Richard Hollerman

A few minutes ago I read the life story of a famous singer and Iound it so sad. I refer to one that some of you have never referenced by the name of Bing Crosby. He was from western Washington state but eventually moved to California, where all of the “big name” entertainers go!

From what I read, “Bing” was not his real name but a name that he picked up as he grew up. Some of our older readers may know of him, of course. He was well-known from the entertainment circuit, along with John Wayne, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra, and the likes. You and others may recognize him from the thousands of songs that he recorded. I owned a baseball team, and many other entertainment venues during the years.

What caught my attention and it might you as well is that he was a life-long Catholic. In fact, he was buried in a Catholic cemetery. According to the obituary, he died just after he played golf in a foreign land (Spain) of a brain hemorrhage, a heart attack, when only 74. He is now gone. And, of course, even though he was a Catholic (he even starred in certain well-known Catholic movies), he was not a faithful member of this communion.

Bing was married twice, had a number of “extra-marital” affairs, was a drunkard, but was well known for his many, many songs. He was a baritone and is well-known for his movie, such as “White Christmas”—which is sought after even today. It was the highest rated song of the 20th century, after Silent Night, which was also sung by Crosby.

So Big Crosby is gone and we may remember him in many ways—his singing voice, his likeability, and so forth. Yes, he was a life-long Catholic, he starred in many movies, he owned a sports team, he owned a race track, and he entertained the American troops in the Second World War. But people loved him. (His children said that he was a strict disciplinarian, but we wonder.)

I suppose that this shows that regardless of the popularity of a person, regardless of his singing capability, regardless of his acceptance by the masses, regardless of his philanthropic endeavors, regardless of his devotion to a false religion, regardless of his entertainment participation, and regardless of his great interest and the positive impact of his work, we know this is not what really matters. We are seen in the eyes of God. We must ask ourselves whether we are acceptable to Him. Nothing else really matters—in eternity!