By Beth Harris
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Kathryn Crosby, who appeared in such movies as “The 7th Voyage of Sinbad”, “Anatomy of a Murder,” and “Operation Mad Ball” before marrying famed singer and Oscar-winning actor Bing Crosby, has died. She was 90.
She died of natural causes Friday night at her home in the Northern California city of Hillsborough, a family spokesperson said Saturday.
Appearing under her stage name of Kathryn Grant, she appeared opposite Tony Curtis in “Mister Cory” in 1957 and Victor Mature in “The Big Circus” in 1959. She made five movies with film noir director Phil Karlson, including “Tight Spot” and “The Phenix City Story,” both in 1955.
Her other leading men included Jack Lemmon in “Operation Mad Ball,” James Darren in “The Brothers Rico,” and James Stewart in “Anatomy of a Murder,” directed by Otto Preminger.
Born Olive Kathryn Grandstaff on Nov. 25, 1933, in West Columbia, Texas, she graduated from the University of Texas with a degree in fine arts. She came to Hollywood and began her movie career in 1953.
She met Bing Crosby while doing interviews for a column she wrote about Hollywood for her hometown newspaper. They were married in 1957, when she was 23 and he was 54.
She curtailed her acting career after the wedding, although she appeared often with Crosby and their three children on his Christmas television specials and in Minute Maid orange juice commercials. She became a registered nurse in 1963.
In the 1970s, she hosted a morning talk show on KPIX-TV in Northern California.
After Crosby’s death at age 74 in 1977, from a heart attack after golfing in Spain, she appeared in stage productions of “Same Time, Next Year” and “Charley’s Aunt.” She co-starred with John Davidson and Andrea McArdle in the 1996 Broadway revival of “State Fair.”
For 16 years ending in 2001, she hosted the Crosby National golf tournament in Bermuda Run, North Carolina.
She is survived by children Harry, Mary, an actor best known for the TV show “Dallas,” and Nathaniel, a successful amateur golfer. She was married to Maurice Sullivan for 10 years before he was killed in a 2010 car accident that seriously injured Crosby.
California governor signs law to protect children from social media addiction
California will make it illegal for social media platforms to knowingly provide addictive feeds to children without parental consent beginning in 2027 under a new law Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Friday.
California follows New York state, which passed a law earlier this year allowing parents to block their kids from getting social media posts suggested by a platform's algorithm. Utah has passed laws in recent years aimed at limiting children's access to social media, but they have faced challenges in court.
The California law will take effect in a state home to some of the largest technology companies in the world. Similar proposals have failed to pass in recent years, but Newsom signed a first-in-the-nation law in 2022 barring online platforms from using users' personal information in ways that could harm children. It is part of a growing push in states across the country to try to address the impacts of social media on the well-being of children.
"Every parent knows the harm social media addiction can inflict on their children โ isolation from human contact, stress and anxiety, and endless hours wasted late into the night," Newsom said in a statement. "With this bill, California is helping protect children and teenagers from purposely designed features that feed these destructive habits."
The law bans platforms from sending notifications without permission from parents to minors between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m., and between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on weekdays from September through May, when children are typically in school. The legislation also makes platforms set children's accounts to private by default.
Opponents of the legislation say it could inadvertently prevent adults from accessing content if they cannot verify their... Read More