Miss USA 1984 (Jayverse)

Miss USA 1984, the 33rd Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, CA on May 17, 1984 on the United Broadcasting Company on TV and Rhythm Radio which is syndicated to Radio Stations across the country. At the conclusion of the final competition, Mai Shanley of New Mexico was crowned Miss USA 1984 by outgoing titleholder Julie Hayek of California.

The pageant was hosted by Jim Perry who had hosted the Miss Canada Pageant on CTV in which it is the first year Jim Perry will host both Miss USA, Miss Canada and Miss Universe on CTV in Canada.

In an odd occurrence, both women in the top two had previously competed at Miss America, neither one of whom placed at that pageant.

The Biggest Change in Pageant Musical Numbers

Thanks to the Popularity of the Movie Flashdance which occured last year, The 1984 Miss USA Pageant saw the introduction of an ensemble choir made up of Contestants who had not won a state title at Miss USA leading up to the pageant itself along with a number of dancers and singers (many of which of current and former choir drill stars) as well as many of those contestants who competed in the 1983 & 1984 Miss Teen USA Pageant in addition to Ruth Zakarian (Miss Teen USA 1983) & Cherise Haugen (Miss Teen USA 1984) who are competing for the Miss USA Title, However The New Miss USA Ensemble Choir was added to the perform along with the US Naval Air Training Command Choir in which they performed beginning with the 1975 Miss USA Pageant.

Placements

Miss USA 1984: New Mexico - Mai Shanley

1st Runner Up: West Virginia - Kelly Anderson (will represent the USA in the 1984 Miss World Pageant)

2nd Runner Up: Tennessee - Desiree Daniels

3rd Runner Up: Missouri - Sandra Percival

4th Runner Up: District of Columbia - Steffanee Leaming

Top 10: Illinois - LaVonne Misselle, North Carolina - Cookie Noak, Oklahoma - Julia Murdock, Oregon - Debbie Epperson, Texas - Laura Shaw

Delegates and Troupe

The 1984 Miss USA Delegates were as follows

Alabama - Kelly Flowers Alaska - Sherri McNeally Arizona - Daria Sparling Arkansas - Shelly Boyd California - Theresa Ring Colorado - Michelle Anderson Connecticut - Lynne Scalo Delaware - Denise Lennick District of Columbia - Steffanee Leaming Florida - Stacy Hassfurder Georgia - Jayne Poteet Hawaii - Puna Stillman Idaho - Valencia Bilyeu Illinois - LaVonne Misselle Indiana - Susan Willarbo Iowa - Michele Boisvert Kansas - Elizabeth Johnson Kentucky - Tammy Melendez Louisiana - Rusanne Jourdan Maine - Vickie Lynn Gay Maryland - Betsy Cook Massachusetts - Deborah Neary Michigan - Adriana Krambeck Minnesota - Martha Mork Mississippi - Carla Green Missouri - Sandy Miller

Montana - Kristi Ogren Nebraska - Joni Rundall Nevada - Donna Lee McNeil New Hampshire - Diane Gadoury New Jersey - Diane Everett Qualter New Mexico - Mai Shanley New York - Carolina Flury North Carolina - Cookie Noak North Dakota - Suzanne Lewis Ohio - Rosi Erwin Oklahoma - Julia Murdock Oregon - Debbie Epperson Pennsylvania - Tina Albright Rhode Island - Debbie Mowry South Carolina - Ginger Gree South Dakota - Donna Smith Tennessee - Desiree Denise Daniels Texas - Laura Shaw Utah - Michele Lynn Brown Vermont - Sue O'Brien Virginia - Leah Rush Washington - Sue Gerrish West Virginia - Kelly Lea Anderson Wisconsin - Tamara Su Schoff Wyoming - Cheryl Rawson

Special entries

• Miss Teen USA 1983 - Ruth Zakarian
• Miss Teen USA 1984 - Cherise Haugen

Troupe Members in this years pageant who had sang and danced but didn't compete include All Semi-Finalists from the 1984 Miss California USA Pageant consisting of Staci Anderson, Joy Swinford, Deborah Moller, Rebecca Sue Lien, Cynthia Datcher, Leann Dobson, Sharon Dolezal, April Howlett, Stacey Elliott, Lisa McLin, Candace Morones, Debra Prizer, Trudy Stolz, Adabelle Robertson as well a lot of Miss Teen USA Contestants from 1983 & 1984 who had escorted the contestants at Miss USA however some of which went on to perform in future MIss USA Pageants when it occured in later years

• Adrianne Hazelwood (Miss Wisconsin Teen USA 1984) - Miss USA 1985 (Representing Connecticut in which she became the First Miss Teen USA Delegate to win a Miss USA State Title)
• Molly Brown (Miss Tennessee Teen USA 1984) - Miss USA 1987 (Representing Tennessee)
• Beth Woodard (Miss South Carolina Teen USA 1983) - Miss USA 1987 (Representing South Carolina)
• Kris Keim (Miss Arizona Teen USA 1983) - Miss USA 1988 (Representing Arizona)
• Melissa Staples (Miss Arkansas Teen USA 1984) - Miss USA 1988 (Representing Arkansas)
• Kari Larson (Miss North Dakota Teen USA 1984) - Miss USA 1990 (Representing North Dakota)
• Maureen Murray (Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 1983) - Miss USA 1991 (Representing New York)

Also, Former Choir Drill Turned turned San Francisco 49er Gold Rush Choir Singer and Future Love Boat Mermaid, Teri Hatcher can be seen as part of the Miss USA Choir Ensemble Troupe in that pageant as well a number of Miss Canada 1984 Contestants including our winner Cynthia Kereluk.

And to top it off those who had crossover to compete or perform at Miss America

• Mai Shanley (New Mexico) - Miss New Mexico 1983
• Desiree Daniels (Tennessee) - Miss Tennessee 1982 (first runner-up at Miss America 1983)
• Kelly Anderson (West Virginia) - Miss West Virginia 1982
• Christina Kimball (Troupe Member) - 1986 Miss America Dancer at Miss America 1987

Judges

• Jim Craig
• Anna Colon
• Ralph Wolfe Cowan
• Anne Kirstin Clenshaw
• Billy Hufsey
• Kim Seelbrede, Miss USA 1981 from Ohio
• Tony Dorsett
• David Mason Daniels
• Catherine Hickland
• Irving Mansfield
• Vicki Lawrence