Crosby's Kin Takes Road To Gonzaga

SPOKANE - Kevin Crosby doesn't remember Grandpa Bing.

He's never seen Bing sing "White Christmas" in the movie "Holiday Inn." He was only 6 when Bing Crosby died in 1974.

But Kevin, 25, is learning more about his grandfather since he enrolled at Gonzaga University this year and discovered the school's huge collection of Crosby memorabilia.

Bing Crosby studied pre-law at Gonzaga in the early 1920s. He left without a degree in 1924 to pursue his entertainment career.

"It's almost overwhelming at times to see what impact he had," said Kevin Crosby, a native of Los Angeles. Crosby doesn't much resemble his grandfather, although he does have that deep, easy voice that made the crooner famous.

Bing Crosby was born in Tacoma and reared in Spokane. He had four sons by his first marriage, including Lindsay, Kevin's father.

Kevin Crosby agreed to an interview in the Crosby memorabilia room of the Crosby Student Center, on the condition that family problems would not be discussed.

The Crosbyana Room, as it is called, contains a small portion of the singer's memorabilia at Gonzaga. It's a little-known tourist attraction in Spokane. In the past year, more than 2,000 visitors from all 50 states and 23 countries signed the guest book.

Many of the 24,000 items in Gonzaga's collection are kept in archives, including Bing's toupees, which are not displayed because Crosby's widow objected.