Miss USA 1957 was the sixth Miss USA pageant, held at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California on 17 July 1957, during the run-up to the year's Miss Universe pageant.
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 sons.
As all of these were violations of multiple contest eligibility rules, Gage was immediately disqualified, 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. The 1957 Miss USA pageant is, as of , the only occasion to date that the winner was stripped of her title by pageant organizers.
Results
Placement Contestant Miss USA 1957 Maryland – Mary Leona Gage (Dethroned) Utah – Charlotte Sheffield (Successor)1st runner-up West Virginia – Ruth Parr2nd runner-up Nevada – Joan Adams3rd runner-up Nebraska – Carolyn McGirr4th runner-Up Ohio – Kathryn Gabriel Top 15 Arkansas – Helen Garrott California – Peggy Jacobson Illinois – Marianne Gaba Iowa – Judith Hall Massachusetts – Sandra Ramsey New York – Sanita Pelkey South Carolina – Jean Spotts Texas – Gloria Hunt Washington – Diana Schafer Contestants 44 contestants competed for the title. State/CityContestantAgeHometownNotes ArkansasHelen Garrott19West Memphis CaliforniaPeggy Jacobson18Downey ColoradoMary Linda Clapham20Glenwood Springs ConnecticutRosemary Galliotti21West Hartford DelawarePatricia Ellingsworth18Millsboro FloridaDeanie Cates18Holly Hill GeorgiaRuth Lycan19Atlanta IllinoisMarianne Gaba18ChicagoLater Playboy playmate in September 1959 Indiana Pat Dorsett23Indianapolis Iowa Judith Ann Hall20Council Bluffs LouisianaEarlyn Regouffre19New Orleans MaineRoberta Aymie23Jackman MarylandMary Leona Gage21Glen BurnieInitially a semi-finalist at Miss Universe but was disqualified Massachusetts Sandra Ramsey19Haverhill Miami Beach, FloridaFaye Ray18Miami MichiganSharon Moore19Detroit Minnesota Mary Ford18Minneapolis Missouri Judith Murback18Sikeston Nebraska Carolyn McGirr18Sidney Nevada Joan Adams23Las Vegas New HampshireLyla Moran18Hampton Beach New JerseyJeanne Lewis22Kearny New MexicoPatricia Stafford18Albuquerque New YorkSanita Pelkey21Bronx North CarolinaPeggy Ann Dennis19Lilesville North DakotaAnne-Marit Studness19Devils Lake OhioKathryn Gabriel20Cleveland OklahomaRose Mary Raab19Oklahoma City OregonSonja Landsem20Portland Pennsylvania Rosalie Culp20Monessen Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaBarbara Miller19Philadelphia Rhode IslandMyrna Altieri18Cranston South CarolinaJean Spotts20Newberry County South DakotaGay Marshall19Sioux Falls St. Louis, MissouriCarole Learn19Ferguson TennesseePatricia Prather18Alamo TexasGloria Hunt20Corpus Christi UtahCharlotte Sheffield20Salt Lake CityNon-semifinalist at Miss World 1957 Vermont Marjorie Link24Hardwick VirginiaPatricia Bush21Portsmouth WashingtonDiana Schafer18Bellevue West VirginiaRuth Parr18St. Albans WisconsinNatalie Lueck20Two Rivers WyomingMarilyn Hawkins19Casper
Notes
References
External links Official website