Dinah Shore

Dinah Shore, the honey-haired, down-to-earth entertainer who won hearts over seven decades in radio, television, records and movies, died of cancer Thursday. She was 76. At various times in her life, Miss Shore was a pitch woman for Chevrolet, author of cookbooks, wife of cowboy actor George Montgomery, companion of actor Burt Reynolds, pal of Presidents Ford and Reagan and hostess of a popular professional golf tournament. "She was the sunshine in my life and millions and millions of others," Reynolds said. "She is the only person I ever knew who had nothing bad to say about anyone." Frank Sinatra said, "Dear Dinah was a wonderful ray of sunshine, always ready with a word of support, a funny anecdote, a smile." Miss Shore died at her Beverly Hills home after a brief illness. Her smooth contralto voice earned her eight Emmy Awards, nine gold records and the USO Medallion Award as the first entertainer to visit GIs on the front lines of World War II. Born Frances Rose Shore on March 1, 1917, in tiny Winchester, Tenn., Miss Shore grew up Jewish in predominantly Christian Nashville. At 14, she borrowed a dress from her sister, grabbed her ukulele and made her first appearance as a singer in a nightclub. Though it went well, her parents urged her to get an education. She graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1938. The gentility and conservatism of her Southern background stayed with her as the world changed. In 1970, preparing to return to NBC-TV for a weekday morning program about women's interests, she listed her subject matter as "men - and well men - and, uh, men." Miss Shore said she appreciated the women's movement drive for equal pay, but added: "It's a man's world and you must give something to get something." Her marriage to Montgomery in 1943 ended in divorce in 1962. A second marriage to Maurice F. Smith in 1963 lasted a year. Miss Shore never remarried, but her relationship with the younger Reynolds provided fodder for the tabloids and gossip columnists in the 1970s. She was "one of the most talented, charming and gracious women of this century," Bob Hope said. "She was the most alive person I ever met, absolutely interested in everything in the world and everybody in the world. And she was always sincere," said Carl Reiner, who worked with Miss Shore on her television program in 1960. While still in college, Miss Shore had her own 15-minute radio show on Nashville's WSM. In 1938, with her diploma in hand, she headed for New York and became Dinah Shore. She took a job at New York's WNEW and performed with another young singer - Sinatra. She signed a contract with RCA Victor in 1940. A year later, she joined Eddie Cantor's radio program. By 1943, Miss Shore was starring in her own radio show, sponsored by General Foods. Her singing was distinctively sentimental. Her breakthrough hit was "Yes, My Darling Daughter," followed by "Blues in the Night," "Shoo Fly Pie," "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly" and "The Anniversary Song" in 1947. She starred in "The Dinah Shore Show" beginning in 1951, with Chevrolet as a prime sponsor, and the show evolved through the early 1960s into a musical-variety program. From 1970 to 1974, it was "Dinah's Place. From 1974 to 1979, she was in "Dinah 3/8" A daytime talk show, "Dinah and Friends," ran from 1979 through 1984. Her last television show, "A Conversation With Dinah" on cable's Nashville Network, ran from August 1989 to March 1991. "I don't know how to be afraid of that old red eye," she said recently of the camera's "on" light. "It's one person to me. I don't visualize large numbers of people out there. I'm comfortable with it." She acted in "Thank Your Lucky Stars," "Up in Arms," "Belle of the Yukon," "Follow the Boys," "Make Mine Music," "Fun and Fancy Free" and "Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick." Aside from guest appearances on talk shows, Miss Shore had kept a relatively low profile over the last two years. She continued to indulge her passion for golf, playing frequently with friends. Miss Shore once said that people identified her most with the slogan from her variety show: "See the USA in Your Chevrolet." She would sing the jingle with gusto on every show, her right arm punching the air. She was hesitant about analyzing her place in TV history. "I'm not sure I'll have one," she said in a 1989 interview. "Time and the people will judge that. I guess it will be pleasant and I hope it will be exciting. It won't be terribly controversial." Survivors include her children, Melissa Ann Hime and John David Montgomery, and three grandchildren.