Miss Universe 1973 Margie Moran
On Monday, Aug. 24, the 58th Miss Universe will be chosen in the Bahamas from a field of 80-plus beauties that include our very own Pamela Bianca Ramos Manalo on whom Filipinos are pinning their hopes to bring home the country’s third Miss U crown first won in 1969 by Gloria Diaz.
(Note: ABS-CBN will air the glittering ceremonies live starting at 9:30 a.m., with a primetime telecast same night at 8 o’clock on Velvet [SkyCable Channel 53] and a replay Tuesday night, Aug. 25, starting at 8 o’clock on Studio 23.)
“Being Miss Universe is like having a birthstone,” said Margie as quoted by Funfare’s “other beauty expert” Celso de Guzman Caparas (who’s working in Saudi Arabia), “you may lose it. Being a Filipina is like having a birthmark; it’s forever.”
Here are interesting trivia and anecdotes about Margie, courtesy of Celso:
• When Margie was in the lobby of the host hotel, a lady foreign guest approached her and said, “You have what makes you stand out from any other country. It’s because you have class, you have bearing.”
• Margie literally put the Philippines on the world map. In Athens, only a few knew where the Philippines was and most Greeks thought Margie was Hawaiian.
• Margie was voted Miss Photogenic by accredited media photographers and Best in Swimsuit during the preliminaries. The Miss Amity award went to Jeanette Gwendalyn Robertson of Chile and the Best National Costume winner was Maria del Rocio Martin Madrigal of Spain.
• The Miss Universe delegates were not required to parade on stage in their swimsuits during the finals to preserve the sanctity of the historic Roman theater (which was built in 160 A.D.), the Herod Atticus Theater (or The Odeon of Herodes Atticus). Instead, the delegates wore a knee-length Greek-inspired dress.
• The order of announcement of semi-finalists was: Misses India (Farzana Habib), Argentina (Susana Romero), Brazil (Sandra Mara Ferreira), Philippines (Margarita Moran), Israel (Limor Schraiban), USA (Amanda Jones), Colombia (Ana Lucia Agudelo Correa), Japan (Miyoko Sometani), Spain (Maria del Rocio Martin Madrigal), Lebanon (Marcelle Herro), Greece (Sicta Vana Papadaki) and Norway (Aina Walle).
• Margie’s question during the semi-final round was: What would you like to do later as a job and why? Her answer was: “A banker. Well, first I’d like to follow in my father’s footsteps because he’s a banker and besides that, I’m taking up a course in Business Administration (she graduated cum laude in 1978 from Maryknoll, now Mirriam College)...and I like counting money.” This was followed by another question: What would you do with the $10,000 if you win the Miss Universe pageant? Margie’s sensible answer was: “I’ll invest it, probably I’ll build a hotel. I’ll run the bank and my sister will manage the hotel because she’s taking up Hotel Management.” Host Bob Barker told the audience, “You know, I’ve made a discovery, this girl could be the Onassis of the Philippines before she’s through.”• The order of announcement of finalists was: Misses USA, Philippines, Norway, Israel and Spain (who eventually emerged as the first runner-up, winner, second runner-up, fourth runner-up and third runner-up).
• The final question picked by Margie was: Let’s make believe that all of a sudden you had a million dollars, what’s the first thing you would buy and why would you buy it? Margie’s unrehearsed and sincere answer was: “A house and lot because it’s the most important thing and I can’t afford it. If I had a million bucks, I’d buy a house and lot and live by myself and other people I love, of course.”
• While Margie executed her victory walk, 1972 Miss Universe Kerry Ann Wells of Australia read the Miss Universe Creed, “We, the young women of the universe, believe people everywhere are seeking peace, tolerance and mutual understanding. We pledge to spread this message in every way we can, wherever we go.” (This is one of the features of Miss Universe pageant which has been discontinued and sorely missed by its followers).
• Among the members of the board of judges were 1965 Miss Universe Apasra Hongsakula (of Thailand), American actress Ginger Rogers and British-born actress Lynn Redgrave.
• Margie commented that for her, US President Richard Nixon was the world’s greatest man, which was carried by US newspapers. To her surprise, she received a thank-you letter from Nixon for her “thoughtful comment on my effort to bring peace in the world. I can think of no better concern for a Miss Universe than peace in our world and you had a very unique opportunity to awaken people’s thought on peace.”
• A march entitled Margie was composed in Margie’s honor by Rey L. Tempo of Maharlika Melodies. Margie arrived in Manila from San Francisco (via Honolulu) on Aug. 30, 1973 at 7:08 a.m. on board PAL DC-8 Flight 105. Around 100,000 jubilant Pinoys lined up along the route of her motorcade.
Celso said that the new Miss Universe crown will be unveiled at the live telecast of 2009 Miss Universe Pageant. Diamond Nexus Labs created three distinct crowns for the public to choose for by voting on-line (www.missuniverse.com).
The 87 delegates (including Bianca Manalo) from the same number of countries and territories started converging in the Bahamas on Aug. 1. The swimsuit competition was held last Aug. 9, the national costume competition on Aug. 10; and the National Gifts Charity Auction in Sheraton Nassau Beach Resort on Aug. 13.
Billy Bush (Access Hollywood co-anchor) and Claudia Jordan (Celebrity Apprentice) will host the grand finals on Sunday, Aug. 23 (Aug. 24, Manila Time) live from Atlantis, Paradise Island.
The reigning Miss Universe is Dayana Sabrina Mendoza Moncada of Venezuela.
Featured Article: The Philippine Star
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