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Miss USA 1979
Miss USA 1979 | |
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Date | April 30, 1979 |
Presenters | |
Entertainment | Leif Garrett |
Venue | Gulf Coast Convention Center, Biloxi, Mississippi |
Broadcaster | CBS, WJTV |
Entrants | 51 |
Placements | 12 |
Winner | Mary Therese Friel![]() |
Congeniality | ![]() |
Photogenic | ![]() |
Miss USA 1979 was the 28th Miss USA pageant, televised live by CBS from the Gulf Coast Convention Center in Biloxi, Mississippi on April 30, 1979.
The pageant was won by Mary Therese Friel of New York, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Judi Andersen of Hawaii. Friel was the second woman from New York to win the Miss USA title, and went on to place as a semi-finalist at Miss Universe 1979.
Results
Final Results | Contestant |
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Miss USA 1979 | |
1st Runner-Up |
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2nd Runner-Up |
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3rd Runner-Up |
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4th Runner-Up |
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Top 12 |
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Final Competition
hideState | Preliminary
Average |
Interview | Swimsuit | Evening Gown | Semifinal Average |
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8.349 (2) | 8.621 (1) | 8.680 (1) | 8.467 (3) | 8.589 (2) |
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8.190 (3) | 8.516 (3) | 8.298 (3) | 8.625 (2) | 8.480 (3) |
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7.800 (8) | 8.215 (4) | 7.832 (5) | 7.905 (5) | 7.984 (4) |
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8.389 (1) | 8.531 (2) | 8.463 (2) | 8.854 (1) | 8.616 (1) |
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7.902 (5) | 7.505 (8) | 8.040 (4) | 8.058 (3) | 7.868 (5) |
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8.155 (4) | 7.773 (6) | 7.570 (8) | 7.855 (6) | 7.733 (6) |
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7.806 (7) | 7.880 (5) | 7.614 (7) | 7.209 (11) | 7.568 (7) |
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7.650 (10) | 7.741 (7) | 7.323 (9) | 7.518 (9) | 7.527 (8) |
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7.749 (9) | 6.955 (11) | 7.636 (6) | 7.709 (8) | 7.433 (9) |
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7.624 (11) | 7.396 (10) | 7.100 (12) | 7.786 (7) | 7.427 (10) |
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7.826 (6) | 7.464 (9) | 7.127 (11) | 7.341 (10) | 7.311 (11) |
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7.623 (12) | 6.955 (11) | 7.164 (10) | 7.064 (12) | 7.061 (12) |
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Special awards
Award | Contestant |
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Miss Congeniality |
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Miss Photogenic |
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Preliminary Swimsuit
Historical significance
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Miss_USA_1979.png/600px-Miss_USA_1979.png)
Miss USA 1979 Scoreboard
- New York wins competition for the second time.
- Washington earns the 1st runner-up position for the first time and reached its highest placement since Dorothy Anstett won in 1968.
- Hawaii earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time and reached its highest placement since Judi Andersen won in the previous year.
- Illinois earns the 3rd runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1958. Also it was reached its highest placement since Karen Morrison won in 1974.
- Mississippi earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1964, becoming its highest placement of the state.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Texas and Virginia.
- California placed for the twenty-third consecutive year. This is the longest streak of placements that a state has hold ever.
- Texas placed for the fifth consecutive year.
- Hawaii and Virginia placed for the third consecutive year.
- Massachusetts made its second consecutive placement.
- Arizona last placed in 1977.
- Illinois and Washington last placed in 1976.
- North Carolina last placed in 1975.
- New York and Wisconsin last placed in 1974.
- Mississippi last placed in 1964.
- New Mexico breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1976.
Delegates
The Miss USA 1979 delegates were:
Alabama - Rose Burch
Alaska - Kim Fidler
Arizona - Ana Maria Rubert
Arkansas - Cynthia Caldwell
California - Linda Fogarty
Colorado - Jene Nelson
Connecticut - Mary Beth Lombardi
Delaware - Lisa Toothman
District of Columbia - Cynthia Ramsay
Florida - Penny Sheridan
Georgia - Debbie Freeman
Hawaii - Leialoha Ma'a
Idaho - Lori Jukich
Illinois - Debra Niego
Indiana - Debbie Hayes
Iowa - Teri Rees
Kansas - Linda Shields
Kentucky - Linda Passmore
Louisiana - Lisa Anderson
Maine - Valerie Crooker
Maryland - Jean Bourne
Massachusetts - Monica Magnus
Michigan - Susan James
Minnesota - Cynthia Lee
Mississippi - Laurie Kimbrough
Missouri - Virginia Dean
Montana - Jurette Sindelar
Nebraska - Rhonda Lundberg
Nevada - Aleasha Magleby
New Hampshire - Patricia Brous
New Jersey - Robin Senatore
New Mexico - Michele Sandoval
New York - Mary Therese Friel
North Carolina - Dianne Jamerson
North Dakota - Renae Hermanson
Ohio - Carolyn Houlihan
Oklahoma - Susan Gibson
Oregon - Katie Fitzpatrick
Pennsylvania - Maureen Starinsky
Rhode Island - Theresa Patterson
South Carolina - Janice McDonald
South Dakota - Noelle de Saint Gall
Tennessee - Sandy Nuismer
Texas - Anne Hinnant
Utah - Vicky Scott
Vermont - Kathi Rechsteiner
Virginia - Betsy Bott
Washington - Tracey Goddard
West Virginia - Candy Boggs
Wisconsin - Kathryn Joy Wituschek
Wyoming - Pam Williams
Judges
- Maud Adams
- Jim Davis
- Eileen Ford
- Beverly Garland
- Alfred Allan Lewis
- Leslie Nielsen
- Kimberly Tomes
External links
Categories:
- Miss USA
- April 1979 events in the United States
- 1979 beauty pageants
- 1979 in Mississippi
- Biloxi, Mississippi