NOVATO, CALIF. -- Dennis M. Crosby, 56, one of Bing Crosby's twin sons by his first marriage, was found dead Saturday in his home here. Authorities said Monday that the cause of death was a gunshot wound that appeared to have been self-inflicted and that the case is being treated as a suicide.
Mr. Crosby's body was found by his roommate, Marin County Sheriff's Lt. William Donovan said. A 12-gauge shotgun was found near the body. There were no signs of foul play, Donovan said.
Dennis Crosby is the second of four sons born to Bing Crosby and his first wife, Dixie Lee Wyatt Crosby, to commit suicide. Lindsay Crosby, the youngest son, shot himself to death in 1989 in Southern California at age 51.
The difficulties of growing up as a child of Bing Crosby were detailed in a 1983 book "Going My Own Way," by eldest son Gary, who portrayed his father as often heartless.
Though their father was rich and famous -- Bing Crosby sold 300 million records and made 70 movies, winning an Academy Award for "Going My Way" in 1944 -- Gary Crosby said that he felt as though he grew up in a "house of terror." Dennis' twin, Philip, criticized the book but acknowledged that Gary did get the severest treatment from their father.
Regarded as the quietest of the four, Dennis Crosby nevertheless joined his brothers in a nightclub act during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Known as the Crosby Brothers, they appeared on the Ed Sullivan program and in other shows and clubs.
Dennis Crosby, reflecting on his short-lived entertainment career, said he never felt comfortable on stage.
"I guess I wasn't cut out to be an entertainer," he once acknowledged. "I was always painfully self-conscious out there in the spotlight with my brothers."
Dennis Crosby had drinking problems early in life but later embraced a sober lifestyle through Alcoholics Anonymous, friends said.
In later years, he worked in a production capacity for Bing Crosby Productions Inc.
