'Mr. Miss America' To Step Down

The man who fitted Miss America into a two-piece swimsuit, gave viewers a say in the judging, and tried mightily to modernize the world's most famous beauty pageant is ending his reign as its chief.

Leonard Horn, 61, says he'll oversee the Sept. 19 pageant and the naming of a successor before leaving as president and chief executive early next year. This year's pageant is to be hosted by Boomer Esiason and Meredith Vieira.

Horn plans to move to Jackson, Tenn. (his wife's hometown) to become a "country lawyer."

"The practice of law has always been my major love, and I miss it," he said from Los Angeles Monday. "The idea of being a single practitioner in a more countrified environment has always been a dream of mine."

Horn served as general counsel to the pageant for years. He took the top job in 1987, when Al Marks Jr. stepped down.

Two years later, he introduced the "platform" concept, which required contestants to espouse a social cause. The move was designed to remake Miss America's image, from a beauty queen who presided over ribbon-cuttings into an advocate for social change.

Subsequent Miss Americas have been credited with using the power of the crown to draw attention to such causes as AIDS awareness, literacy, and school-to-work initiatives.

"He's truly brought the pageant into the 21st century," said Ann Harmon, director of the Holiday In Dixie pageant, a Louisiana pageant that feeds into the Miss America system. "It used to be, 'A beautiful face and a good body? Hey, she goes to Atlantic City.' But that's not what they're looking for now."

Under Horn's leadership, the pageant also:

• Banned professional hairdressers from contestants' dressing rooms in hopes of replacing upswept, lacquered hairdos with more natural ones
• Did away with high heels in the swimsuit competition, and gave contestants the choice of one piece or two. (Horn would have rather abolished the swimsuit competition entirely but felt that doing so would turn viewers off.)
• Changed its name from the Miss America Pageant to the Miss America Organization, calling it a "scholarship pageant" instead of a beauty contest. The pageant is the single largest provider of scholarships to women and gave more than $32 million last year, pageant officials said.
• Fattened its bank account by aggressively seeking sponsors and selling the Miss America image. He established a $7 million rainy day fund.

Last year, he came under fire after the crowning of Miss America 1998 Kate Shindle when it was learned that Shindle's father had served on the Miss America board of directors.

And the pageant's TV ratinghave continued their free-fall. Last year, the pageant drew a 12.5 rating and a 24 share, with 12.3 million households tuning in.

Written by John Curran