On this day in 1977, Bing Crosby, one of the most popular singers and actors of the 20th century, died of a heart attack after playing golf near Madrid, Spain, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post and The New York Times reported. He was 73.

Crosby collapsed after finishing an 18-hole round at the La Moraleja golf club, the Los Angeles Times and the Post reported. He was taken to the Red Cross Hospital in Madrid and pronounced dead on arrival, the Los Angeles Times and the Post said.

He had been playing with three Spanish golfers, the Los Angeles Times reported. Crosby and his partner, Manuel Pinero, won their match by one stroke.

"We had just finished the 18th hole and were walking toward the clubhouse when Bing had a seizure and fell," golfer Valentin Barrios said, according to the Los Angeles Times. "We thought he had just slipped."

Pinero said they were laughing and joking, "happy that we had won," when Crosby fell, the paper reported. One of his partners said Crosby had been "happy and singing" during the round.

Crosby made 58 movies, hosted many radio shows and sold more than 300 million records, the Los Angeles Times said. His career as a singer and actor spanned five decades, the Post reported.

He was in Spain to relax, hunt and play golf after a tour of Britain, where he had sold out the London Palladium, the Los Angeles Times reported.

His wife, Kathryn, was at a recording studio in San Francisco when she learned of his death. "He's always been a very simple man," she told reporters. "I think he is remembered in songs, isn't he? I think that's the way it should be," she said, according to the Los Angeles Times.

"He told me that Bing had a very good round," she said of a call from one of his golf partners, the paper reported. "I'd like that to be said."

What we know: Crosby died of a heart attack after golf near Madrid on Oct. 14, 1977.
What we don't: Any medical detail beyond the heart attack listed on his death certificate.