Miss USA 1957

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Miss USA 1957
Charlotte Sheffield (cropped).jpg
Charlotte Sheffield, Miss USA 1957
Date17 July 1957
Presenters Bob Russell†
Venue Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California
Entrants44
Placements15
Winner Charlotte Sheffield †
Flag of Utah (1913-1922).png  Utah (Successor)
Mary Leona Gage†
Flag of Maryland.svg  Maryland (Dethroned)
←  1956
1958  →

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.

Contents

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. [1] [2]

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.

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] 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.

Contestants

44 contestants competed for the title. [3]

State/CityContestantAge [lower-alpha 1] HometownNotes
Flag of Arkansas.svg Arkansas Helen Garrott19 West Memphis
Flag of California.svg California Peggy Jacobson18 Downey
Flag of Colorado (1911-1964).svg Colorado Mary Linda Clapham20 Glenwood Springs
Flag of Connecticut.svg Connecticut Rosemary Galliotti21 West Hartford
Flag of Delaware.svg Delaware Patricia Ellingsworth18 Millsboro
Flag of Florida (1900-1985).svg Florida Deanie Cates [4] 18 Holly Hill
Flag of the State of Georgia (1956-2001).svg Georgia Ruth Lycan19 Atlanta
Flag of Illinois (1915-1969).svg Illinois Marianne Gaba 18 Chicago Later Playboy playmate on September 1959
Flag of Indiana.svg Indiana Pat Dorsett23 Indianapolis
Flag of Iowa.svg Iowa Judith Ann Hall20 Council Bluffs
Flag of Louisiana (1912-2006).svg Louisiana Earlyn Regouffre19 New Orleans
Flag of Maine.svg Maine Roberta Aymie23 Jackman
Flag of Maryland.svg Maryland Mary Leona Gage 21 Glen Burnie Initially a semi-finalist at Miss Universe but was disqualified
Flag of Massachusetts.svg Massachusetts Sandra Ramsey19 Haverhill
Flag of Miami, Florida.svg Miami Beach, Florida Faye Ray18 Miami
Flag of Michigan.svg Michigan Sharon Moore19 Detroit
Flag of Minnesota (1957-1983).svg Minnesota Mary Ford18 Minneapolis
Flag of Missouri.svg Missouri Judith Murback18 Sikeston
Flag of Nebraska.svg Nebraska Carolyn McGirr [5] 18 Sidney
Flag of Nevada (1929-1991).svg Nevada Joan Adams23 Las Vegas
Flag of New Hampshire.svg New Hampshire Lyla Moran18 Hampton Beach
Flag of New Jersey (1896-1965).png New Jersey Jeanne Lewis [6] 22 Kearny
Flag of New Mexico.svg New Mexico Patricia Stafford18 Albuquerque
Flag of New York.svg New York Sanita Pelkey21 Bronx
Flag of North Carolina (1885-1991).svg North Carolina Peggy Ann Dennis19 Lilesville
Flag of North Dakota.svg North Dakota Anne-Marit Studness19 Devils Lake
Flag of Ohio.svg Ohio Kathryn Gabriel20 Cleveland
Flag of Oklahoma (1941-1988).svg Oklahoma Rose Mary Raab19 Oklahoma City
Flag of Oregon.svg Oregon Sonja Landsem20 Portland
Flag of Pennsylvania.svg Pennsylvania Rosalie Culp20 Monessen
Flag of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.svg Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Barbara Miller19 Philadelphia
Flag of Rhode Island.svg Rhode Island Myrna Altieri18 Cranston
Flag of South Carolina.svg South Carolina Jean Spotts20 Newberry County
Flag of South Dakota (1909-1963).svg South Dakota Gay Marshall19 Sioux Falls
Flag of St. Louis, Missouri.svg St. Louis, Missouri Carole Learn19 Ferguson
Flag of Tennessee.svg Tennessee Patricia Prather18 Alamo
Flag of Texas.svg Texas Gloria Hunt20 Corpus Christi
Flag of Utah (1913-1922).png Utah Charlotte Sheffield 20 Salt Lake City Non-semifinalist at Miss World 1957
Flag of Vermont.svg Vermont Marjorie Link24 Hardwick
Flag of Virginia.svg Virginia Patricia Bush21 Portsmouth
Flag of Washington (1923-1967).png Washington Diana Schafer18 Bellevue
Flag of West Virginia.svg West Virginia Ruth Parr18 St. Albans
Flag of Wisconsin (1913-1981).svg Wisconsin Natalie Lueck20 Two Rivers
Flag of Wyoming.svg Wyoming Marilyn Hawkins19 Casper

Notes

  1. ↑ Ages at the time of the pageant

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Woestendiek, John (April 10, 2005). "The Long, Unhappy Pageant of Mary Leona Gage". The Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  2. 1 2 Thursby, Keith (October 9, 2010). "Leona Gage, Miss USA For a Day, Dies at 71". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Fairest girls in the universe". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. 14 July 1957. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Florida's hope". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. 14 June 1957. p. 28. Retrieved 15 June 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Carolyn McGirr is winner of state "Miss Universe" honor". The Sidney Telegraph. Sidney, Nebraska. 10 June 1957. p. 1. Retrieved 15 June 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Miss Universe contestant next". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. 17 June 1957. p. 13. Retrieved 15 June 2023– via Newspapers.com.
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