Gary Crosby (actor)

Gary Crosby was born in Los Angeles and attended Stanford University but dropped out. He fell into the entertainment business, and performed in a harmony singing group, The Crosby Boys, with his three brothers, Philip, Lindsay, and Dennis, during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. As a teenager, he duetted with his father on two songs, "Sam's Song" and "Play a Simple Melody", which became the first double-sided gold record in history. He also recorded duets with Louis Armstrong and at least one 45-single with Sammy Davis Jr.. He also performed on several variety programs, including ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom and NBC's The Ford Show, Starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

In the mid-1950s, he had his own radio program, the Gary Crosby Show on CBS. The musical variety program debuted June 6, 1954, as a summer replacement for Bing Crosby's show.

As an actor, Crosby was briefly under contract to 20th Century-Fox but is perhaps best-remembered for his recurring roles as Eddie the scheming bellhop on The Bill Dana Show and Officer Edward "Ed" Wells on NBC's Adam-12 from 1968–75, as well as appearances on several other shows produced by Jack Webb's Mark VII Limited (including an episode of Dragnet 1969 and five episodes of Emergency!).

In 1965, he made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as singer Jazbo Williams in "The Case of the Frustrated Folk Singer". He appeared in Girl Happy (1965), starring Elvis Presley, with whom he had been stationed in the Army, in Germany, and in "Come Wander with Me," an episode of The Twilight Zone in 1964. In the 1970s, he appeared occasionally on game shows such as Match Game and Tattletales as a guest panelist. He married and divorced three times; he had one stepchild as a result.

In 1983, six years after his father's death, Gary Crosby published an autobiography, Going My Own Way, which revealed the effect of his alcoholism and his difficult childhood as a result of his mother's alcoholism and his father's alleged emotional and physical abuse. Some, especially his brother Phillip, claimed the abuse was not as severe as Gary described. However, Lindsay and Dennis reportedly confirmed Gary's account; both men later committed suicide by gunshot.

Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in Burbank, California in 1995, and is interred in the Forest Lawn - Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles. His mother, Dixie Lee, had died of ovarian cancer.

• Brother of Phillip and Dennis (twins) and Lindsay Crosby.
• Half-brother of Harry Crosby, Nathaniel Crosby and Mary Crosby.
• Nephew of the bandleader Bob Crosby.
• Cousin of Cathy Crosby and Chris Crosby (singer).
• Uncle of Denise Crosby, L. Chip Crosby Jr.

• Mardi Gras (1958)
• Holiday for Lovers (1959)
• A Private's Affair (1959)
• The Right Approach (1961)
• Two Tickets to Paris (1962)
• Operation Bikini (1963)
• Girl Happy (1965)
• Perry Mason TV series, The Case of The Frustrated Folk Singer (1965)
• Adam-12 TV series, various episodes
• Emergency! TV series, Various episodes
• Project U.F.O. TV series.
• Hunter TV series, Various episodes
• The Night Stalker (1987)