PICTURE OF THE WEEK

"World Tour '99
Lancaster Lass"

The next stop on Beauty School's World Tour '99 is the United Kingdom.

In the photo, we see Miss World 1961 and her court of honor. From left to right is 4th runner-up Miss Denmark, Inge Jorgensen; 2nd runner-up Miss Spain, Carmen Cervera; Miss World 1961, Rosemarie Frankland; 1st runner-up Miss Free China, Grace Li; and 3rd runner-up Miss France, Michele Wargnier.

Rosemarie, a pretty British Isles lass from Lancaster, represented the United Kingdom at the 1961 Miss World Pageant. Just a few months before, she had represented Wales at the 1961 Miss Universe Pageant, where she was 1st runner-up to Marlene Schmidt of Germany.

Here are several other tidbits about the 1961 Miss World Pageant:

1. 37 women competed for the title of Miss World 1961, the largest number since the contest began in 1951. The pageant was held in London's ornate Lyceum Ballroom, on Thursday, November 9, 1961.

2. The pageant was televised live on BBC (there was no BBC1 or BBC2 then, just plain old BBC), from 9:25pm to 10:15pm.

3. "British Beauty Wins World Title Amid Fury" was the Associated Press headline in newspapers in the USA, referring to the backstage bickering by other contestants about the pageant and the winner.

Bob Hope, who was on hand to crown Rosemarie, didn't help matters when he declared Rosemarie as "the most beautiful girl I ever saw." When other contestants complained, Bob amended his comment by stating, "Name any of these girls and I'll say they deserved to win. I want peace."

4. The director of the Miss World USA Pageant, Alfred Patricelli, was on hand to watch the rehearsals and had this to say about the 1st runner-up, Miss Free China (who was born in Korea): "Look at that face, like a porcelain doll. But the legs will beat her. They're too thin at the ankles."

Mil gracias to Jose Medel Bello for sharing this wonderful photo with us.

Sources:

"British Beauty Wins World Title Amid Fury," Associated Press, November 10, 1961.

"Patricelli, Charge Arrive For Miss World Contest," United Press International, November 10, 1961.