PICTURE OF THE WEEK

November 22, 1998

"Ex-Blond Picked As Miss World" was the headline on October 16, 1956, when Germany's Petra Schürmann won the Miss World crown. In an interview with the London paper DAILY MIRROR just a few days before the contest, a reporter asked her, "As Miss Germany - shouldn't you be blond?"

Petra's response? "Frankly, I was a blond."

The reporter, Noel Whitcomb, said Petra had "the sort of eyes and sort of walk that would make any bishop give a mental whistle." In addition to telling him about her hair, she also confessed she wanted to be a school teacher - of geography or philosophy.

In this photo, Petra is seen tossing her head back in pure joy as the new Miss World...and promptly tossing her newly-won crown off her head in the process. She almost didn't get to wear her sash, too. Seems the Miss World sash somehow wound up on first runner-up Miss USA, Betty Cherry, by accident, when the six finalists walked onto the stage to await the judges decision. And how did the winner's sash wind up on the wrong woman? Here is how one newspaper explained it:

"Harassed contest director Eric D. Morley said the sash switch was a mistake, that a backstage attendant 'chose his own winner before the judges verdict had been given out.'"

Well, Petra did get her sash...and kept her crown...unlike her compatriot Gabriella Brum in 1980. For the full story on Gabriella, please be sure to attend Professor Donald West's Master Class on Miss World 1980.

What is Petra doing now? She lives in Munich, is married to a doctor, and she has a daughter who is about 30 years old. Both Petra and her daughter work as TV presenters for Bavarian Television. Petra hosts two TV court programs. One is "Ehen vor Gericht" (Marriages In Court), which mainly deals with divorce cases. The other program is "Verkehrsgericht" (Traffic Court). Petra also hosts many TV galas.