31/7/2012 5:26 am  #1


Did Bing like the Olympics?

The main index page says that this General Discussion section is the one for any discussions that are "non-Bingish," though in practice most topics here are quite Bing related, so to cover all bases, I thought I would ask if anyone knows if Bing expressed or demonstrated a particular interest in the Olympic Games so far as is known.  I would think he might have had some interest in the shooting or horse riding events, but I don't know if other events in the games during his lifetime had any appeal to him.

I confess, however, that my initial interest in starting the topic was that I wanted to wish any forum members from Great Britain the best of times while they are hosting these Summer Olympics.  Congratulations on all of the Brit medal winners.  I hope there are many more, as their home fans are quite fun to hear when their favorites are doing well.  I hope the traffic, security measures, and international visitors don't cause too much inconvenience.  And if some of the events have to be held in the rain, well, it will just be a character-building experience for the participants!  (I love to visit historic sites on rainy days.)

I'm not a big fan of professional team sports, but I always get very interested in the Olympics, perhaps because the stories of individual athletes -- most of whom labor in obscurity all the rest of the time, sacrificing for the love of their sport -- are more moving to me than those of millionaire's team pros working for billionaire team owners, often with little loyalty these days to the localities where they play.

 

31/7/2012 7:39 am  #2


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Yes, Bing was a fan of the Olympics. He took his family to the 1972 Games in Germany. He attended the 1960 Winter Games in Idaho and he went to the Rome Olympics with Kathryn in 1960. Also went to the 1968 Games in Mexico with Kathryn. And we mustn't forget that he took part in the 1952 Telethon to raise money for the Olympic team and joined Bob Hope in 1976 to raise funds for the 1976 team.

Thanks for your kind words to us Brits.

 

31/7/2012 9:20 am  #3


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Thank you, indeed Steve.

A thought that has had me pondering these several days is songs that Bing sang with any potential connection.

Bing sang about golf and about horse racing, and we have several about hunting/shooting recorded privately.

Some songs have a passing reference to activities that have sporting connections - ''Row, Row, Row'' for example.

But Olympic sports as subject matter in songs? Ideas please? Radio, TV and movies included.

After all ''There's nothing, really nothing, that I haven't sung about'' is the bold declaration at the end of that song.

 

31/7/2012 9:18 pm  #4


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Daisy, Daisy......'On a bicycle built for two'. But, they don't ride doubles in the Olympics.
Then Australian John Williams(or son) wrote "Emu can't fly, but I'm telling you, he can run the pants off a kangaroo".
Then on the last day it'll be 'The Last Round-up". Flanagan and Allen sang "Underneath the Arches" (but not the bow & arrow archers).

 

03/8/2012 2:11 pm  #5


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Here is a cool story and some great pics from the 1952 Olympic telethon that Bing did...

http://bingfan03.blogspot.com/2012/08/bing-and-1952-olympic-telethon.html

 

06/8/2012 3:18 pm  #6


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

David, that's an interesting article.  I wish I could say I watched some of that telethon.  I'm pretty sure we had a TV by then -- we had one of the first in our tiny village of about 150 souls.  But I was just about to turn 6 months old when the show aired, and my memory is a bit foggy going that far back. ;)

Isn't it nice to see that over this past weekend our British friends' Olympic team racked up the third highest number of medals halfway into these current games!

Last edited by Steve Fay (06/8/2012 3:20 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

15/8/2012 5:15 am  #7


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Not only did Bing attend the 1972 Olympics but when he was there he met a teenaged Aussie swimmer Shane Gould and they were pictured together in an Aussie magazine WOMAN'S DAY on 23 October that year. The photo was captioned 'Here Bing Crosby adds his praise for her performance in the water'. It's said that Bing was a strong swimmer as a lad so perhaps he took a special interest in the swimming events.

 

15/8/2012 5:21 pm  #8


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Graham, at Hofstra, Kathryn had with her Bing's 7 medals that he had won one day in an event at Gonzaga. Actually they were 7 bars attached together with small chains.

 

22/10/2013 4:09 am  #9


Re: Did Bing like the Olympics?

Cool article DAvid. I EnjoyedThe Nice Pics. Bing Being Such Good Swimmer AndSports Fan I Figured HE might Enjoy
ThE Oympics.
DoYouKnow HOw ManyCharities Bing Participated In? I KnOw He GaveToTh Jimmy Fund And Played Golf For Charities.

 

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