Miss USA 1953

Miss USA 1953 was the 2nd Miss USA pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California on July 16, 1953.

Miss USA 1953
Myrna Hansen, Miss USA 1953, in 1957
DateJuly 16, 1953
PresentersBob Russell
VenueLong Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California
Entrants43
Placements20
Debuts
Withdrawals
WinnerMyrna Hansen
 Illinois
CongenialityJeanne Vaughn Thompson
 Louisiana

At the end of the event, Jackie Loughery of New York crowned Myrna Hansen of Illinois as Miss USA 1953.[1] It is the first victory of Illinois in the pageant's history.

Contestants from 43 states and cities competed in this year's pageant. The competition was hosted by Bob Russel.

Results

Placements
Placement[2] Contestant
Miss USA 1953
1st Runner-up
2nd Runner-up
3rd Runner-up
4th Runner-up
  • Utah – Shauna Wood
Top 20

Special awards
Award Contestant
Miss Congeniality
Miss Body Beautiful

Pageant

Selection committee

Contestants

43 contestants competed for the title.

State/City Contestant Age[lower-alpha 1] Hometown Notes
Alabama Doris Edwards 24 Birmingham
Arizona Eleanor Ruth Cross – Chandler
Arkansas Jackie Stucker – –
California Marcella Roulette – Los Angeles
Colorado Jeanie Carroll – –
Connecticut Beverlee Burlant – Hartford
Idaho Patricia Carter – –
Illinois Myrna Hansen 17 Chicago 1st Runner-up at Miss Universe 1953
Indiana Edith Krumme – –
Iowa Marilyn Shonka[4] 18 Sioux City
Kentucky Mary Stice[5] 19 Paducah
Louisiana Jeanne Thompson – Baton Rouge Previously Miss Louisiana USA 1952 and placed 1st Runner-up at Miss USA 1952
Previously Miss Louisiana 1951
Maine Jackie Lee 22 Cape Neddick
Maryland Diane Gale Durham – Silver Spring
Massachusetts Joan Daly[6] – Somerville
Miami Beach, FL Kay Duggar – –
Michigan Jo Ann Page – –
Minnesota Mary Ann Papke – Minneapolis
Mississippi Jessie Morgan – Newton Previously Miss Mississippi 1951
Top 15 at Miss America 1952
Missouri Donna Gardner – –
Montana Billie Jean Tyrell – –
Myrtle Beach, SC Mary Kemp Griffin[7] 23 Florence Later represented the USA at Miss World 1953 and placed 5th runner-up
Nebraska Berneta Nelson – –
Nevada Earlene Whitt – Las Vegas
New Hampshire Muriel Roy – –
New Jersey Susan Ruth Harris – Haddonfield
New York Reta Knapp – New York City
North Carolina Libby Walker[8] – Wilton
North Dakota Marilyn Caufield[9] – –
Ohio Eleanore Mack 20 Bellaire
Oklahoma Barbara Bond[8] – Oklahoma City
Pennsylvania Jeri Bauer – Philadelphia
Rhode Island Barbara Rose Deigman – Providence
South Carolina Susan Anthony Day – –
South Dakota Kathleen Herman – –
Texas Joan Bradshaw 17 Houston
Utah Shauna Wood 23 Salt Lake City
Vermont Kathleen Marie Eugenia Surrel 22 Brooklyn, NY
Virginia Dorothy Lee Bailey – Norfolk
Washington Nancy Petraborg – –
West Virginia Fay Higley – –
Wisconsin Jacque Kimmel 24 Milwaukee
Wyoming Nancy Rogers[9] – Cheyenne

Notes
  1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References
  1. Belser, Emily (17 July 1953). "Chicagoan named Miss USA in Miss Universe contest". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 15. Retrieved 16 January 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Miss Illinois wins title as top beauty of the nation". Long Beach Press-Telegram. 16 July 1953. p. 3. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Beauties vie for "Miss Universe" title". The Knoxville Journal. 12 July 1953. p. 34. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Iowa loses to Illinois". The Des Moines Register. 16 July 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Murray College coed, 19, named Miss Kentucky". The Courier-Journal. 5 July 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Untitled". The Boston Globe. 12 July 1953. p. 32. Retrieved 6 February 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "South Carolina girl, 'Miss U.S.' finalist, wants to be a cop". The Index-Journal. 22 July 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Untitled". The Charlotte News. 13 July 1953. p. 15. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "At the Miss Universe contest". Casper Star-Tribune. 19 July 1953. p. 16. Retrieved 16 January 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.