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One of the most successful music acts of the 20th century, Bing waswidely known for his Christmas specialsand his acting career, during which he won the Best Actor Oscar for the 1944 classicGoing My Way. Throughout his life, Bing married twice and welcomed seven children who went on to continue their dad’s legacy through music, acting and even sports.
Bing then met actress Kathryn Grant while doing interviews for her column on the set of his 1954 filmWhite Christmas. The couple married in 1957 and were together for 20 years before the singer’s death in 1977 at age 74 from a heart attack. Throughout their time together, Bing and Kathryn welcomed three children: Harry Lillis III, Mary and Nathaniel. Kathryndied of natural causesin September 2024. She was 90 years old.
While Bing’s youngest three have recalled fond memories of their dad, his oldest four sons shared more complicated feelings about their father.
“The idea was to be ordinary,” Gary wrote in his 1983 memoirGoing My Own Way. “There were a few problems with being just an ordinary kid. For one thing, Dad didn’t seem to be just an ordinary father.”
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Bing and Dixie welcomed their first child, Gary, on June 27, 1933.
His brother Dennis described the book as “Gary’s business” in a 1983 interview with PEOPLE, while Lindsay said that he hoped the memoir “clears up a lot of the old lies and rumors.”
In his personal life, Gary had three marriages and welcomed a son, Steven, with his first wife Barbara Cosentino. He later became a lecturer for Alcoholics Anonymous after his own journey with alcoholism. Gary died of lung cancer in 1995. He was 62.
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Bing and Dixie welcomed their second and third sons, twins Dennis and Phillip, on July 13, 1934.
Dennis also welcomed daughter Denise, during a relationship with Marilyn Miller Scott, who rose to prominence for her portrayal of Tasha Yar inStar Trek.
In 1991, Dennis was found dead from a gunshot wound that authorities said appeared to have been self-inflicted. Dennis' death was treated as a suicide. He was 56.
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Bing and Dixie welcomed their son Phillip on July 13, 1934.
In his personal life, Phillip was married four times and welcomed several children, including daughter Dixie Lee and son Brian from his first marriage to Sandra Jo Drummond, and daughter Mary Elizabeth and son Flip from his second marriage to Mary Joyce Gabbard. Philip also welcomed a son, Philip Jr., with his fourth wife, Peggy Compton.
The actor also said that he believed his parents had a “very good marriage,” and that he “understood Dad probably better than anybody in the whole family.”
Like his elder brother, Phillip was vocal about his struggles with alcoholism throughout his life. In 2004, Philip was found dead of natural causes. He was 69.
Bing and Dixie’s youngest son, Lindsay, was born on Jan. 5, 1938.
Unlike his brothers Phillip and Dennis, Lindsay voiced support for his older brother Gary when his autobiography was published. “I’m glad he did it,” Lindsay told PEOPLE in 1983. “It was something Gary had to do.” Although he recognized that Bing could be tough, Lindsay told PEOPLE, “Dad would say, ‘Goodnight, I love you,’ and that to me was heaven.”
“I still miss him,” Lindsay added at the time. “I probably didn’t realize how much I’d miss him when he died.” The singer went on to say that he chose to remember “all the good things I did with my dad and forget the times that were rough.”
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Bing and Kathryn Grant’s first child together, Harry Lillis III, was born on Aug. 8, 1958.
“And I said, well, I just learned a Christmas carol. So, of course, that fit well and ended up doing the show with them—complete black tie and shorts and shiny black shoes,” he continued. “And that was the beginning of the Christmas shows."
Despite the bright lights in his childhood, Harry recalled, “You know we were raised kind of as normal kids, we thought so, in San Francisco. And you know, we loved him as a dad.”
Harry now works in business as an investment banker. He began his career at Lehman Brothers and went on to assume partner roles at Cranemere and Snow Phipps. In 2019, he joined Trilantic North America as a partner of business development.
Harry received a master’s degree from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and a business degree from Fordham University.
“He was an integral part of our family as first as the father. You know, I loved what he loved about music and the fact that he imparted that on us but in a very casual way,” Harry shared. “He was a very low key guy and part of the reason I think we were in San Francisco as a family is because he wanted to kind of stay low key.”
Harry continued, “He engaged when he had work, and we recognize that we were all kind of in a public light. My mother instilled that in us, you know, early on. So we would try and stay out of trouble for the most part.”
The businessman married Dr. Mihaela Skobe in 2003 and the pair share at least two children. Bing’s grandkids even keep up a tradition in honor of their grandfather. Each Christmas, Harry toldThe Express, “My son, Nicholas, and daughter, Thea, sing and play “White Christmas” on the piano for everyone.”
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Although she appeared in her dad’s Christmas specials, unlike her siblings, Mary never pursued a career in music and instead worked as an actress. She is widely known for playing Kristin Shepard on the hitsoap operaDallasfrom 1979 to 1981.
The actress also had a slew of roles on film, appearing in the 2005 flickThe Legend of ZorroalongsideAntonio BanderasandCatherine Zeta-Jones. Her last film was Henry Jaglom’s 2014 comedy/dramaThe M WordstarringMichael Imperioli, Corey Feldman and Tanna Fredrick.
Mary was married to Eb Lottimer from 1978 to 1989 — she then tied the knot with Mark Brodka in 1998. The pair have welcomed at least two children together.
Bing and Kathryn welcomed his youngest son, Nathaniel, on Oct. 29, 1961.
Rather than continuing his dad’s legacy through music, Nathaniel picked up another one of Bing’s passions: golf. Onhis website, the golfer shared that Bing was “determined” that Nathaniel and his siblings “didn’t grow up to be Hollywood brats." Part of this goal included Nathaniel learning how to play golf to “spend more time” with his father.
At age 15, Nathaniel won the championship at his family’s country club, Burlingame Country Club, and his father told him, “Today is the happiest day of my life.”
Nathaniel went on to become the U.S. Junior Medalist in golf in 1979, and won the U.S. Amateur Championship in 1981. He also played on the European Tour from 1985 to 1987, and competed in three Masters, theU.S. Open, two British Opens and was on the winning teams for the World Amateur and Walker Cup.
After retiring as a touring professional, Nathaniel has continued to work as a golf industry executive and is the founder and president of AppleTree Management Group which, perhis LinkedIn page, coordinates “private golf clubs into an ultra-affluent golf membership program.”
In 2016, Nathaniel co-authored a memoir with John Strege titled18 Holes with Bing: Golf, Life, and Lessons from Dadin which he shared anecdotes and memories from spending time on the golf course with his father.
As of 2016, Nathaniel and his wife Sheila shared six children: four from his first marriage and two from hers.
source: people.com
