Bing Crosby Personally Owned Rubber Fishing Boots From The Crosby Estate (Previously Museum Exhibited) - This is a pair of rubber fishing boots, which were personally owned by Bing Crosby. The boots show evident signs of use, as Bing Crosby was an avid fisherman. They are stamped on the inside in red ink "Bing Crosby", along with the address to his Beverly Hills home. These fishing boots were acquired in 1982 after Bing's death, when his widow Kathryn Crosby decided to sell some of Bing's personal items at auction (the auction was conducted by Butterfield's and lasted four days). Kathryn was met with much criticism for her decision, about which she said "Bing had six homes full of things. We have a very big home in Hillsborough that is still full of Bing's things." She said that she decided to have the auction due to the fact that she couldn't answer the countless pieces of mail from fans requesting something of Bing's (please see photograph of newspaper article discussing the auction). These fishing boots (along with other Bing Crosby owned items) were previously on display at a privately owned museum (which wishes to remain anonymous due to privacy reasons). Bing Crosby (1903-1977) was an American singer and actor, whose trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him the best-selling recording artist of the 20th century. He sold over one billion records, tapes, compact discs and digital downloads around the world. He developed a laid-back, intimate singing style that influenced many of the popular male singers who followed him, including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way, and was nominated the following year for his reprise of the role in The Bells of St. Mary's.