Miss America's Big Birthday
Teresa Scanlan and Emoly West
Here she is, Miss America! The grandmother of all reality shows marks its 90th anniversary with the best present of all: a return to network television after spending the last five years on cable (twice on CMT and three times on TLC).
"It's great to be back where we belong," says Sam Haskell III, chairman of the board of the Miss America Organization, who helped orchestrate a three-year deal with ABC. "We've all worked hard to make this happen," he continues.
Haskell has focused on modernizing the pageant, beginning with a 2006 move from its Atlantic City birthplace to the glitzy Las Vegas strip. Of course, it's not every day you turn 90, so there will be an element of nostalgia when nearly 50 former winners are brought together on stage. And when the newly crowned Miss America takes her walk down the runway, a recording of the late, great Bert Parks, the longtime host of the event, will serenade her.
Miss America Pageant airs Saturday at 9/8c on ABC.
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