Pumps and Circumstance at the 1952 Miss Universe Pageant.
Top row, left to right: Miss Arkansas; Miss Minnesota; and Miss Louisiana.
Middle row: Miss South Carolina; Miss Alaska; and Miss Illinois.
Bottom row: Miss Finland (and Miss Universe 1952); Miss Italy; and Miss Sweden.
As Beauty School ends its first year of operation, we are pleased to announce the graduation of our first freshperson class. In the last year, hundreds of students have walked the halls of Beauty School, studying such complex and rigorous disciplines as Miss Universe, Miss USA, Miss World and getting to know those in the lofty heights of the Pantheon.
Throughout the year we have provided a broad a curriculum intended to give our students the solid foundation they need in attaining their degrees. We have much planned for the second year of study at Beauty School and hope that our choices in expanding our fields of study will meet the needs of the student body.
For our very first commencement exercise, we have invited a very special guest to Beauty School to share his story with you. We had heard over the years that there was pageant fan who owned the actual trophy presented to the first Miss Universe, Armi Kuusela of Finland, and that he also had arguably the largest collection of Miss Universe memorabilia in the galaxy.
We felt his story would be most appropriate for our first commencement exercise, a true inspiration for those students moving onto their sophomore year as well as for our incoming freshpersons.
So to mark our first full year of presenting the finest in pageant education, we present the story of:
 |
|
|
Beauty School caught up with Mr. Prendiz de Jurado in Los Angeles, California and he was kind enough to grant us an interview.
BS: Hello, William, thank you for agreeing to this interview. We are simply thrilled to present your story to our student body. Tell us, what was your first experience with the Miss Universe Pageant?
WPJ: On Sunday, July 17, 1955 at the age of 8, I was with my mother watching the Miss Universe Parade on Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach. The contestants were parading by in their Catalina Swimsuits. It was very hot and I was asking my mother to buy me an ice cream. I was not the least bit interested in the pageant!
BS: My goodness, you were watching history in the making and you wanted ice cream instead?
WPJ: Yes.
BS: When did you switch from the richness of ice cream to the glamour of Miss Universe?
WPJ: In 1958, the year Luz Marina Zuluaga from Colombia won. Interestingly enough, 33 years later, I was invited to Colombia to meet her.
BS: What was your visit with Luz like?
WPJ: It was absolutely fabulous! It was a very emotional meeting. She lives in this incredible mansion given to her by the Colombian government.
I brought her gifts and I felt like Santa Claus giving them to her. She is a lovely and wonderful woman. She still continues to live the life of a Miss Universe. She has been the Grace Kelly of Colombia since she won the title. I felt very blessed to have spent a few days with her.
BS: Have you met many other Miss Universes over the years?
WPJ: I have seen 29 Miss Universe winners in person and have kept in touch with seven of them; Miss Universe 1954, 1956, 1958, 1964, 1968,1969 and 1973.
BS: That is an amazing record. Since you have had contact with so many Miss Universes, perhaps the most of any pageant fan, let me ask you this: if you could invite any eight Miss Universes to dinner, who would invite and why? By the way, you will not be scored on your answer by the judges.
WPJ: :-)
I would invite Miss Universe 1952, 1953, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958,1959, and 1968. I would invite this group to honor them as the original legends, to hear all their wonderful stories and how the title has changed their lives, and to find out what they think of the pageants of today.
BS: Along these same lines, I wonder if we could do a little free-form word association:
WPJ: Sure, go ahead.
BS: Corrina Tsopei, Miss Universe 1964
WPJ: I met her for the first time in 1977 at the pageant in Santo Domingo and I remember her classic Grecian features- that international jet set look!
BS: Janelle Commissiong, Miss Universe 1977
WPJ: A very natural girl-next-door type. He eyes sparkled like diamonds, beautiful smile.
BS: Margareta Arvidsson, Miss Universe 1966
WPJ: I also met her at the 1977 pageant. At that time she had that natural 70's hippy look, not the glamour look she sported when she won in 1966. She was a model for sometime and must have been tired of living in beauty salons.
BS: How about the 1990 Miss Universe Pageant?
WPJ: I worked this pagaent as an aide of sorts. The contestants were very lovely and I got to meet them by working with them throughout the pageant. The Latin Americans were very strong that year. No one even noticed Mona Grudt, yet she had a natural beauty about her.
BS: The 1969 Miss Universe pageant?
WPJ: Back in the ‘60's, the pageant would always invite former titleholders, and it was exciting to see who would attend. During her year as Miss Universe, Martha Vasconcellos bloomed into a real beauty. Another thing I remember about the 1969 pageant was that everyone was surprised that Gloria Diaz won. In person, she was beautiful, and when she smiled, her eyes lit up like a Las Vegas neon sign. She was very feminine and sexy.
BS: Let's come a little more up to date. Did you attend the 1998 Miss Universe Pageant in Hawaii?
WPJ: Yes, as matter fact I have attended 8 of the pageants: 1977, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998. I have also attended a number of Miss USA and Miss Teen USA pageants.
BS: What is your impression of our new Miss Universe, Wendy Fitzwilliam?
WPJ: Wendy was lovely, friendly and gracious to everyone in Hawaii. With her distinct Caribbean-British accent, one listens when she speaks.
She was very popular among the pageant fans in Hawaii from the start. During the presentation show, when she came out in her national costume and danced with the music, the audience went wild! It was as if lightening had struck the entire auditorium- it was fabulous.
BS: Which pageant years were your favorites?
WPJ: My favorites are 1958 and 1959 and those held in the 1960's.
BS: What was it about those years that are so special?
WPJ: Seeing all those beautiful women from all over the world was a very new and glamorous experience. Back then, people did not have much money to travel with. So their appearance here was, for many, the very first introduction to foreign cultures.
BS: You know, here we are going down memory lane and I have yet to ask about Armi Kuusela's trophy and the other incredible things in your pageant memorabilia collection.
WPJ: I was wondering when you would get to that. :-)
BS: OK, so just how did William Prendiz de Jurado end up with the very first Miss Universe's trophy?
WPJ: Armi's trophy was in a trophy shop a block from the Lafayette Hotel in Long Beach.
BS: What was it doing there? Why was it not with Armi?
WPJ: When Armi won in June of 1952, she was immediately whisked off to travel. So she did not take it with her. She went to the Philippines where she met her future husband, Virgilio Hilario. They were married in May of 1953 in Tokyo and she never came back to claim to her trophy. By the way, she was married to Virgilio until his death in 1975. She had five children with him and now lives in Southern California.
BS: Very interesting. So what happened next?
WPJ: In the 1960's it was displayed in the shop window. For twelve years, I asked the shop owner to sell it to me. For a couple of years, he allowed me to borrow it for Miss Universe telecast parties. It was so nice that he trusted me with it.
In July of 1995, I went to the store and he finally agreed to sell it to me. The rest is history. It is fabulous, three feet tall and weighs 100 lbs. It was made by the Dodge company, who at the time made the Oscar statuettes. It took 6 people - and six months - to make Armi's trophy. When I purchased it, I was told it would cost $3,000 to make today. Needless to say it is the jewel of my collection.
|
|
|
|
|
BS: Jewel indeed! With that crowning memento I have to ask about what else you have in your collection and how did you get started?
WPJ: I got started in 1958. I began by collecting press clippings and have been collecting ever since. I have all the Miss Universe Pageant program books and many of the Miss USA books. I have vintage photos of all the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants. I have never done an inventory, but I would guess I have thousands of articles.
BS: How about films or tapes of the pageants?
WPJ: I have footage of the 1952 and 1955 pageants and the final night of 1958. I have most of the 1960's and all the rest since then.
BS: What is the oddest thing in your collection?
WPJ: The oddest thing (not to me of course) would be a piece of hair from Stella Marquez, of Colombia, Miss International 1960 and a semifinalist at the 1960 Miss Universe Pageant.
In 1972, I was in the Philippines as her guest. I am a hairdresser by profession, and I cut and styled her hair.
 |
|
|
During that trip, I was a judge at the 1972 Miss Philippines Pageant. I am still friends with that year's winner, Armi Crespo. I have many friendships with Philippine titleholders.
Another unusual part of my collection are some official Catalina Swimsuits from the pageants in the 1980's. I have about fifteen of them.
BS: What are some other favorite items in your collection?
WPJ: My favorite articles would be two pictures of Miss Universe 1958 Luz Marina Zuluaga, a huge one taken in 1958 as she was walking the runway after being crowned and a lovely one taken in 1959 with her mother when she returned to reign over the 1959 pageant.
BS: With so many fabulous pieces of memorabilia, I simply must ask how you store it all?
WPJ: I store my collection in a four drawer file cabinet, two trunks, many boxes, envelopes, plastic etc. Most of it is stored by year. Many original articles are too large to fit into the cabinets so I keep them in their natural state. I keep it all in good mint condition.
BS: William, it is obvious you have watched the Miss Universe pageant from its early days in the 1950's to this year's "redefined" version. What advice would you give the Miss Universe Organization of today?
WPJ: Oh, the Miss Universe Organization would never listen to any of my advice! I have mentioned that they should bring back the runway and have a retro segment on the telecast (model the official swimwear of any given year & the gowns the winners were crowned in!). I would bring back the live orchestra as well, just like in the 1950's. I would start the segment in black and white and then have it change to color. The audience would love it!!
BS: Well, we certainly love those ideas here at Beauty School. William, it is safe to say you are the ultimate Miss Universe Pageant fan, what with your knowledge, collection and personal acquaintances with so many of the winners. We could sit here for hours and just keep asking you questions. But seeing as how that is not possible, I wonder if you could share a behind the scenes story with us?
WPJ: Well, let's see. This is not exactly a behind the scenes story, but a very interesting tidbit. Mrs. Frank Sinatra was involved with the Miss Universe Pageant back in the early days. Her name was Barbara Blakeley and she ran a modeling school in Long Beach, California. Many of the contestants passed through her school.
 |
|
|
BS: Very interesting. Let me ask you another question. There have been rumors floating around that Miss Universe 1959, Akiko Kojima has passed away. Do you know if this is true?
WPJ: It is just that - a rumor. She is alive and well in Japan. As you know, sadly, we lost Miss Universe of 1955, the lovely Hillevi Rombin Schine in 1996, and Miss USA 1955 (Vermont's Carlene King Johnson) died in 1967.
 |
|
|
BS: You are simply a font of knowledge. I have a feeling that once our students read this interview that many of them will want to contact you. Would that be alright?
WPJ: Absolutely.
(Pageant fans and scholars, please contact Beauty School if you wish to correspond with William).
BS: William, it has been a pleasure to talk with you. We appreciate your taking the time to share your recollections with all of us at Beauty School. Any closing words for our students?
WPJ: As I tell all pageant fans- "There will never be pageants like those that were held in Long Beach from 1952 - 1967. It would be wonderful for your students to go into a time capsule to experience the pageants of yesteryear."
BS: Oh, if we only could! You have a very special place in the world of Miss Universe and we hope that we can tap into your expertise in the future. I am sure your story will be an inspiration to our students.
Thank you, William Prendiz de Jurado- the ulitmate Miss Universe Fan.
WPJ: You're welcome and thank you.
Back to The Department of Miss Universe Studies Main Page
Back to the Main Lobby