playboy composer who is attempting to win back his ex-wife before she marries another man.
His quest is complicated by a cynical reporter who has his own ambitions, in the process getting caught up in the romance.
The double Academy Award nominated film sees Sinatra, Kelly and Bing Crosby at the top of their game, and was in the top 10 best performing films in the year of its release.
While much is known about Crosby’s incredible musical career — which saw him lay claim to the biggest ever selling single, ‘White Christmas’ — occasional surprises about his life still crop up.
This included the time when his family were left stunned after unearthing his belongings, which included a letter detailing how he helped entertain troops during World War 2.
In 2019, Mary Crosby, the icon’s daughter, spoke of how her mother Kathryn had managed to recover a series of letters and interactions between her parents.
These included numerous notes to soldiers on the frontline, tackling Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany.
She told of how the family had no idea the letters existed until Kathryn uncovered them during a clean of her home’s loft.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, she said: “Dad was incredibly under the radar [and] we didn’t find out the extent he did for the troops until we found the letters.
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She added: “It was very tragic as many of the letters said return to sender which meant they hadn’t made it.
“It was such a very moving and heartbreaking discovery to realise that some of dad’s letters hadn’t reached the recipients.”
Throughout World War 2, Crosby was heavily involved with the Armed Forces Radio Service, a government television and radio broadcast service the US military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas.
Records show he broadcast at least 70 times to troops during that war, and made other appearances to help boost soldiers’ morale.
In 1943, a Time magazine review described the broadcast service as the “best in radio”.
It added: “They have received over 1,000 special programs which US radio fans would give plenty to hear.
“Forty-odd shows a week are heard only by the armed forces.”
Yank magazine also championed Crosby’s work during the war, adding he was “the person who had done the most for the morale of overseas servicemen” during World War Two.
In 1948, three years after his efforts in the war, American polls declared him the “most admired man alive”, ahead of Jackie Robinson and Pope Pius XII.
High Society airs today from 2:20pm on BBC Two.
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