Bert Parks on AllMovie

Former emcee and television game show host Bert Parks was an American icon during the 25 years he hosted the Miss America Pageant and is best remembered for his affability, ever-present smile, and for singing "There She Is, Miss America," at the end of every pageant. Parks got his start at age 19 when he began working on the New York-based "Eddie Cantor Show" on radio as a singer and straight man. From there, he became an announcer for CBS Radio and during the late '40s became the host of such radio quiz shows as "Break the Bank." When television became generally available, Parks took to hosting game shows during the day and night as well as hosting variety shows. He began his long stint with the annual beauty pageant in 1955 and continued in that position through 1980 when he was replaced by younger host Ron Ely. Audiences didn't much like the change and thanks to a letter writing campaign sponsored by Johnny Carson, Parks returned to Miss America in 1990 to sing his famous song. Audiences were pleased, but the producers weren't and he never returned to the pageant. In addition to emcee work, Parks has occasionally appeared as an actor on-stage and in 1975 appeared in the film That's the Way of the World. In 1990, he played himself in The Freshman.