Raised in Lynchburg, Tennessee, Dance considered becoming a doctor, but changed his mind after happening upon a grisly motorcycle accident in the early 1960s.
A fishing lure manufacturer that sponsored him suggested he should start a TV show to promote the product.
The program originally began on WHBQ-TV, then the ABC affiliate in Memphis, in 1968.
[2] Dance's signature look includes sunglasses and a Tennessee Volunteers baseball cap.
He received his first cap from their coach, Doug Dickey, in the late 1960s.