Bert Parks Crowns You Miss America
Atlantic City, New Jersey
In the tea garden of an Atlantic City hotel, anyone can be crowned Miss America by the pageant's longtime master of ceremonies, Bert Parks.
He was an integral part of the iconography of beauty pageants, the guy in tuxedo and tie singing "There she is, Miss America!" TV and radio personality Bert Parks faithfully hosted the broadcast of the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City from 1955 to 1979. A bronze statue of the 6-ft. tall entertainer stands in the roundabout in front of the Sheraton Atlantic City Hotel, across from the Convention Center where Parks hosted 25 seasons of the glamorous event.
The 400-lb. bronze was sculpted by Arizona artist Snell Johnson (his signature is on the left shoulder) and its 1998 unveiling was attended by veteran beauty queens and city dignitaries. The life-size likeness, approved by Parks' family, depicts Parks holding out a jeweled crown. Visitors step into the empty spot, head positioned between Bert's hands, and sensor stigmata in the palms trigger an audiotape to play "There She Is."
Break the beam and live your dream!
After a repair in 2013, the statue underwent a digital audio upgrade, and continues to offer the song as part of the photo op experience.
Parks was let go from the pageant in 1980 by owners seeking a more youthful demographic. He returned to the Miss America stage in 1990 to sing "There She Is" one last time. He died in 1992.