# Miss America 1977

Miss America 1977, the 50th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1976, on NBC Network. The winner was Miss Minnesota, Dorothy Benham.
Before the finals, Benham and second runner up Carmen McCollum shared victories of the talent and swimsuit preliminary trophies. Deborah Lipford, Miss Delaware, was the first black contestant to make it to the final 10, and only the sixth to win a state level Miss America contest.
Benham became a singer, appearing often on the Crystal Cathedral religious-themed program Hour of Power.
Among the other contestants in 1977 was Miss Florida, actress Nancy Stafford, who would co-star with Andy Griffith 11 years later in the NBC TV series Matlock.

## Results

| Final results | Contestant |
| Miss America 1977 | Minnesota - Dorothy Benham |
| 1st runner-up | South Carolina - Lavinia Cox |
| 2nd runner-up | Texas - Carmen McCollum |
| 3rd runner-up | California - Linda Michelle Mouron |
| 4th runner-up | New York - Sonja Anderson |
| Top 10 | Delaware - Deborah Lipford Maryland - Barbara Jennings North Dakota - Donna Grotberg Pennsylvania - Marie McLaughlin Virginia - Pamela Polk |

### Awards
#### Preliminary awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Lifestyle and Fitness | Minnesota - Dorothy Benham South Carolina - Lavinia Cox Texas - Carmen McCollum |
| Talent | Minnesota - Dorothy Benham New York - Sonja Anderson (tie) Texas - Carmen McCollum (tie) Virginia - Pamela Polk |

#### Non-finalist awards

| Awards | Contestant |
| Talent | Alaska - Kathy Tebow Arkansas - Joyce McCormack Idaho - RaNae Petersen Kentucky - Victoria Harned Nevada - Sandra Kastel Ohio - Janice Cooley Oregon - Shan Moss Wyoming - Carol June Wallace |

## Judges

* Gail Brown
* Katherine C. Corbett
* Frank DeFord
* Don Galloway
* Robert Lewine
* Jeanne Meixell
* Petr Spurney
* Susan Starr

## Contestants

| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Special Awards | Notes |
| Alabama | Denise Davis | Russellville | 18 | Popular Vocal | | | Toured with Miss America USO Troupe |
| Alaska | Kathy Tebow | Anchorage | 19 | Violin Solo, "Méditation" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Arizona | Anne DeVarennes | Tucson | 22 | Vocal, "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver! | | | |
| Arkansas | Joyce McCormack | Little Rock | 21 | Ballet en Pointe, "Polonaise" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| California | Linda Mouron | Orange | 19 | Tap Dance, "Puttin' on the Ritz" | 3rd runner-up | | |
| Colorado | Karen Land | Littleton | 22 | Vibraphone, "Bandstand Boogie" | | | |
| Connecticut | Debra LaRoche | Cheshire | 20 | Popular Vocal, "I Feel a Song Coming On" | | | |
| Delaware | Deborah Rica Lipford | Newark | 21 | Dramatic Interpretation, "It Was a Good Time" from Ryan's Daughter | Top 10 | | First African-American contestant to reach the top 10 at Miss America |
| Florida | Nancy Stafford | Fort Lauderdale | 22 | Piano, "Send in the Clowns" | | | |
| Georgia | Sandy Adamson | Atlanta | 20 | Tap Dance, "I Can Do That" | | Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship | |
| Hawaii | Haunani Asing | Kailua | 18 | Guitar &Vocal, "Hawaiian Lullaby" | | | |
| Idaho | RaNae Peterson | Preston | 19 | Organ Medley, "I Got Rhythm" & "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Illinois | Betsy Jamison | Mundelein | 24 | Popular Vocal, "Who Will Buy?" from Oliver! | | | |
| Indiana | Tamara Trittschuh | Plainfield | 21 | Piano, "Rhapsodies, Op. 79" by Johannes Brahms | | | |
| Iowa | Ronda Frogley | Davenport | 20 | Popular Vocal, "Tomorrow" | | | |
| Kansas | Linda Hall | Hill City | 21 | Piano, Theme from The Apartment | | | Wife of former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle |
| Kentucky | Victoria Harned | Leitchfield | 21 | Popular Vocal, "Send in the Clowns" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Louisiana | Candy Sue Crocker | Hammond | 22 | Vocal/Tap Dance, "Swanee" | | | |
| Maine | Susan Wanbaugh | Presque Isle | 19 | Dramatic Monologue from As You Like It | | | |
| Maryland | Barbara Jean Jennings | Greenbelt | 25 | Piano, "Morceaux de fantaisie" by Rachmaninoff | Top 10 | Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship | |
| Massachusetts | Deborah Guastella | Methuen | 22 | Vocal, "Your World and Mine" | | | |
| Michigan | Diane Kay Hansen | Berrien Center | 23 | Piano Medley, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee", "Dixie", & "Yankee Doodle" | | | |
| Minnesota | Dorothy Benham | Edina | 20 | Classical Vocal, "Adele's Laughing Song" from Die Fledermaus | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Mississippi | Bobbye Wood | Hattiesburg | 19 | Vocal, "Starting Here, Starting Now" | | | |
| Missouri | Marcia Kolich | Sugar Creek | 22 | Jazz Dance, "Everything's Coming up Roses", "On Broadway", & "That's Entertainment!" | | | |
| Montana | Janice Frankino | Helena | 19 | Gymnastics/Jazz Dance, "The Yankee Doodle Boy" | | Dr. David B. Allman Medical Scholarship | |
| Nebraska | Marion Catherine Watson | Omaha | 22 | Vocal, "Over the Rainbow" | | | |
| Nevada | Sandra Kastel | Las Vegas | 21 | Vocal, "My Man" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| New Hampshire | Margaret Spellacy | Hampton | 21 | Comedy Dance, "The Yankee Doodle Boy" | | | |
| New Jersey | Lori Johnson | Medford | 19 | Acrobatic Dance, "Love is the Answer" | | | |
| New Mexico | Melody Griffin | Hobbs | 21 | Vocal, "The Music and the Mirror" from A Chorus Line | | | |
| New York | Sonja Anderson | New York City | 25 | Vocal, "And This is My Beloved" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Previously Miss New York USA 1975 |
| North Carolina | Susie Proffitt | Black Mountain | 22 | Tap Dance from Baby Face | | | |
| North Dakota | Donna Grotberg | Valley City | 18 | Piano, "The Cat and the Mouse" | Top 10 | | |
| Ohio | Janice Cooley | Portsmouth | 20 | Piano, "Mephisto Waltz" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Oklahoma | Lucia Miller | Buffalo | 21 | Trumpet, "Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey" | | | |
| Oregon | Shan Moss | Nyssa | 21 | Flute, "Concertino" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | |
| Pennsylvania | Marie McLaughlin | Levittown | 23 | Ventriloquism, "Together (Wherever We Go)" | Top 10 | | |
| Rhode Island | Debra Cerroni | Esmond | 20 | Vocal, "Much More" from The Fantasticks | | | Previously Miss Rhode Island USA 1974 |
| South Carolina | Lavinia Cox | Latta | 23 | Piano Medley, "The Man I Love" & "Sunny" | 1st runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| South Dakota | Beth Guthmiller | Tripp | 21 | Vocal, "My Tribute" | | | Younger sister of Miss South Dakota 1974, Barbara Guthmiller |
| Tennessee | Terry Alden | Memphis | 21 | Classical Piano, "Toccata" | | | |
| Texas | Carmen McCollum | Odessa | 19 | Saxophone Medley, "Wabash Cannonball", "Yakety Sax", & "If He Walked Into My Life" from Mame | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Utah | Suzanne McKay | Salt Lake City | 22 | Organ Medley, "Yankee Doodle Dandy" & "God Bless America" | | | |
| Vermont | Suzanne Wind | Saxtons River | 18 | Acrobatic Jazz Dance, "Wisdom" | | | |
| Virginia | Pamela Polk | Richmond | 22 | Classical Vocal, "Mi Chiamano Mimi" from La bohème | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Washington | Theresa Adams | Wenatchee | 19 | Classical Piano, "Prelude in G minor" by Rachmaninoff | | | |
| West Virginia | Teresa Lucas | Elkins | 22 | Gymnastics Routine | | | |
| Wisconsin | Julie Nowak | Greendale | 19 | Popular Vocal, "Do You Know Where You're Going To?" | | | |
| Wyoming | Carol June Wallace | Jackson | 24 | Piano Medley, "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", "Love Story", "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", & "Strangers in the Night" | | Non-finalist Talent Award | Previously Miss Kentucky USA 1975 Semi-finalist at Miss USA 1975 Mother of Miss Kentucky 2002, Mary Catherine Correll |