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 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Charlotte Sheffield, Miss USA 1957 | |
| Date | 17 July 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) |
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 2024, 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/City | Contestant | Age[a] | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arkansas
|
Helen Garrott | 19 | West Memphis | |
 California
|
Peggy Jacobson | 18 | Downey | |
 Colorado
|
Mary Linda Clapham | 20 | Glenwood Springs | |
 Connecticut
|
Rosemary Galliotti | 21 | West Hartford | |
 Delaware
|
Patricia Ellingsworth | 18 | Millsboro | |
 Florida
|
Deanie Cates[4] | 18 | Holly Hill | |
 Georgia
|
Ruth Lycan | 19 | Atlanta | |
 Illinois
|
Marianne Gaba | 18 | Chicago | Later Playboy playmate on September 1959 |
 Indiana
|
Pat Dorsett | 23 | Indianapolis | |
 Iowa
|
Judith Ann Hall | 20 | Council Bluffs | |
 Louisiana
|
Earlyn Regouffre | 19 | New Orleans | |
 Maine
|
Roberta Aymie | 23 | Jackman | |
| Maryland
|
Mary Leona Gage | 21 | Glen Burnie | Initially a semi-finalist at Miss Universe but was disqualified |
 Massachusetts
|
Sandra Ramsey | 19 | Haverhill | |
 Miami Beach, Florida
|
Faye Ray | 18 | Miami | |
 Michigan
|
Sharon Moore | 19 | Detroit | |
 Minnesota
|
Mary Ford | 18 | Minneapolis | |
 Missouri
|
Judith Murback | 18 | Sikeston | |
 Nebraska
|
Carolyn McGirr[5] | 18 | Sidney | |
 Nevada
|
Joan Adams | 23 | Las Vegas | |
 New Hampshire
|
Lyla Moran | 18 | Hampton Beach | |
 New Jersey
|
Jeanne Lewis[6] | 22 | Kearny | |
 New Mexico
|
Patricia Stafford | 18 | Albuquerque | |
 New York
|
Sanita Pelkey | 21 | Bronx | |
 North Carolina
|
Peggy Ann Dennis | 19 | Lilesville | |
 North Dakota
|
Anne-Marit Studness | 19 | Devils Lake | |
 Ohio
|
Kathryn Gabriel | 20 | Cleveland | |
 Oklahoma
|
Rose Mary Raab | 19 | Oklahoma City | |
 Oregon
|
Sonja Landsem | 20 | Portland | |
 Pennsylvania
|
Rosalie Culp | 20 | Monessen | |
 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
|
Barbara Miller | 19 | Philadelphia | |
 Rhode Island
|
Myrna Altieri | 18 | Cranston | |
 South Carolina
|
Jean Spotts | 20 | Newberry County | |
 South Dakota
|
Gay Marshall | 19 | Sioux Falls | |
 St. Louis, Missouri
|
Carole Learn | 19 | Ferguson | |
 Tennessee
|
Patricia Prather | 18 | Alamo | |
 Texas
|
Gloria Hunt | 20 | Corpus Christi | |
| Utah
|
Charlotte Sheffield | 20 | Salt Lake City | Non-semifinalist at Miss World 1957 |
 Vermont
|
Marjorie Link | 24 | Hardwick | |
 Virginia
|
Patricia Bush | 21 | Portsmouth | |
 Washington
|
Diana Schafer | 18 | Bellevue | |
 West Virginia
|
Ruth Parr | 18 | St. Albans | |
 Wisconsin
|
Natalie Lueck | 20 | Two Rivers | |
 Wyoming
|
Marilyn Hawkins | 19 | Casper |
Notes
- ^ Ages at the time of the pageant
References
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ a b Thursby, Keith (October 9, 2010). "Leona Gage, Miss USA For a Day, Dies at 71". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
- ^ "Fairest girls in the universe". Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. 14 July 1957. p. 4. Retrieved 15 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Florida's hope". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Fort Worth, Texas. 14 June 1957. p. 28. Retrieved 15 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Miss Universe contestant next". Press of Atlantic City. Atlantic City, New Jersey. 17 June 1957. p. 13. Retrieved 15 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com.