Parks Buries ‘Miss America’ Hatchet

Bert Parks said today that despite “residual resentment over the years,” he reluctantly agreed to appear in the Miss America Pageant’s 70th anniversary show this year.

Parks was fired in January, 1980, after having been host of the Miss America Pageant for 25 years. Then-pageant Director Albert Marks Jr., who died last year, said Parks was too old at age 65 to continue.

Parks, now 75, will sing “There She Is,” the theme song he made famous, to a parade of former Miss Americas.

But the new Miss America still will be serenaded by Gary Collins, who will remain the pageant co-host with Phyllis George.

Asked whether he was happy with the arrangement, Parks replied, “I’m not crazy about that, no.”

The decision to have Collins sing was made for contractual reasons. “But we’ll see about that,” Parks said impishly.

Parks appeared at a news conference with Dorothy Benham, Miss America 1977, and Leonard Horn, chief executive officer at the Miss America Organization.

They symbolically buried a hatchet in a cake that read, “Welcome back, Bert. Miss America Pageant 1990.”

Horn said Parks would have other roles, as yet undisclosed, in the show. He said Parks and show officials had not discussed whether he would be back for more than one year.