Dinah Shore

Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore, February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress and talk show host. She first became famous as a "girl singer" during the Big Band era, then went on to bec

Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore, February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress and talk show host. She first became famous as a "girl singer" during the Big Band era, then went on to become a movie star. She is best known as the host of a long-running series of popular TV variety programs.

Born to Solomon and Anna Stein Shore, Jewish immigrants from Russia, in Winchester, Tennessee, Dinah Shore was stricken with polio at 18 months, but recovered. She was left with a shortened leg, which she always covered with long pants or a long dress. Despite this disability, she sometimes successfully danced before audiences. She was a 1938 graduate in sociology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduation she moved to New York City, where she began singing. She recorded with bandleader Xavier Cugat and eventually changed her name to Dinah after the title of a favorite song.