Gary Collins Dead; TV Legend & Miss America Host Was 74

Legendary TV star Gary Collins passed away at age 74. He died of natural causes in Biloxi, Mississippi.

He had a long television resume, seemingly appearing in every television show of the 1960s and many of the 1970s. But he is most famous as the host of the talk show Hour Magazine, which ran from 1980 to 1988, and for hosting the Miss America Pageant from 1985 to 1989.

In recent years Collins had gotten into some trouble with the law. He got a number of DUIs including one in January 2009 where he blew a .29. In 2010, he was part of a hit and run. And in 2011 he failed to pay his bill at a restaurant and was charged with defrauding an innkeeper.

He separated from his long time wife, former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley, last year. They had married in 1967. He had three children, one from his marriage to Mary Ann Mobley and two from a previous marriage.