Carol Richards, a singer best known for the Christmas classic "Silver Bells," which she recorded with Bing Crosby, has died. She was 84.

Miss Richards died of heart disease March 16 at a hospital in Vero Beach, Fla., her family announced.

After winning a singing contest in 1946 promoted by Bob Hope, she started appearing with him on television and met Mr. Crosby.

The duet "Silver Bells" was featured in the 1951 Hope film "The Lemon Drop Kid," but another version sung by Mr. Crosby and Miss Richards made the song famous, according to the American Music Preservation Web site.

In movie musicals, Miss Richards dubbed the singing voice of several actresses. One highlight was performing for Cyd Charisse with Gene Kelly in "Brigadoon" (1954) and Fred Astaire in "Silk Stockings" (1957), said Jean Laughlin, one of her daughters.

In the 1950s, Miss Richards was a regular on "The Bob Crosby Show," a daytime television program that featured Bing's younger brother. Miss Richards appeared on a number of television variety shows and worked frequently with Danny Kaye and Jerry Lewis, among others.

Born Carol June Vosburgh on June 6, 1922, in Harvard, Ill.

At 4, Miss Richards began performing but her mother thought she was acting "like a diva" at 6 and wouldn't let her take the stage again until she was 11, Miss Richards said in an 2003 interview with the Vero Beach Press Journal.

At 16, she married and was known as Carol Lutzhoff, "a terrible name for show biz," she said in 2003. In honor of a favorite nephew, she changed her last name to Richards.