Bert Parks (born Bertram Jacobson; December 30, 1914 â€" February 2,
1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television
announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast
from 1955 to 1979.Parks was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Aaron
Jacobson, a Jewish merchant who had immigrated to the United States in
1900 from Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire), and his wife
Hattie (Spiegel) Jacobson, the daughter of immigrants from
Austria-Hungary. He had one older brother, Allen Jacobson.Parks' had
his first experience in amateur theatre when he was four years old. He
graduated from Marist College, a Catholic preparatory school in
Atlanta.Parks entered radio broadcasting at age 16, for Atlanta's
WGST. Three years later, he moved to New York City and was hired as a
singer and straight man on The Eddie Cantor Show, then becoming a CBS
Radio staff announcer. Parks was the host of Break the Bank, which
premiered on radio in 1945 and was telecast from 1948 to 1957, as well
as Stop the Music on radio in 1948 and television from 1949 to 1952.
The success of Stop the Music took a toll on the ratings of the
popular radio show hosted by satirist Fred Allen, who began spoofing
Parks's program with skits mocking the premise of the show, one called
Cease The Melody.
1992) was an American actor, singer, and radio and television
announcer, best known for hosting the annual Miss America telecast
from 1955 to 1979.Parks was born in Atlanta, Georgia, to Aaron
Jacobson, a Jewish merchant who had immigrated to the United States in
1900 from Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire), and his wife
Hattie (Spiegel) Jacobson, the daughter of immigrants from
Austria-Hungary. He had one older brother, Allen Jacobson.Parks' had
his first experience in amateur theatre when he was four years old. He
graduated from Marist College, a Catholic preparatory school in
Atlanta.Parks entered radio broadcasting at age 16, for Atlanta's
WGST. Three years later, he moved to New York City and was hired as a
singer and straight man on The Eddie Cantor Show, then becoming a CBS
Radio staff announcer. Parks was the host of Break the Bank, which
premiered on radio in 1945 and was telecast from 1948 to 1957, as well
as Stop the Music on radio in 1948 and television from 1949 to 1952.
The success of Stop the Music took a toll on the ratings of the
popular radio show hosted by satirist Fred Allen, who began spoofing
Parks's program with skits mocking the premise of the show, one called
Cease The Melody.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.