Gary Collins

Gary Ennis Collins (April 30, 1938 – October 13, 2012) was an American actor and television host. He won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1984 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.

Early life and education Collins was born on April 30, 1938, in Los Angeles, and raised in the Venice neighborhood by a single mother, who was a waitress and factory worker. Collins attended Venice High School and graduated with the class of 1955. After attending Santa Monica Community College, he went into the United States Army.

Early career Collins enlisted in the Army and served in Europe, where he was a radio and television performer for the Armed Forces Network. After his return, he performed at the Barter Theatre, a year-round repertory theatre in Abingdon, Virginia, whose director Robert Porterfield provided chances for many aspiring actors.

Film and television Collins made a career in television, co-starring, with Jack Warden and Mark Slade, in the 1965 series The Wackiest Ship in the Army. He co-starred, with Dale Robertson and Robert Random, in the 1966–1968 series Iron Horse. He starred in the 1972 television series The Sixth Sense, in syndication part of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, as the parapsychologist and extrasensory perception-gifted Dr. Michael Rhodes. In 1974, he starred in the series Born Free, based on the life of George Adamson, a wildlife conservationist best known for his work with lions. Collins appeared in two episodes of Perry Mason: in 1965, he played assistant district attorney and defendant Larry Germaine in the 1965 episode, "The Case of the Fatal Fetish", and in 1966, he played murderer Alex Tanner in "The Case of the Crafty Kidnapper".

Collins guest-starred in dozens of television shows beginning in the 1960s, including The Virginian, The F.B.I., Hawaii Five-O, The Six Million Dollar Man, ALF, Alice, The Love Boat, The Bionic Woman, Charlie's Angels, Roots, Gimme a Break!, Friends, Vega$, Yes, Dear, JAG, and Dirty Sexy Money. Collins also appeared in an episode of Barnaby Jones titled "Deadly Reunion" (02/12/1976). He appeared in the episode "You're Not Alone" from the 1977 anthology series Quinn Martin's Tales of the Unexpected (known in the United Kingdom as Twist in the Tale). He also starred in three episodes of the British TV series Thriller; 'Only A Scream Away' (1973), 'The Double Kill' (1975) and 'Dial a Deadly Number' (1976). He is the only actor to have appeared in more than two episodes of Thriller during its three-year run.. Collins and his wife Mary Ann Mobley played Dr and Mrs. Diller on "The Love Boat" S2 E6 "Ship of Ghouls" (1978).

Collins also had many movie roles, including The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962), Angel in My Pocket (1969) also starring Andy Griffith, the original Airport (1970), Quarantined (1970), Houston, We've Got a Problem (1974), The Night They Took Miss Beautiful (1977), the horror thriller Killer Fish (1979), starring Lee Majors, Watchers Reborn (1998), and The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure (1998). He also played an American astronaut involved in a UFO coverup in the 1980 film Hangar 18.

Collins hosted the television talk show Hour Magazine from 1980 to 1988, and co-hosted the television series The Home Show from 1989 to 1994. He was the host of the Miss America Pageant from 1982 to 1990. He moved to her home state of Mississippi to be with her in 2012 while she battled breast cancer.

Collins died around 1:00 am on October 13, 2012, at Biloxi Regional Medical Center in Biloxi, Mississippi, of natural causes.

In November 2010, Collins was charged with a misdemeanor for leaving the scene of an accident in Jackson, Mississippi, and fined $500. On January 5, 2011, Collins was charged with defrauding an innkeeper, a felony, in Harrison County, Mississippi, for allegedly failing to pay his bill at Jazzeppi's Restaurant, according to a statement released by the Biloxi Police Department. Collins said the restaurant was taking too long to deliver his dinner, so he left and refused to pay the bill. The restaurant owner later said the arrest was due to a misunderstanding, and the charges against Collins were dropped.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 1962 The Pigeon That Took Rome Major Wolff 1962 King Kong vs. Godzilla Submariner Uncredited 1962 The Longest Day Officer On Bridge Uncredited 1965 Stranded Bob 1968 Ironside Captain Larkin Return of the Hero 1969 Angel in My Pocket Art Shields 1970 Quarantined Dr. Larry Freeman TV movie 1970 Airport Cy Jordan 1972 Getting Away from It All Mark Selby TV movie 1974 Houston, We've Got a Problem Tim Cordell TV movie 1977 Roots Grill TV miniseries (Part III) 1977 The Night They Took Miss Beautiful Paul Fabiani TV movie 1978 The Young Runaways Lt. Ray Phillips TV movie 1978 Fantasy Island Bill Jordan 1979 Killer Fish Tom 1979 The Kid From Left Field Pete Sloane TV movie 1980 The Secret of Lost Valley Ned Harkness TV movie 1980 Hangar 18 Steve Bancroft 1981 Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls Kevin Gilmore TV miniseries 1986 Gimme a Break! Himself 1992 Secrets Zack Taylor TV movie 1994 Bandit Bandit Governor Denton TV movie1998FriendsHimselfSeason 5, Episode 4 1998 Watchers Reborn Gus Brody 1998 The Jungle Book: Search for the Lost Treasure Professor Warren Miller 2000 Beautiful Miss American Miss Host