Phyllis Ann George (June 25, 1949 – May 14, 2020) was an American businesswoman, actress, and
sportscaster. In 1975, George was hired as a reporter and co-host of the
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
pre-show ''
The NFL Today
''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest new ...
'', becoming one of the first women to hold an on-air position in national televised
sports broadcasting
The broadcasting of sports events (also known as a sportscast) is the live coverage of sports as a television program, on radio, and other broadcasting media. It usually involves one or more sports commentators describing events as they happen. ...
. She also served as the
First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
of
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
from 1979 to 1983.
She won
Miss Texas
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America (but none since 1975).
To become Miss Texas ...
in 1970 and was crowned
Miss America 1971
Miss America 1971, the 44th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1970. The Women's liberation movement, Women's Liberation Front demonstrated at the event and Miss Iowa 1970, Cheryl ...
.
Early life
George was born to Diantha Louise George (née Cogdell) (1919-2003) and James Robert George (1918-1996) in Denton, Texas.
She attended North Texas State University (now
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School," ...
) for three years until she was crowned Miss Texas in 1970.
At that time, Texas Christian University awarded scholarships to Miss Texas honorees. As a result, George left North Texas and enrolled at TCU until winning the Miss America crown later that fall. She was a member of the
Zeta Tau Alpha
Zeta Tau Alpha (known as or Zeta) is an international Fraternities and sororities in North America, women's fraternity founded on October 15, 1898 at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Its Internatio ...
sorority.
Pageantry
George first competed for Miss Texas as Miss Denton in 1969 finishing fourth. The next year she competed as Miss Dallas and was named
Miss Texas
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America (but none since 1975).
To become Miss Texas ...
1970, then was crowned
Miss America 1971
Miss America 1971, the 44th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1970. The Women's liberation movement, Women's Liberation Front demonstrated at the event and Miss Iowa 1970, Cheryl ...
on September 12, 1970. The
Women's Liberation Front
The Women's Liberation Front (WoLF) is an American self-described radical feminist organization that opposes transgender rights and gender identity legislation. It has engaged in litigation on transgender topics, working against the Obama administ ...
demonstrated at the event.
In August 1971, George traveled to Vietnam with
Miss Iowa
The Miss Iowa competition is the official preliminary for the state of Iowa in the Miss America Scholarship Competition.
Bailey Hodson of Des Moines was crowned Miss Iowa 2022 on June 11, 2022 at Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa. She compete ...
Cheryl Browne;
Miss Nevada
The Miss Nevada competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Nevada in the Miss America competition, and the name of the title held by that winner. The first Nevadan to compete at Miss America was Carol Lampe in 19 ...
1970 Vicky Jo Todd;
Miss New Jersey
The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.
Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to hold the title of Miss America: Bette Cooper who won in ...
1970
Hela Yungst
Hela Yungst Hochman (January 15, 1950 - February 24, 2002), also known as Hela Young, was an American television entertainer and beauty pageant winner. She was a promoter of Holocaust awareness and a former president of the New Jersey Commission ...
;
Miss Arizona
The Miss Arizona competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arizona in the Miss America pageant. Arizona has twice won the Miss America title. The first Miss Arizona, Anna Marie Barnett, was crowned in 1938.
...
1970 Karen Shields;
Miss Arkansas
The Miss Arkansas competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Arkansas in the Miss America pageant. Arkansas has won the Miss America title three times (1964, 1982, 2017).
Ebony Mitchell of Harrison was crowned Mi ...
1970 Donna Connelly; and George's replacement after she was crowned Miss America
Miss Texas
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America (but none since 1975).
To become Miss Texas ...
1970 Belinda Myrick.
They participated in a 22-day
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...
tour for American troops there.
During her year-long stint as Miss America, George appeared on numerous talk shows, including three interviews on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' was an American late-night talk show hosted by Johnny Carson on NBC, the third iteration of the ''Tonight Show'' franchise. The show debuted on October 1, 1962, and aired its final episode on May 22, ...
''.
Career
George's television career began as a host on the comedy show ''Candid Camera
''Candid Camera'' is a popular and long-running American hidden camera reality television series. Versions of the show appeared on television from 1948 until 2014. Originally created and produced by Allen Funt, it often featured practical jokes ...
''.
CBS Sports
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
producers approached George to become a sportscaster in 1974. The following year, she joined the cast of ''The NFL Today
''The NFL Today'' is an American football television program on CBS that serves as the pre-game show for the network's National Football League (NFL) game telecasts under the ''NFL on CBS'' brand. The program features commentary on the latest new ...
'', co-hosting live pregame shows before National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
games. She was one of the first women to have a nationally prominent role in television sports coverage. As a former beauty queen with a limited television background, she was criticized for not possessing the traditional qualifications for a sportscaster. After three seasons on ''The NFL Today'', she was replaced by another beauty queen, Jayne Kennedy
Jayne Kennedy Overton (née Harrison; born October 27, 1951) is an American television personality, actress, model, corporate spokeswoman, producer, writer, public speaker, philanthropist, and sports broadcaster.
Personal life
Jayne Kennedy g ...
. George returned to the show in 1980 and remained until 1984. She became known for her interviews with athletes. Hannah Storm
Hannah Lynn Storen Hicks (born June 13, 1962), known professionally as Hannah Storm, is an American television sports journalist, serving as the anchor of ESPN's ''SportsCenter'' Face to Face. She was also host of the ''NBA Countdown'' pregame s ...
, an anchor at ESPN's ''SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'', called George "a true trailblazer" for being an inspirational role model for women who wanted to pursue careers in sportscasting.
Another duty George had with CBS Sports was working on horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
events, including the Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held on Armed Forces Day which is also the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs () on ...
and the Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...
. Additionally, George had a brief stint on a television news version of ''People
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
'' magazine in 1978 and a job as a morning television talk show host as co-anchor of the ''CBS Morning News
The ''CBS Morning News'' is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlights. Since 2013, it has been an ...
'' in 1985. She also hosted her own prime-time talk show, 1994's ''A Phyllis George Special'', on which she interviewed then-President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
, and a 1998 talk show titled ''Women's Day'' on the cable network PAX
Pax or PAX may refer to:
Peace
* Peace (Latin: ''pax'')
** Pax (goddess), the Roman goddess of peace
** Pax, a truce term
* Pax (liturgy), a salutation in Catholic and Lutheran religious services
* Pax (liturgical object), an object formerly kiss ...
. George also appeared as a guest on ''The Muppet Show
''The Muppet Show'' is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a ser ...
'' in 1979.
''CBS Morning News''
In 1985, CBS settled on Phyllis George to serve as a permanent anchor for its morning news program. George was given a three-year contract following a two-week trial run. As co-anchor, she interviewed newsmakers including then–First Lady Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan.
Reagan was born in N ...
.
A low point of her eight-month stint on ''The CBS Morning News'' happened when George embarrassed herself during a May 1985 interview with Gary Dotson
Gary E. DotsonLitke, JamesGary Dotson trying to adjust to life outside prison May 9, 1986 Associated Press report. ''The Ledger of Lakeland'', Florida. Accessed October 23, 2009. (born August 3, 1957) is an American man who was the first person t ...
and Cathleen Webb. Dotson just had been freed after six years in prison on a rape charge by Webb. Webb ended up recanting her story so Dotson was set free. Both appeared on the CBS program as part of (as George later told Tom Shales of ''The Washington Post'') a Webb-Dotson press tour "charade." Both were on or had appeared on NBC News
NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...
and ABC News
ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
as well as other media outlets. As the segment began to wrap, George first suggested the two shake hands. After a brief hesitation from them and no hand shake, George then proposed they "hug it out." A brief moment of awkwardness followed but no hug. The invitation to embrace was deemed highly inappropriate prompting a few phone calls from irate CBS viewers. George also was criticized in the press.
According to news reports at the time, George had been brought in to boost the ratings of the perennial third place ranked program. CBS News staffers were mystified as to why someone with little to no journalism experience was picked over a more qualified candidate from the CBS News roster of reporters and anchors. George had been a talent for the sports division, but had not worked in news. However, this experiment failed to work out, and George was ousted just a few months later. Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver (born November 6, 1955)
is an American journalist, author, a member of the Kennedy family, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to ...
, then a CBS News employee, took her place as part of another revamp of the program.
Business interests
George founded two companies in the course of her business career, the first of which was "Chicken by George" chicken fillets. In 1988 after operating for only two years, George sold the company to Hormel
Hormel Foods Corporation is an American food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, ...
Foods, which agreed to operate it as a separate division. In 1991, George received the "Celebrity Women Business Owner of the Year" from the National Association of Women Business Owners.
In 2003, she created Phyllis George Beauty, which markets a line of cosmetics and skincare products through television shopping network HSN
HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flor ...
.
She also wrote or co-authored five books—three about crafts, one on dieting (her first book, ''The I Love America Diet'', published in 1982), and the final one published during her lifetime, ''Never Say Never'' (2002).
George was the founder of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft
KMAC Museum is an American art museum that "connects people to Art and Creative Practice". The museum is a 501c3 organization located in the West Main District of downtown Louisville, Kentucky
History
The museum was founded in 1981 as the Ke ...
, and was an avid folk and traditional arts collector. She was also a founding member of the Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
Center for Statesmanship.
George resurfaced in 2000 when she played a minor character in the hit movie ''Meet the Parents
''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse (Ben Stiller as Greg Focker) while v ...
''. It was one of her very few film roles.
Personal life
George was married twice. Her first marriage was to Hollywood producer Robert Evans
Robert Evans (born Robert J. Shapera; June 29, 1930October 26, 2019) was an American film producer, studio executive, and actor, best known for his work on '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), '' Love Story'' (1970), ''The Godfather'' (1972), and ''Chi ...
, and her second to Kentucky Fried Chicken
KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) is an American fast food restaurant chain headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, that specializes in fried chicken. It is the world's second-largest restaurant chain (as measured by sales) after McDonald's, with 2 ...
owner and governor of Kentucky John Y. Brown Jr.
John Young Brown Jr. (December 28, 1933 – November 22, 2022) was an American politician, entrepreneur, and businessman from Kentucky. He served as the 55th governor of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983, and built Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) into a ...
George served as Kentucky's First Lady
First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...
during Brown's term in office. During her marriage to Brown, she had two children, Lincoln Tyler George Brown and Pamela Ashley Brown. Both of George's marriages ended in divorce.
George died of complications from polycythemia vera
Polycythemia vera is an uncommon myeloproliferative neoplasm (a type of chronic leukemia) in which the bone marrow makes too many red blood cells. It may also result in the overproduction of white blood cells and platelets.
Most of the health ...
, a blood cancer, on May 14, 2020, aged 70, at the Albert B. Chandler Hospital
Opened in 1962, the Albert B. Chandler Hospital along Rose Street at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky is the flagship component of UK HealthCare. It is named for twice-former Governor of Kentucky A. B. "Happy" Chandler. The 945 ...
in Lexington, Kentucky.
References
External links
Profile of Phyllis George on the Miss America website
(accessed March 7, 2008)
One to One with Bill Goodman: Phyllis George
- interview with Phyllis George on Kentucky Educational Television network, June 8, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, Phyllis
1949 births
2020 deaths
American beauty pageant winners
American color commentators
American food industry businesspeople
American horse racing announcers
American television sports announcers
American women in business
Beauty pageant hosts
Deaths from cancer in Kentucky
Deaths from blood cancer
Figure skating commentators
First Ladies and Gentlemen of Kentucky
Miss America 1971 delegates
Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners
Miss America winners
National Football League announcers
People from Denton, Texas
People from Lexington, Kentucky
Sports Emmy Award winners
Tennis commentators
Texas Christian University alumni
University of North Texas alumni
Women sports announcers
Writers from Kentucky
Writers from Texas
Evans family (Paramount Pictures)
21st-century American women