Florence George Crosby Ortiz (Catherine Guthrie)
In spring 1938 College Swing landed in America’s movie theaters. Starring George Burns, Bob Hope, Betty Grable, and Jackie Coogan, it co-starred another young actress named Florence George, better known to her former Wittenberg classmates as Catherine Guthrie.
Catherine graduated from Springfield High School in 1929 attended Wittenberg and studied voice with Witt professor Jack Ham until 1932. Professor Ham reportedly exclaimed “I smell smoke” the first time he heard her lovely voice. She finished her degree at a Chicago conservatory and debuted to rave reviews at the Chicago Civic Opera, taking her parents’ first names as her stage name. She achieved an international career as a singer, appeared on several radio shows (Kraft, Packard, Ford), and toured as part of Bing Crosby’s camp troupe. Under contract with M-G-M she appeared in at least two movies, College Swing and Tell No Tales. A beautiful blond, Pi Kappa Alpha named her their national dream girl in 1938. That same year Florence married Bing Crosby’s brother, Everett, who managed her career and Bing’s.
The American Scandinavian Society honored her in 1949 for her “furtherance of international goodwill,” and Wittenberg awarded her an honorary degree in 1954. In her later years Florence bred Morgan and Arabian horses on her farm, Fair Acres, in Connecticut. Everett died in 1966, and in 1970 she married Andelmo Diaz Ortiz. In 1986 she wrote Wittenberg wishing everyone a happy alumni weekend: “I have fond memories of my years spent at Wittenberg, when it was a small but memorable college.” She died in 1998.
Heather A. Griffith and Thomas T. Taylor
Sources: Springfield Daily News, New York Times, Wittenberg Alumni Affairs File
About The Project
With Wittenberg now celebrating its 175th year, and the University unable to hold regular in-person classes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor of History Thomas T. Taylor has started circulating several pieces on Wittenberg's history. Some originated in earlier series, either This Month in Wittenberg History or Happy Birthday Wittenberg. Others have their origin in the Wittenberg History Project or in some other, miscellaneous project. Sincerest thanks to Professor Taylor for connecting alumni, faculty, staff, and students through a historic lens.