@gered_mankowitz
Gered Mankowitz | Photographer
Bing Crosby made his first record in 1926 as a member of the Rhythm Boys and went to become the ‘king of the Crooners’ with career sales in excess of 400 million. He went on to appear in films in the 1930s and starred in a series of Road To… films with Bob Hope and also in High Society and Holiday Inn, which featured his biggest ever hit record ‘White Christmas’. Released in 1942, it passed the 30 million sales mark and charted for 18 consecutive years. He duetted with David Bowie in September 1977 - when they recorded The Little Drummer Boy’ - but died a month later.
Crosby was probably the biggest ‘star’ I worked with. He had been at the top of his profession for 50 years and was recognised around the globe. Consequently this shoot was shrouded in anxiety and a general nervousness at how to deal with the great man. The idea was to shoot four different portraits representing the different seasons, and we put together outfits for each one with clothes purchased for the occasion from shops that Bing had personally specified. The tension was very high when he arrived and he appeared sullen and very uncommunicative. I showed him the outfits and asked which one he felt like starting with, to which his response was simply to say ‘No’! I was so taken aback that I asked him again, believing that he couldn’t have heard what I had said, and he said a definitive ‘No’ yet again. I then asked what he was saying ‘No’ to, and he announced that he was in a hurry and he would pose only for a single portrait and he would wear the clothes he came in! I had no choice but to agree and nobody from the record company was prepared to challenge him, so we hurriedly had to select the background ‘season’ that most suited the outfit he was wearing and proceeded to shoot. I nearly managed to complete a single roll of film before Bing got up and strode out of the room, announcing that if I didn’t have it I was never going to get it! He left the studio to catch a plane to Spain to play golf, where he died three days later.
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