By Nicole Hamilton
Enquirer staff writer

EAST WALNUT HILLS - As a child growing up in a show-business family, Mary Ann Reininger lived a life that would serve as inspiration for her eight children.

Mrs. Reininger was born in Montreal, where her father, Larry Vincent, worked as an entertainer and songwriter during Prohibition, when nightclub work in America was limited.

She traveled with her father when he performed on the East and West coasts. Her father was a one-time piano player for the Marx Brothers who wrote ballads, including "If I Had My Life to Live Over."

In 1948, the family moved to Cincinnati, where her father continued his career working with local celebrities as well as Frank Sinatra, Milton Berle, Dean Martin and others who performed at the Beverly Hills Supper Club in Newport.

Mrs. Reininger died of cancer Friday at Hospice of Cincinnati in Blue Ash. The longtime East Walnut Hills resident was 71.

"One of my first memories was being at a television studio," said her son, Gus Reininger of Pacific Palisades, Calif., a Los Angeles screenwriter whose credits include Miami Vice and Crime Story. "As you can tell, I got a lot of my inspiration (from her)."

"She was generous to a fault, always gracious and hospitable," he added.

After she graduated from Villa Madonna Academy in Villa Hills, Mrs. Reininger continued her education at Villa Madonna College.

The wife of the late Gustave Reininger, who was the founder and chief executive officer of American Sign and Advertising Services, she spent most of her time as a full-time mother, raising eight children in the family's East Walnut Hills home.

In 1985, she left Cincinnati to spend two years in London, studying interior design at the renowned Inchbald School of Design.

When she returned, she worked as an interior decorator.

In recent years, Mrs. Reininger spent winters at her residence in Miami's Fisher Island resort.

Besides her son, Gus, survivors include three other sons, David of East Walnut Hills, Jeffrey of Fort Lauderdale, and Peter of Covington; three daughters, Lisa Reininger of downtown, Donna Reininger and Leslie Anne Elkus, both of Pacific Palisades, Calif., and Shawna Reininger of Boulder, Colo.

Visitation will be 6-8 p.m. Tuesday at George H. Rohde & Son Funeral Home, Linwood and Delta avenues, Mount Lookout.

Mass of Christian burial is set for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Immaculata Holy Cross Church, 30 Guido St., Mount Adams. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Fort Mitchell.

Memorials may be made to the March of Dimes, attn: DRFR1275 Mamaroneck Avenue, White Plains, N.Y., 10605.

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E-mail nhamilton@enquirer.com