Today is the 104th birthday of the singer, actor, talk show host and former owner of significant mid-century modern Palm Springs architecture: Dinah Shore. I remember watching her talk show with my grandmother. The world is a better place because she was in it and still feels the loss that she has left.
NAME: Dinah Shore
OCCUPATION: Singer, Television Personality
BIRTH DATE: March 1, 1917
DEATH DATE: February 24, 1994
EDUCATION: Vanderbilt University
PLACE OF BIRTH: Winchester, Tennessee
PLACE OF DEATH: Beverly Hills, California
REMAINS: Cremated, Hillside Memorial Park, Culver City, CA
BROADCASTING AND CABLE HALL OF FAME
EMMY 1955 Best Female Singer
EMMY 1956 Best Female Singer
EMMY 1957 Best Female Personality
EMMY 1958 for The Dinah Shore Show
EMMY 1959 for The Dinah Shore Show
EMMY 1973 for Dinah’s Place
DAYTIME EMMY 1974 for Dinah’s Place
DAYTIME EMMY 1976 for Dinah!
GOLDEN GLOBE 1956 for Disneyland (single episode)
WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME 1994
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6914 Hollywood Blvd.
Father: Solomon A. Shore
Mother: Anna Stein
Husband: George Montgomery (actor, m. 5-Dec-1943, div. 9-May-1963, one daughter, one son)
Daughter: Melissa Ann (“Melissa Montgomery-Hine”, b. 3-Jan-1948)
Son: John David (adopted, b. 3-Mar-1954)
Husband: Maurice F. Smith (m. 26-May-1963, div. 1964)
Boyfriend: Burt Reynolds (actor, long term relationship)
BEST KNOWN FOR: Dinah Shore was an award-winning television personality and singer known for her string of TV shows, including Dinah!, Dinah’s Place, and Dinah and Friends.
On March 1, 1917, Dinah Shore was born as Frances Rose Shore in Winchester, Tennessee. While a student at Vanderbilt University, Shore started performing her own short program on a Nashville radio station. After completing her degree in sociology, she moved to New York City in 1938, intending to pursue a career as a singer.
Shore soon landed a job singing on a New York radio station called WNEW. Recording success took a little longer, but in the early 1940s she began to release hits such as “Jim” and “Blues in the Night.” During World War II, Shore often performed for the troops, singing songs like “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” and “I’ll Walk Alone,” which reached No. 1.
Shore also began to appear in films in the 1940s. She worked with Gypsy Rose Lee in Belle of the Yukon (1944) and was seen in Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), a biographical musical about Jerome Kern. However, Shore did not take to film work and only appeared in seven movies.
In the late 1940s, Shore continued to enjoy success on the charts. Her hits from this period include such songs as “I Love You for Sentimental Reasons” and “Buttons and Bows.”
In 1951, Shore’s self-titled variety show made its debut; it was the start of what would turn out to be a long-running career on television. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show began in 1956. The program, which featured Shore singing “See the USA in your Chevrolet,” achieved even greater success and stayed on the air until 1963.
Shore’s television career evolved over the years, but her warm personality consistently charmed audiences. In the 1970s, she became a popular talk show host with a series of shows: Dinah’s Place (1970-74), Dinah! (1974-80) and Dinah and Friends (1979-1984).
Shore’s last talk show, A Conversation with Dinah, aired on the Nashville Network from 1989 to 1991. One of television’s most popular personalities, she won 10 Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award and a Golden Globe during her career.
Shore was passionate about golf and sponsored a women’s golf tournament in California—the Dinah Shore Classic—for many years. Her contributions to the sport earned her honorary membership in the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour Hall of Fame.
Shore’s first husband was actor George Montgomery. The two were married from 1943 to 1962. She later had a brief marriage to tennis player Maurice Fabian Smith. In the 1970s, Shore became known for her relationship with a much younger man—actor Burt Reynolds.
Shore died of cancer on February 24, 1994, at her home in Beverly Hills, California. She was 76 years old. Shore was survived by her two children from her first marriage, Melissa and John.
TELEVISION
The Dinah Shore Show Host (1951-56)
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show Host (1956-63)
Dinah’s Place Host (1970-74)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Christmas at Pee Wee’s Playhouse (1988) · Herself
HealtH (12-Sep-1980) · Herself
Death Car on the Freeway (25-Sep-1979)
Oh, God! (7-Oct-1977) · Herself
Aaron Slick from Punkin Crick (1-Apr-1952)
Fun and Fancy Free (27-Sep-1947) [VOICE]
Till the Clouds Roll By (5-Dec-1946) · Julie Sanderson
Make Mine Music (20-Apr-1946) · Herself [VOICE]
Belle of the Yukon (26-Dec-1944) · Lettie Candless
Follow the Boys (25-Apr-1944) · Herself
Up in Arms (17-Feb-1944) · Virginia
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1-Oct-1943) · Herself
Author of books:
Someone’s in the Kitchen With Dinah (1971, cookbook)
The Dinah Shore Cook Book (1983, cookbook)
The Dinah Shore American Kitchen: Homestyle Cooking With Flair (1990, cookbook)
