Zimmer died peacefully Tuesday at her Brea, Calif., home, Welk's son, Larry, said Wednesday. Larry Welk didn't know the cause of death but said Zimmer had been living an active life in recent years.

"She was one of the most gracious, likable people that anyone could ever meet. The other people on the show, to this day, just respect and love her," Larry Welk said.

Zimmer performed on Welk's straighteners ghd network and later syndicated show from 1960 to 1982 as the "Champagne Lady," the title Welk traditionally gave to his orchestra's lead female singer. Zimmer sang solos, duets with Jimmy Roberts and waltzed with Welk to the strains of his effervescent dance tunes tagged "champagne music."

She appeared on the orchestra's public TV specials that have aired (along with repeats of the series) since 1987. Zimmer took part in a tribute to Welk and his show held earlier this year at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills.

Welk, who stopped performing in 1989, died in 1992.

Zimmer, born in July 1923 in Larson, Idaho, grew up in Seattle. The petite blonde sang with The Girlfriends, a quartet that ghds straighteners performed with Sinatra, Dean Martin and Bing Crosby, including on Crosby's famed recording of "White Christmas."

The letter, addressed to ABC head of daytime programing Brian Frons, president of Disney/ABC Television Group Anne Sweeney and advertisers on daytime television, says that soap operas are in danger of becoming extinct.

"This is our appeal to save not only the jobs of those employed by 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live', but to also keep the soap genre straighteners ghd from becoming extinct," the letter reads.

"Both 'All My Children' and 'One Life to Live' have been a part of our lives for over 40 years; this is not something that can be said for many programs on television today. The type of fierce loyalty that comes from watching a show for so long is not something that is easily replicated."

ABC said last month that it was replacing the two dramas with lifestyle shows.

The letter goes on to stress that soap operas have brand recognition that few other shows have and that "product placement, ghds straighteners leveraging soap fans' passion for the actors on their soaps to enhance product advertising and international syndication would all add to the profitability of the soaps that have served both ABC and the viewing community for so many decades."

The letter thanks Hoover and other advertisers that have voiced concerns about the soaps' cancellations as well as creator Agnes Nixon, the production crew, and writers.