Miss Universe 1955 was the fourth Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, on 22 July 1955. This was the first time that the pageant was televised.
At the conclusion of the event, Miriam Stevenson of the United States crowned Hillevi Rombin of the Sweden as Miss Universe 1955. It was the first victory of Sweden in the history of the pageant.
Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories competed in this edition. The pageant was hosted by Bob Russell.
Background
Selection of participants Contestants from thirty-three countries and territories were selected to compete in the pageant. The age requirement in this edition was still from eighteen to twenty-eight, where women who were married and had children could also participate.
Debuts, returns and withdrawals The 1955 edition saw the debuts of Ceylon, Ecuador, England, Guatemala, Lebanon, and Nicaragua, and the return of Venezuela, which last competed in 1953. Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Singapore, and Thailand withdrew after their respective organizations failed to hold a national competition or appoint a delegate.
Expected to compete are Consuelo Díaz of Bolivia, Karin Rasmussen of Denmark, Gladir Leopardi of Egypt, Angelina Kalkhoven of Holland, and Suna Soley of Turkey. However, these women withdrew due to undisclosed reasons.
Results
Placements Placement Contestant Miss Universe 1955 – Hillevi Rombin 1st Runner-Up – Maribel Arrieta 2nd Runner-Up – Maureen Hingert 3rd Runner-Up – Margit Nünke 4th Runner-Up – Keiko Takahashi Top 15 Argentina – Isabel Sarli – Nicole de Mayer – Emília Barreto – Cathy Diggles – Margaret Rowe – María Molina – Pastora Pagán – Solveig Borstad – Carlene Johnson – Susana Duijm
Special awards Award ContestantMiss Friendship – Maribel Arrieta Miss Popular Girl – Margaret Rowe Best Dressed Girl – Rosa Argentina Lacayo
Pageant Format From sixteen in the previous edition, fifteen semi-finalists were chosen at the preliminary competition that consists of the swimsuit and evening gown competition. Each of the fifteen semi-finalists gave a short speech during the final telecast using their native languages. Afterwards, the fifteen semi-finalists paraded again in their swimsuits and evening gowns, and the five finalists were eventually chosen.
Selection committee Milo Anderson – American movie dress designer Myrna Hansen – Miss USA 1953 from Illinois Samuel Heavenrich – from the Long Beach Municipal Arts Center Tom Kelley – American photographer Robert Palmer – American casting director George Rony – American author Ginny Simms – American actress and singer Vincent Trotta – Artistic director of Paramount Pictures Alberto Vargas – Peruvian-American painter of pin-up girls Earl Wilson – American columnist and journalist Roger Zeiler – Co-Founder of the Miss Europe committee and chairman of the French Committee of Elegance
Contestants Thirty-three contestants competed for the title. Country/Territory Contestant Age Hometown Alaska 22 Fairbanks Argentina 25 Buenos Aires Belgium 19 Ghent Brazil 21 Fortaleza Canada 20 Toronto Ceylon 18 Colombo Chile 18 Santiago Costa Rica 22 San José Cuba 26 Havana Ecuador 21 Guayaquil El Salvador 19 San Salvador England 19 London Finland 19 Helsinki France 18 Aulnay-sous-Bois Greece 18 Athens Guatemala 18 Guatemala City Honduras 18 San Pedro Sula Israel 19 Bat Yam Italy 20 Rome Japan 20 Tokyo Lebanon 18 Beirut Mexico 18 Tijuana Nicaragua 19 Managua Norway 23 Oslo Philippines 19 Manila Puerto Rico 20 Río Piedras South Korea 22 Busan Sweden 21 Uppsala United States 22 Rutland Uruguay 19 Montevideo Venezuela 18 Caracas West Germany 24 Cologne West Indies 18 Port of Spain
Notes
References
External links
Miss Universe official website