Phyllis Ann George was an American businesswoman, actress, and sportscaster.
24 Facts About Phyllis George
2.
In 1975, George was hired as a reporter and co-host of the CBS Sports pre-show The NFL Today, becoming one of the first women to hold an on-air position in national televised sports broadcasting.
3.
Phyllis George served as the First Lady of Kentucky from 1979 to 1983.
4.
Phyllis George won Miss Texas in 1970 and was crowned Miss America 1971.
5.
Phyllis George attended North Texas State University for three years until she was crowned Miss Texas in 1970.
6.
Phyllis George was a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.
7.
Phyllis George first competed for Miss Texas as Miss Denton in 1969 finishing fourth.
8.
CBS Sports producers approached Phyllis George to become a sportscaster in 1974.
9.
Phyllis George was one of the first women to have a nationally prominent role in television sports coverage.
10.
Phyllis George returned to the show in 1980 and remained until 1984.
11.
Additionally, Phyllis George had a brief stint on a television news version of People magazine in 1978 and a job as a morning television talk show host as co-anchor of the CBS Morning News in 1985.
12.
Phyllis George hosted her own prime-time talk show, 1994's A Phyllis George Special, on which she interviewed then-President Bill Clinton, and a 1998 talk show titled Women's Day on the cable network PAX.
13.
Phyllis George appeared as a guest on The Muppet Show in 1979.
14.
In 1985, CBS settled on Phyllis George to serve as a permanent anchor for its morning news program.
15.
Phyllis George was given a three-year contract following a two-week trial run.
16.
Phyllis George had been a talent for the sports division, but had not worked in news.
17.
However, this experiment failed to work out, and Phyllis George was ousted just a few months later.
18.
Phyllis George founded two companies in the course of her business career, the first of which was "Chicken by Phyllis George" chicken fillets.
19.
In 1988 after operating for only two years, Phyllis George sold the company to Hormel Foods, which agreed to operate it as a separate division.
20.
In 1991, Phyllis George received the "Celebrity Women Business Owner of the Year" from the National Association of Women Business Owners.
21.
Phyllis George was the founder of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, and was an avid folk and traditional arts collector.
22.
Phyllis George was a founding member of the Henry Clay Center for Statesmanship.
23.
Phyllis George resurfaced in 2000 when she played a minor character in the hit movie Meet the Parents.
24.
Phyllis George served as Kentucky's First Lady during Brown's term in office.