Miss USA 1957
Miss USA 1957 was the 6th Miss USA pageant, held at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California on July 17, 1957, during the run-up to the year's Miss Universe pageant.
| Miss USA 1957 | |
|---|---|
| Date | July 17, 1957 |
| Presenters | Bob Russell |
| Venue | Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California |
| Entrants | 44 |
| Placements | 15 |
| Winner | Charlotte Sheffield Utah (Successor) Mary Leona Gage Maryland (Dethroned) |
← 1956 1958 → | |
The 1957 Miss USA pageant is, as of 2023, the only occasion to date that the winner was stripped of her title by pageant organizers.
Scandal and dethronement
At the end of the pageant, Mary Leona Gage of Maryland was declared the winner and was crowned by the outgoing titleholder, Miss Universe 1956 Carol Morris, of Iowa.
The following day, rumors about Gage's past and current circumstances began to circulate, and an investigation was launched by pageant organisers. It was discovered that Gage was 18 (not 21 as she had claimed), while her mother and her mother-in-law confirmed she had been married twice and was the mother of two young children.
As all of these were violations of multiple contest eligibility rules, Gage was immediately disqualified,[1][2] and the title and the associated prize package automatically passed to the 1st runner-up, Charlotte Sheffield of Utah. The other three finalists were moved one place, and the highest-scoring semi-finalist, Kathryn Gabriel of Ohio, became the 4th runner-up.
Unfortunately, by the time the scandal broke publicly, the Miss Universe preliminary judging had already taken place, with Gage chosen as a semi-finalist, and allowed to participate pending the results of the investigation. It was too late for Sheffield to compete, and it would be the only time the United States has not been represented at the Miss Universe pageant.[1]
Later that year, Sheffield was sent to London as the USA contestant for Miss World 1957, but she failed to place.
Results
| Final Results | Contestant | ||||||
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| Miss USA 1957 |
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| 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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Historical significance
- Maryland wins competition for the first time, also becoming the sixth state to do so; the title was later stripped after it was discovered that the winner was married and had two children.
- Utah wins competition for the first time. Besides it became the 7th state who does it for the first time. She finished as 1st runner-up, but succeeded as Miss USA 1957 after the winner was disqualified.
- West Virginia earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time. She finished as 2nd runner-up, but succeeded to 1st runner-up when the 1st runner-up became Miss USA.
- Nevada earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time. She finished as 3rd runner-up, but succeeded to 2nd runner-up when the 2nd runner-up took the 1st runner-up position.
- Nebraska earns the 3rd runner-up position for the second time and repeats the same placement as the previous year. She finished as 4th runner-up, but succeeded to 3rd runner-up when the 3rd runner-up took the 2nd runner-up position.
- Ohio earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time. She finished in the 6th place and obtained the highest-scoring of the semifinalists. Later due to the other finalists were moved one place up she became the 4th runner-up.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Arkansas, Iowa, Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Washington.
- Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas placed for the fifth consecutive year.
- Arkansas placed for the fourth consecutive year.
- Washington placed for the third consecutive year.
- Iowa, Maryland, Ohio and Utah made their second consecutive placement.
- California, Illinois and New York last placed in 1955.
- Nevada last placed in 1953.
- Massachusetts and West Virginia placed for the first time.
- Colorado breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1955.
Delegates
The Miss USA 1957 delegates were:
States
- Arkansas - Helen Garrott
- California - Peggy Jacobson
- Colorado - Mary Clapham
- Connecticut - Rosemary Galliotti
- Delaware - Patricia Ellingsworth
- Florida - Deanie Cates
- Georgia - Ruth Lycan
- Illinois - Marianne Gaba
- Indiana - Pat Dorsett
- Iowa - Judith Hall
- Louisiana - Earlyn Regouffre
- Maine - Roberta Aymie
- Maryland - Mary Leona Gage
- Massachusetts - Sandra Ramsey
- Michigan - Sharon Moore
- Minnesota - Mary Ford
- Missouri - Judith Murback
- Nebraska - Carolyn McGirr
- Nevada - Joan Adams
- New Hampshire - Lyla Moran
- New Jersey - Jeanne Lewis
- New Mexico - Patricia Stafford
- New York - Sanita Pelkey
- North Carolina - Peggy Ann Dennis
- North Dakota - Anne-Marit Studness
- Ohio - Kathryn Gabriel
- Oklahoma - Rose Mary Raab
- Oregon - Sonja Landsem
- Pennsylvania - Rosalie Culp
- Rhode Island - Myrna Altieri
- South Carolina - Jean Spotts
- South Dakota - Gay Marshall
- Tennessee - Patricia Prather
- Texas - Gloria Hunt
- Utah - Charlotte Sheffield
- Vermont - Marjorie Link
- Virginia - Patricia Bush
- Washington - Diana Schafer
- West Virginia - Ruth Parr
- Wisconsin - Natalie Lueck
- Wyoming - Marilyn Hawkins
Cities
- Miami Beach, Florida - Faye Ray
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - Barbara Miller
- St. Louis, Missouri - Carole Learn
References
- ^ a b Woestendiek, John (April 10, 2005). . The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ Thursby, Keith (October 9, 2010). "Leona Gage, Miss USA For a Day, Dies at 71". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
External links
- Miss USA official website