Is Kraft Nabisco aware of Dinah Shore's "other" event?

This was a well written article. Once again, Stacy covers all aspects of the story and keeps it interesting...!

The author of this article is wrong when she states that Nabisco dropped Dinah Shore after they picked up sponsorship. Nabisco took over for Colgate in 1983 but Dinah stayed with the tournament until her death in 1994 and her name wasn't dropped until 1998. It's sloppy and sensationalistic to imply Nabisco dropped Dinah Shore for her "rumored" lesbianism when this clearly wasn't the case. To state that Dinah Shore "insisted she wasn't a lesbian" to Nabisco brass to hold on to their sponsorship is just plain sordid and an insult to both Miss Shore and the lesbian community.

Dinah Shore certainly didn't need me to add any sensationalism to her life.

Why was her name removed from the tournament? The LPGA obviously had no problem with Shore as they have established a scholarship in her name. Kraft Nabisco, on the other hand, must have thought differently as the only vestiges of her name remain on the trophy and the name of the golf course which Kraft Nabisco could not change.

By the way, this article was not written to insult the lesbian community. I think it's great that Shore's appeal has grown steadily by placing her name on a tournament that was failing horribly.

Being that you are such a huge fan of Shore's, you must have read, "Dinah! Three Decades of Sex, Golf and Rock and Roll". If not, you should.

I appreciate your comments and respectfully invite you back to voice your opinions again!

In 1987, Why did AT&T take Bing Crosby's name off the Pebble Beach Pro-AM after 50 years? Because he was an old-fashioned, long-dead icon of a bygone era, just like Dinah Shore. You answer the question yourself at the end of the article. Either people don't know who these celebrities were or they don't care. They are literally, sadly, dead weight.

What I have a problem with is the way the piece is worded. It still sounds like Dinah Shore had something to do with her name being removed from the tournament because it had a lesbian assocation to Kraft-Nabisco, and that Dinah Shore willingly went along with the change. She died in 1994. Nabisco dropped Dinah's name from the tournament in 1998, probably deciding that more people knew the name of their crackers than the name of their grandparents favorite female singer.

Thank you for the gentle re-wording of the Dinah Shore paragraph. Much appreciated. But, as originally worded, your writing painted an almost lurid scene of a condemned Dinah Shore begging to hold onto her beloved namesake tournament. I'd love to know what Nabisco Underling had the job of asking this 70 year-old show-biz legend and icon, after a much celebrated career and public life spanning 50 years, if she was or wasn't a lesbian. I just can't believe it happened.

As you point out, Dinah Shore was a huge asset to the LPGA, and out of respect for her contributions, they were probably eager to keep that positive association. Kraft-Nabisco International, being a huge corporation, didn't really care all that much, I'd guess.

Who knows? Maybe it was something as benign as a fifteen year contract lapsing and Nabisco deciding to go in a new direction in 1998. Then again, maybe there were some tight-pantied closeted marketing clowns who were ruffled by the lesbian connection and didn't want any association. As far as I know, Dinah Shore never publicly commented on the lesbian party circuit named in her honor. Why not? I don't know. If you know I'd love to hear more about it.

Of course, being the Dinah-dork I am, I have a copy of "Dinah! Three Decades of Sex, Golf and Rock and Roll." And, of course, as you may have guessed, I've only read the chapter specifically about her. I'll give the entire volume a closer perusal soon.

Despite the somewhat strident tone of my original post, I didn't take your piece as an attack on the lesbian community at all. I apologize. I'm glad anyone's writing about Dinah Shore at all! But saying Nabisco dropped Dinah's name even after she insisted she wasn't a lesbian makes her sound like a wimp. Genteel and soft-spoken she certainly was to great personal advantage, but Dinah Shore wasn't a wimp.

Nice article, Stacy. Sounds like a fun party. Kind of a lesbian spring break type of thing. I wonder if the Girls Gone Wild people will be there. Snoop golfs, I saw the commercial!

The party should be great...that's why thousands of women head out that way every year although I understand that both men and women enjoy the weekend. ;-)

Lots of the party-goers don't even realize that a major golf tournament is being held just down the road!

I.Am.So.There.


Hugs,

El Cheapo

I wish the LPGA would acknowledge there is a huge party there.. the NFL acknowledges the Super Bowl parties when they happen in towns the game is being hosted in... Here's another funny story:

http://www.outsports.com/women/20060330dinah.htm

I don't think the LPGA wishes to draw attention to this party. As long as there is acknowledgement by some of us, that's the best we can do.

Too bad the party wasn't in New York or I would have definitely been there...I hear it was the party of the year!