Bing Crosby's sons waited for a trust they could not touch until 65, and their mother's trust went broke

Bing Crosby married Wilma Wyatt, known as Dixie Lee, on September 29, 1930. They had four sons. She died on November 1, 1952, and her will put her half of the community property in trust for the boys. Crosby married Kathryn Grant in 1957 and died on October 14, 1977. His will left the residue of his estate to a marital trust for Kathryn. Press reports said none of the four sons could touch his money until age 65. In 1983 Gary Crosby published a book describing his father as an abusive tyrant who beat his sons. The sons lived on their mother's trust, which was invested in oil. In December 1989 lawyers told them it had gone broke. Eleven days later Lindsay Crosby, 51, shot himself. Dennis Crosby died in 1991 in an apparent suicide at 56^†. In 1996 the Wilma Wyatt Crosby Trust sued Kathryn and HLC Properties, the company formed to manage Bing's interests, for a share of royalties. The case settled in 1999 for about $1.5 million. After California made publicity rights retroactive in 2008, Wilma's estate claimed half of Bing's right of publicity as community property. A trial court agreed. On January 29, 2014, the Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the 1999 release barred the claim. Kathryn Crosby died in September 2024^†.