Dixie Lee

Dixie Lee (November 4, 1911 – November 1, 1952) was an American actress, dancer, and singer.

Biography

Born Wilma Winifred Wyatt, she adopted the professional name "Dixie Carroll" as a singer and showgirl. Winfield Sheehan of the Fox film studio changed the name to Dixie Lee, to avoid confusion with actresses Nancy Carroll and Sue Carol. She married Bing Crosby at the age of 18, and had four sons with him, two of whom, Lindsay and Dennis, would eventually commit suicide as adults.

Crosby's biographer, Gary Giddins, describes Dixie Lee as a shy, private person with a sensible approach to life. Giddins recounts that Dixie and Bing, as young marrieds, were often invited to parties where liquor was plentiful, and Dixie drank socially to keep up with Bing. She succeeded in curbing Bing's alcohol consumption, but ironically her own alcoholism worsened. She had a brief film career, starring in a few features for Bing's home studio Paramount Pictures in the 1930s; her most notable film is probably Love in Bloom (1935).

She died from ovarian cancer on November 1, 1952, three days before her 41st birthday. She is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, California.

In popular culture

• The 1947 film Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman is loosely based on Dixie Lee's life.