Deaths elsewhere

July 20, 2008

B. DON MAGNESS, 75

Miss Texas pageant director

B. Don Magness, the colorful, cigar-chomping showman dubbed Mr. Miss Texas and credited with shaping the state's beauty pageant into the nation's largest, has died. As the former director of the Miss Texas pageant, Mr. Magness' ability to create beauty contest winners and run the organization that featured them was legendary. Over the decades, contestants he coached were crowned Miss Texas and often went on to wear Miss America tiaras, too.

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Deaths elsewhere

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