Phyllis Ann George, the 50th winner of the iconic Miss America pageant, pioneering sportscaster, and former First Lady of Kentucky, died Friday, May 14, following a long struggle with a blood disorder.
George was born June 25, 1949 in Denton, Texas. She attended the University of North Texas for three years until being crowned Miss Texas in 1970. At that time, Texas Christian University awarded scholarships to Miss Texas honorees, and as a result, she left UNT to enroll at TCU, where she studied classical piano until she won the Miss America crown in the fall of 1971.
Her 1974 role as Allen Funt’s co-emcee of the Candid Camera show launched her career in television. That same year, CBS recruited her to join Irv Cross, Brent Musburger and Jimmy the Greek on the NFL Today’s pre game show, where she co-hosted live pregame shows before National Football League games.
George was briefly married to Hollywood producer Robert Evans, whom she divorced in 1978. In 1979, she married businessman John Y. Brown, who owned Kentucky Fried chicken and later the Boston Celtics basketball team. George served as First Lady of Kentucky when Brown became the state’s governor. During her marriage to Brown, she had two children, entrepreneur Lincoln Tyler George Brown and CNN White House corespondent Pamela Ashley Brown.
An avid collector of folk and traditional art, First Lady George founded The Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. George championed Kentucky craftspeople and artisans, and introduced them to the nation, first with a series of shows on QVC, then in three books.
In 1980, retail emporium Bloomingdale’s opened a very successful in-store boutique offering Kentucky’s crafts. Department stores Marshall Fields and Neiman Marcus soon followed. During her time as Kentucky’s First Lady, George took on the daunting task of renovating the crumbling Governor’s Mansion, using only Kentucky craftsmen for the work. The mansion is now heralded as a Kentucky landmark.
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