Dean, Golds and Dings Applaud Jayne Kennedy "Doing It Her Own Way on The NFL Today"

The caption on this 1978 AP Wire Service Photo contends that Jayne Kennedy, who at the time had recently succeeded former Miss America Phyllis George as co-host of CBS-TV’s NFL Today series, could walk unnoticed along NYC’s busy Fifth Avenue. Jayne’s unmistakable presence, as well as her career both before and since, would seem to argue otherwise.

In November 1978, an Associated Press wire service photo went out to newspapers, magazines, and radio and television stations across the U.S., accompanied by a caption that read, in part: “JAYNE KENNEDY, who replaces Phyllis George on CBS’ “The NFL Today,” walks unnoticed on New York’s Fifth Avenue…”

We’ve included that photo here because, without taking anything away from Phyllis George, who was once Miss America and later became First Lady of Kentucky, it’s hard to imagine that someone as glamorous and striking as Jayne Harrison Kennedy Overton would ever go anywhere “unnoticed,” or for that matter, achieve all that she has merely by following in someone else’s footsteps.

A beauty pageant contestant herself while still in high school, Jayne certainly drew enough notice from a panel of Miss USA judges to be crowned Miss Ohio, before going on to be chosen as one of the 15 semi-finalists vying nationwide for the Miss USA title. Not long after that, the organization that annually assembles a list of some of the entertainment industry’s most promising new starlets took notice of Jayne, naming her one of the Hollywood Deb Stars of 1972. And when that particular group of young women joined Bob Hope that same year for his traditional USO around-the-world Christmas Tour, the folks staging those shows surely noticed something sufficiently special about Jayne to put her front-and-center when the gals performed for audiences of grateful American troops.

It may well have been while watching the 1972 Bob Hope Christmas Special that Jayne was noticed by the people behind another long-running NBC staple, who recruited her to become one of The Dingaling Sisters — and the first African-American female cast member — on the TV series where most of us not only first noticed Jayne, but came to love her: The Dean Martin Show.

And that was really just the start of big things for Ms. Kennedy. Soon, she was being noticed and cast in motion pictures and as a guest star on prime-time network programs, leading to her eventually being selected as one of the co-hosts of the aforementioned NFL Today franchise on CBS. In fact, she’s done so much and scored so many breakthroughs during the course of her career that there isn’t space enough here to cover it all. Fortunately, though, Jayne. along with one of her three daughters, Savannah Overton, has just launched both a brand new Facebook page and website (details below), where it’s possible not only to read and see much more about what each of them has done, but also to keep up with where they’re headed. Taking it all in, we suspect that people will still be noticing Jayne Kennedy for a very long time yet to come.

Looking at the calendar, we’ve noticed that today is Jayne’s birthday, so we hope that all of her friends and fans will join us here in wishing her a very Happy, Healthy Birthday, and Many, Many More.

Jayne Kennedy’s Official Facebook fan page:https://www.facebook.com/Jayne-Kennedy-Overton-167053603644…