Gary Collins (1938–2012): American actor and television host

Career and notable roles

Collins began appearing on television in the 1960s and moved fluidly between supporting film parts and recurring TV work. On the big screen and in television movies he was cast in a mix of dramas, thrillers and family pictures. Among the motion pictures and TV films that featured him were titles spanning several genres; he also accepted character and guest roles on many series.

• Selected film and television films: The Sixth Sense (1972 TV movie), Angel in My Pocket, The Wackiest Ship in the Army, Born Free, and the science‑fiction picture Hangar 18.
• Daytime television: Collins is widely remembered for hosting a home improvement and lifestyle series in daytime television and for anchoring specials and award broadcasts that reached a broad audience.

Television guest appearances

Throughout his career Collins was a prolific guest star on many popular American series. He made single‑episode or multi‑episode appearances across a range of genres—westerns, crime dramas, action and comedy—which helped keep him visible to different audiences.

• Perry Mason and anthology and western programs of the 1960s.
• Hawaii Five‑O, Charlie’s Angels and Friends.
• Action and procedural favorites such as JAG and The Six Million Dollar Man.

Hosting, awards and public profile

Collins also developed a parallel career as a television host. He was the regular emcee for several televised events and became the familiar voice and face of a daytime magazine‑style program that combined practical segments with human‑interest pieces. He served as the host for the Miss America broadcasts for much of the 1980s. His work in daytime television earned him industry recognition, including a television award in the early 1980s for his hosting.

Specifically, Collins received a major Emmy recognition for his hosting work; contemporaneous accounts and records refer to that honor as a Daytime Emmy Award (award citation).

Personal life and legacy

Born in Venice, California, Collins was raised in Biloxi, Mississippi, a place he returned to in later life and where he died. He attended Santa Monica City College before pursuing acting professionally. In his personal life he was first married in the mid‑1960s and, in 1967, married actress and former Miss America Mary Ann Mobley; they remained married until his death in 2012. For more on his ties to his hometown see Biloxi and for information about his wife, Mary Ann Mobley.

Collins died in October 2012 at age 74. His career is remembered for its breadth—stage and screen acting combined with a successful second career as a personable television host—and for the steady professionalism he brought to a wide variety of entertainment formats.