Miss USA 1989 (Jayverse)
Miss USA 1989, the 38th Miss USA pageant, was televised live from the Mobile Civic Center Theatre in Mobile, Alabama on February 28, 1989. At the conclusion of the final competition, Gretchen Polhemus of Texas was crowned by outgoing titleholder Courtney Gibbs. She was the fifth consecutive Miss Texas USA to win the pageant.
This was the first Miss USA pageant hosted by Dick Clark, with color commentary by Angie Dickinson, Laura Harring (Miss USA 1985) & Karen Baldwin (Miss Universe 1982). This pageant was held in Alabama for the first and so far only time.
Placements
| Final Results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss USA 1989 |
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| 1st runner-upMiss World USA 1989 |
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| 2nd runner-up |
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| 3rd runner-up |
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| 4th runner-up |
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| Top 10 |
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Special awards
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
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| Miss Photogenic |
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| Best State Costume |
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Final competition
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Preliminary Swimsuit
| state | score | state | score | state | score | score | state | state | score | state | score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | 8.887 | Maine | 8.205 | New York | 7.912 | Connecticut | 7.773 | Washington | 7.587 | Rhode Island | 6.840 |
| Texas | 8.872 | Maryland | 8.204 | Arkansas | 7.885 | Michigan | 7.723 | District of Columbia | 7.573 | ||
| Louisiana | 8.715 | Iowa | 8.185 | Alabama | 7.883 | Missouri | 7.716 | Tennessee | 7.516 | ||
| Pennsylvania | 8.704 | Kentucky | 8.184 | South Dakota | 7.881 | Idaho | 7.694 | North Dakota | 7.504 | ||
| Arizona | 8.696 | Colorado | 8.115 | Massachusetts | 7.877 | West Virginia | 7.681 | Hawaii | 7.486 | ||
| Illinois | 8.491 | Wyoming | 8.040 | Montana | 7.874 | South Carolina | 7.675 | Delaware | 7.340 | ||
| California | 8.428 | Nebraska | 8.023 | Wisconsin | 7.844 | Minnesota | 7.674 | Nevada | 7.177 | ||
| Virginia | 8.384 | Mississippi | 7.967 | Florida | 7.821 | Ohio | 7.647 | New Mexico | 7.152 | ||
| North Carolina | 8.324 | New Jersey | 7.924 | Alaska | 7.803 | Vermont | 7.612 | Utah | 7.050 | ||
| Georgia | 8.223 | New Hampshire | 7.915 | Kansas | 7.781 | Oregon | 7.592 | Indiana | 6.961 |
Judges
The following celebrities were invited to judge the competition:
- Jude Deveraux – Author
- Bonnie Kay – Modeling manager
- Dick Rutan – Pilot of the Voyager aircraft
- Jeana Yeager – Pilot of the Voyager aircraft
- Stella Stevens – Actress
- Roscoe Tanner – Tennis player
- Linda Shelton – Aerobics instructor
- Lillian Glass – Author
- Richard Anderson – Actor
- Cecilia Bolocco – Miss Universe 1987 from Chile
- Jennifer Chandler – Olympic diver
Delegates & Troupe
The Miss USA 1989 delegates were:
- Alabama - Sherri Mooney
- Alaska - Tina Geraci
- Arizona - LeeAnne Locken
- Arkansas - Paige Yandell
- California - Christina Faust
- Colorado - Debbie James
- Connecticut - Lisa Vendetti
- Delaware - Terri Spruill
- District of Columbia - Somaly Sieng
- Florida - Jennifer Parker
- Georgia - Michelle Nemeth
- Hawaii - Julie Larson
- Idaho - Kelli Bean
- Illinois - Kelly Holub
- Indiana - Gwen Rochelle Volpe
- Iowa - Marcy Requist
- Kansas - Nancy Burris
- Kentucky - Veronica Hensley
- Louisiana - Elizabeth Primm
- Maine - Kirsten Blakemore
- Maryland - Jackie Carroll
- Massachusetts - Kimberley Wallace
- Michigan - Karyn Finucan
- Minnesota - Julie Knutson
- Mississippi - Laura Durrett
- Missouri - Rhonda Hoglan
- Montana - Tammy Reiter
- Nebraska - Rene Harter
- Nevada - Janu Tornell
- New Hampshire - Fayleen Chwalek
- New Jersey - Deborah Lee Husti
- New Mexico - Traci Brubaker
- New York - Jennifer Fisher
- North Carolina - Jacqueline Padgett
- North Dakota - Cara Christofferson
- Ohio - Lisa Thompson
- Oklahoma - Jill Rene Scheffert
- Oregon - Jennifer Blaska
- Pennsylvania - Denise Epps
- Rhode Island - Debra Damiano
- South Carolina - Angela Shuler
- South Dakota - Nanette Endres
- Tennessee - Kimberly Payne
- Texas - Gretchen Polhemus
- Utah - Zanetta van Zyverden
- Vermont - Stacey Palmer
- Virginia - Kimberly Nicewonder
- Washington - Chiann Fan Gibson
- West Virginia - Kathy Eicher
- Wisconsin - Sherri Leigh Baxter
- Wyoming - Chandra Anderson
The Troupe which performed alongside the 51 Delegates (shown above) included a Number of Miss Texas USA Contestants including Stephanie Kuehne (Miss Texas USA 1990), Melissa Proctor (Miss Ohio USA 1990), Sherry Krantz, Melissa Buchanan, Kristy Cordes, Paige Goodson, Pamela Griffin and Tracy Hickaman, along with a lot from California including Therese Kablan, Diane Schock (Miss California USA 1991), Kelli Prather, Denean Rice and Tiffany Hagen and some from Florida including Miss Florida Teen USA 1986, Stefanie Smith along with Ursula Lawson
Musical Performances
- Opening Number - "I Should Be So Lucky" by the 1989 Miss USA Contestants and Troupe with Miss USA 1988, Courtney Gibbs (Cover Version of that song which was sung by Kylie Minogue but with the first few notes of that song being replaced by the addition of the UBC Sports "I Wandered by a Brookside" jingle to the Opening Number in that pageant which was used for the first time in a Miss USA Telecast)
- Halftime Production Number - "Is It True What They Say About Dixie" by the 1989 Miss USA Contestants and Troupe with Special Guest Tommy Tune (Cover Version of that song which was sung by Al Jolson)
- Crowning Song after Gretchen Polehemus was named Miss USA 1989 - "This is Your Night
Contestant notes
- Gretchen Polhemus (Texas) and LeeAnne Locken (Arizona) had competed against each other the previous year in the Miss Texas USA 1988 pageant. Polhemus placed second runner-up to winner Courtney Gibbs, and Locken was third runner-up.