Miss America Revisited

"The Early Show"'s "Time Machine" series continued with a trip back to 1954. The year had many firsts, including the first live televised Miss America pageant. A record 27 million people tuned in to see Lee Meriwether crowned Miss America that year.

Blast to the Past, 1954, with "The Early Show"
Photos: Remember 1954
Pieces of 1954's Past
Mom and Her Gear: 1954 and Today
Recalling 1954
The Platters Still Serving Up Hits

The pageant began as a way to attract tourists to Atlantic City in the early 1920's. However, the event became a hugely popular and anticipated spectacle once it began to be televised in 1954. In the 1960s, The Miss America telecast was repeatedly the highest rated show on television.

However, over the decades, changes hit the pageant caused by the growing feminist movement. The civil rights movement also impacted the pageant leading to African American contestants being admitted and crowned.

However, the pageant has also had its share of controversy. In 1984, Vanessa Williams had to forfeit her crown when nude photos of her surfaced in a magazine.

Remembering 1990
Reflections on 1979
Blasting Back in Time to 1983

Changes have continued to present day. In 2006, Miss America moved from Atlantic City to Las Vegas. The show has also moved from network television to cable. However, the pageant remains one of the iconic events in American pop history.

And on "The Early Show" several former Miss Americas, including
Lee Meriwether, Miss America 1955, Phyllis George, Miss America 1971, Susan Powell, Miss America 1981, Katie Stam, the current Miss America and "Early Show" substitute co-anchor Debbye Turner Bell, appeared to discuss the pageant's evolution over the years. To watch "The Early Show" interview, click on the video below.