Pat Gray
Patricia Ann Gray York (born March 25, 1940 in Siluria; died December 7, 2020 in Birmingham) was a popular host on WBRC 6 from 1959 to 1979.
Patricia was the youngest of three daughters born to Algie and Onilla Albritton Gray. She was a head majorette at Thompson High School and graduated from Ramsay High School after the family moved to Birmingham.
Gray was a runner-up in the Miss Alabama pageant and won a scholarship to a finishing school. She married Thomas York and had a daughter, Vicki Jo.
While working as a secretary at The Club in 1959 she entered a "Gal Friday" contest for an appearance on The Tom York Morning Show on WBRC, hosted by Tom York, who was no relation to her husband. She was immediately signed on to join the regular on-air staff. A popular segment on the program invited audience members to get up and exercise with the hosts to the "Chicken Fat" song, for which York doffed his sportcoat, and she changed into a black leotard. She also served as the station's morning weather girl.
Gray went on to host several other programs on WBRC, including Young People's World and The Late Show. She interviewed visiting celebrities including Joan Crawford, Vincent Price, and Clint Eastwood, along with local figures such as Shug Jordan and Bear Bryant. She also hosted the station's annual Cerebral Palsy Telethon and worked as a fashion model and as spokesperson for Pepsi-Cola.
Gray and her husband moved to Panama City Beach, Florida in 1979. Using the name Pat York she worked for two years at WMBB there before resigning in 1981 to help operate Tom's Hot Dogs with her husband. They sold the business in the 1990s and returned to Birmingham to be closer to family. He died in 2006.
Gray was inducted into the Alabama Broadcasters Association's Hall of Fame in 2015. Gray died in December 2020. She was survived by her daughter, three grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren. She is buried at Elmwood Cemetery.
References
- Hall, Janet (December 8, 2020) "Pat Gray, WBRC FOX6 News pioneer, has died." WBRC.com