Wikipedia
Miss USA 1955
Miss USA 1955 was the 4th Miss USA pageant, held at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California on July 20, 1955. The pageant was won by Carlene King Johnson of Vermont, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Miriam Stevenson of South Carolina. King Johnson went on to finish as a Top 15 semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1955. First runner-up Margaret Haywood later went to London for Miss World 1955, finishing first runner-up to Susana Duijm of Venezuela.
| Miss USA 1955 | |
|---|---|
Winner Carlene Johnson combing hair before first day of Miss Universe 1955 | |
| Date | July 20, 1955 |
| Presenters | Bob Russell |
| Venue | Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California |
| Entrants | 43 |
| Placements | 15 |
| Winner | Carlene King Johnson Vermont |
← 1954 1956 → | |
Placements
| Final Results | Contestant | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss USA 1955 | |||||||
| 1st Runner-Up |
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| 2nd Runner-Up |
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| 3rd Runner-Up |
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| 4th Runner-Up |
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| Top 15 |
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Delegates
| State/City | Name | Hometown | Age | Placement | Special Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona | Patti Marks | Phoenix | ||||
| Arkansas | Margaret Haywood | Jonesboro | 1st runner-up | Later Miss World United States 1955 1st runner-up at Miss World 1955 | ||
| California | Donna Schurr | Los Angeles | 3rd runner-up | |||
| Colorado | Dorothy Bewley | Top 15 | ||||
| Connecticut | Jane Bartolotta | Hartford | ||||
| Delaware | Helen Denise Blackwell | Wilmington | ||||
| Florida | Mariles Gessler | Top 15 | ||||
| Georgia | Carolann Conno | 4th runner-up | ||||
| Illinois | Betty Daniggelis | Chicago | 18 | Top 15 | ||
| Indiana | Mary Wasick | |||||
| Iowa | Jerri Cole | Holstein | ||||
| Louisiana | Merlin Garcia | Gretna | ||||
| Maryland | Gloria Ruth King | Baltimore | ||||
| Massachusetts | Jean Dernago | Springfield | ||||
| Miami Beach, FL | Beverly Masters | |||||
| Michigan | Martha Smith | |||||
| Minnesota | Sally Ann Colombo | Stillwater | ||||
| Missouri | Bennie Pritchard | |||||
| Nebraska | Donna Jo Streever | 2nd runner-up | ||||
| New Hampshire | Patricia Ann Mowry | |||||
| New Jersey | Beverly Rogers | Maywood | ||||
| New Mexico | Joan Schwartz | Top 15 | ||||
| New York | Janet Kadlecik | New York City | Top 15 | |||
| New York City | Patricia O'Kane | New York City | Top 15 | |||
| North Carolina | Mary Ratliffe | Wadesboro | ||||
| North Dakota | Joan Smith | |||||
| Ohio | Carol Hagerman | Columbus | ||||
| Oregon | Rose Karcha | |||||
| Pennsylvania | Marianne Marcus | Philadelphia | ||||
| Philadelphia | Doris Klein | |||||
| Rhode Island | Beverly Jansen | Providence | ||||
| South Carolina | Sara Stone | Top 15 | ||||
| South Dakota | Phyllis Choquette | |||||
| St. Louis | Janet Coker | |||||
| Tennessee | Barbara Gurley | Memphis | 24 | |||
| Texas | Mary Daughters | Houston | Top 15 | |||
| Utah | Myrna J. Rasmussen | Salt Lake City | 21 | |||
| Vermont | Carlene King Johnson | Rutland | 22 | Winner | Top 15 at Miss Universe 1955 Previously Miss Vermont 1953 | |
| Virginia | Jeannie Asble | Portsmouth | ||||
| Washington | Shirley Givins | Top 15 | ||||
| West Virginia | Barbara Tucker | |||||
| Wisconsin | Jeanne Marianne Bouley | Fond du Lac | 19 | Top 15 | ||
| Wyoming | Barbara Kaye Latta | Casper |
Historical significance
- Vermont wins competition for the first time. Also becoming in the 4th state who does it for the first time.
- Arkansas earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time, becoming its highest placement of the state until 1982.
- Nebraska earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time, becoming its highest placement of the state until 2018.
- California earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time, becoming its highest placement of the state until 1959.
- Georgia earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Arkansas, California, Illinois, Nebraska, New York, New York City, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin.
- New York placed for the fourth consecutive year.
- California, Illinois, Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas placed for the third consecutive year.
- Arkansas, New York City and Wisconsin made their second consecutive placement.
- Colorado, Florida and Washington last placed in 1953.
- Georgia, New Mexico and Vermont placed for the first time.
- Iowa and Ohio break an ongoing streak of placements since 1953.
- Minnesota breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1952.
External links
- Miss USA official website