Editing Bing Crosby (section)

===Children===
After Crosby's death, his eldest son, Gary, published a highly critical memoir, ''Going My Own Way'' (1983; written in collaboration with noted music journalist Ross Firestone), depicting his father as cruel, cold, remote, and physically and psychologically abusive.<ref name=lk>{{cite web |last=Haller |first=Scot |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20084544,00.html |title=The Sad Ballad of Bing and His Boys&nbsp;– Child Abuse, Kids & Family Life, Bing Crosby |work=People |date=March 21, 1983 |access-date=January 4, 2011}}</ref> While acknowledging that corporal punishments took place, there were reports of all of Gary's immediate siblings distancing themselves from the abuse claims, either in public or in private.<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/>

Crosby's younger son Phillip disputed his brother Gary's claims about their father. Around the time Gary published his claims, Phillip stated to the press that "Gary is a whining, bitching crybaby, walking around with a two-by-four on his shoulder and just daring people to nudge it off."<ref name="Haller">{{cite web |last=Haller |first=Scott |title=The Sad Ballad of Bing and His Boys |url=https://people.com/archive/cover-story-the-sad-ballad-of-bing-and-his-boys-vol-19-no-11/ |website=People |access-date=July 5, 2018 |date=March 21, 1983}}</ref> Nevertheless, Phillip did not deny that Crosby believed in corporal punishment.<ref name="Haller"/> In an interview with ''[[People (magazine)|People]]'' magazine, Phillip stated that "we never got an extra whack or a cuff we didn't deserve".<ref name="Haller"/>

Shortly before Gary's book was actually published, Lindsay said, "I'm glad [Gary] did it. I hope it clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors."<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/><ref name="Haller"/> Unlike Gary, Lindsay stated that he preferred to remember "all the good things I did with my dad and forget the times that were rough".<ref name="Haller"/> "Lindsay Crosby supported his brother (Gary) at the time of its publication but had a tempered view of its revelations. 'I never expected affection from my father so it didn't bother me,' he once told an interviewer.'"<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/c6b50c177dbcdbf1186476ae06aae4e3 Son of Crooner Apparently Kills Self, Just Learned He Was Broke]</ref> However, after the book was published, Lindsay addressed the abuse claims and what the media had made out of them:

{{Blockquote|He was a good father. It was a happy childhood. We had our differences, but we were raised to respect our parents, to do what they said. If we didn't, we got punished. As far as I know [Gary] wrote it because it was about himself and what he felt his life was about. I don't think it had anything to do with Daddy Dearest. I understand what he's trying to prove. I don't think he did anything wrong.<ref name="Jo Maxted">{{cite web|url=http://stevenlewis.info/crosby/garybook.htm|title=Star|author=Maxted, Jo|date= March 29, 1983}}</ref>}}

Dennis Crosby reportedly "said his older brother (Gary) was the most severely treated of the four boys. 'He got the first licking, and we got the second.'"<ref>[https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/03/14/Crosbys-children-claim-he-abused-them/5007660964411/ Crosby's children claim he abused them]</ref>

Gary's first wife of 19 years, Barbara Cosentino, of whom Gary wrote in his book, "I could confide in her about Mom and Dad and my childhood",<ref>{{cite book |title=Going My Own Way|author=Gary Crosby |date=March 1983 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=978-0-385-17055-0}}</ref> and with whom Gary stayed friendly after the divorce, stated:

{{Blockquote|I do not know if what's in the book is true but he never said anything to me about whippings. I think it all got a little out of hand. I certainly never witnessed anything between him and his father. I couldn't believe it when I read the book because it just didn't sound like Gary. I can't pinpoint it. Gary said to me before I read it, "It's not the same book I wrote."<ref name="Jo Maxted"/>}}

Gary Crosby's adopted son, Steven Crosby, said in a 2003 interview:

{{Blockquote|In the early years, I think, like any family you are going to butt heads with your mom, your dad and your brothers and sisters. I think there was some father–son stuff that everyone has. The book was I think an attempt of my dad to come to grips with some things in his life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=hhKRGZV9p4c&feature=youtu.be|title=Steven Crosby interviewed for "Bing: Going My Way"(2003)|website=[[YouTube]] |date=August 3, 2015 }}</ref>}}

Bing's younger brother, singer and jazz bandleader [[Bob Crosby]], recalled at the time of Gary's revelations that Bing was a "disciplinarian", as their mother and father had been. He added, "We were brought up that way."<ref name="Haller"/> In an interview for the same article, Gary clarified that Bing "was like a lot of fathers of that time. He was not out to be vicious, to beat children for his kicks."<ref name="Haller"/>

The author of the 2018 biography on Bing Crosby, [[Gary Giddins]], claims that Gary Crosby's memoir is not reliable on many instances and cannot be trusted on the abuse stories.<ref name=GiddinsOct2018/><ref>{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NrT6BBf2N4|title=Gary Giddins interviewed by Will Friedwald on Bing Crosby}}</ref>

Crosby's will established a [[blind trust]] in which none of the sons received an inheritance until they reached the age of 65, intended by Crosby to keep them out of trouble.<ref name="Dunn">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-12-13-me-242-story.html |first=Ashley |last=Dunn |date=December 13, 1989 |work=Los Angeles Times |title=Lindsay Crosby Suicide Laid to End of Inheritance Income |access-date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> They instead received several thousand dollars per month from a trust left in 1952 by their mother, Dixie Lee. The trust, tied to high-performing oil stocks, folded in December 1989 following the [[1980s oil glut]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Frasier |first=David K. |date=2015 |title=Suicide in the Entertainment Industry |publisher=McFarland |page=71 |isbn=9781476608075}}</ref>

Lindsay Crosby died in 1989 at age 51, and Dennis Crosby died in 1991 at age 56, both by [[suicide]] from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Gary Crosby died of lung cancer in 1995 at age 62. Phillip Crosby died of a heart attack in 2004 at age 69.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/20/arts/philip-crosby-69-son-of-bing-crosby.html |title=Philip Crosby, 69, Son of Bing Crosby |work=The New York Times |date=January 20, 2004 |access-date=November 2, 2008}}</ref>

[[File:Bing Crosby & Kathryn 1960 Com L09-0188-0003.tif|thumb|upright|Bing Crosby and Kathryn Grant in 1960]]

[[Nathaniel Crosby]], Crosby's younger son from his second marriage, is a former high-level golfer who won the [[United States Amateur Championship (golf)|U.S. Amateur]] in 1981 at age 19, becoming the youngest winner in the history of that event at the time. [[Harry Crosby (businessman)|Harry Crosby]] is an investment banker who occasionally makes singing appearances.

[[Denise Crosby]], Dennis Crosby's daughter, is an actress and is known for her role as [[Tasha Yar]] on ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]''. She appeared in the [[Pet Sematary (1989 film)|1989 film adaptation]] of [[Stephen King]]'s novel ''[[Pet Sematary]]''.

In 2006, Crosby's niece through his sister Mary Rose, Carolyn Schneider, published the laudatory book ''Me and Uncle Bing''.

Disputes between Crosby's two families began in the late 1990s. When Dixie died in 1952, her will provided that her share of the community property be distributed in trust to her sons. After Crosby's death in 1977, he left the residue of his estate to a marital trust for the benefit of his widow, Kathryn, and HLC Properties, Ltd., was formed for the purpose of managing his interests, including his right of publicity. In 1996, Dixie's trust sued HLC and Kathryn for declaratory relief as to the trust's entitlement to interest, dividends, royalties, and other income derived from the community property of Crosby and Dixie.

In 1999, the parties settled for approximately $1.5 million. Relying on a retroactive amendment to the [[California Civil Code]], Dixie's trust brought suit again, in 2010, alleging that Crosby's right of publicity was community property, and that Dixie's trust was entitled to a share of the revenue it produced. The trial court granted Dixie's trust's claim. The California Court of Appeals reversed it, holding that the 1999 settlement barred the claim. In light of the court's ruling, it was unnecessary for the court to decide whether a right of publicity can be characterized as [[community property]] under California law.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Crosby v. HLC Properties, Ltd. |vol=223 |reporter=Cal.App.4th |opinion=597 |court=[[California Courts of Appeal|Cal. Ct. App.]] |date=2014-01-29 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=5814238060476610913}}</ref>