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Rod McKuen Miss America Pageant judge's binder
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Held at: University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts [Contact Us]3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6206
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
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Born Rodney Marvin McKuen on January 29, 1933, in Oakland, California. He was a prolific and commercially successful American songwriter and poet of popular works. McKuen wrote Oscar-nominated songs for films and cover songs for other artists. He died in Beverly Hills, California on January 29, 2015.
This three-ring binder was supplied to Rod McKuen as one of the judges for the 1982 Miss America Pageant. McKuen's name and the pageant's emblem are printed in white on the cover. The binder provides an inside look at judge's evaluations of the Miss America contestants and contains all the information necessary for the judges during the pageant. These items include schedules, instructions for judges, work sheets, and each contestant's photograph along with a biographical sheet, referred to as a fact sheet. Each category of the competition is represented in the binder. Annotations with McKuen's opinions and criticisms are written on the biographical sheet for each contestant and appear to be related to the private interview portion of the competition. The fifty pageant contestants were divided into three units: Mu group, Alpha group, and Sigma group. The ten semi-finalists of the pageant were separated from the original groupings by McKuen and placed at the front of the binder following the judge's work sheets. The first three leaves in the binder are entitled "Judge's work sheet." Each work sheet represents one of the three contestant groups--Mu, Alpha, and Sigma--with five columns as follows: contestants, private interview, evening gown, talent, and swimsuit. McKuen's notes and comments are filled in for each category. Separate sheets with notes and numerical scores by McKuen for the finalists are included. The program for the Miss America Pageant's awards ball following the conclusion of the pageant is included. The binder is housed separately from its contents.
Sold by Heritage Auctions (Dallas, Texas), 2015.
- Publisher
- University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Finding Aid Author
- Donna Brandolisio
- Finding Aid Date
- December 2015
- Access Restrictions
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This collection is available and open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.