After the Ballyhoo Is Over

Two
years ago, against the same backdrop of beauty and ballyhoo as emanates
presently from Long Beach, Leona Gage, Miss Maryland, was acclaimed
Miss U.S.A. At her moment of triumph, as she prepared to compete for
the Miss Universe title, it was revealed she was married and the mother
of two children. Her husband had talked in a bar in Baltimore.

Leona
first denied, then admitted, it was true. There followed an
unprecedented uproar in which horrified pageant officials gave off wild
double talk. It was as though she had committed a capital crime. All
she had done was reach for the big break a pretty girl knows she needs
to get anywhere in the tough entertainment business. In the end she was
disqualified and sent packing.

But life was not too grim for
tearful Leona. She virtually had to run from Ed Sullivan's program to
Steve Allen's show one Sunday. Then there was the showgirl job in Las Vegas. After that, nothing.

IT OCCURRED
to a city editor a few days ago that there might be an interesting
feature story in finding her and taking her to Long Beach and getting
her views on the widely exploited Miss Universe clambake.

After
a long search a reporter located her, and Wednesday morning went to see
her. She lives in an old frame house in a run-down neighborhood in the
Echo Park section, two blocks from Angelus Temple.

The devil
grass front lawn has not been watered. The garbage cans at the curbs
had been spilled, and several alley cats were foraging in the contents.
Only bright spot in the drab surroundings were several pastel travel
posters incongruously tacked on the walls.

Leona Gage is now Mrs. Nicholas Covacevich.
Her husband is a nightclub dancer and dancing teacher. Her two children
live with her and she is expecting a baby in about a month.

The doorbell did not ring when the reporter pressed it so he knocked on the door. He noticed the doorknob was broken.

When
Miss Maryland of 1957 asked who it was and he told her, she said she
was tired, hadn't slept and didn't want to talk about the Miss Universe
contest or have anything to do with it.

"Please go away," she pleaded from behind the door, and he did.