Miss Universe 1952-2015 (Pia Wurtzbach from Philippines)

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• published: 24 Dec 2015
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Today's Miss Universe Pageant was founded after Yolande Betbeze, the winner of the 1951 Miss America pageant, refused to pose in a swimsuit from its major sponsor, Catalina Swimwear. The brand's manufacturer Pacific Mills withdrew its sponsorship from Miss America and set up the Miss USA and Miss Universe contests. The first Miss Universe Pageant was held in Long Beach, California in 1952. It was won by Armi Kuusela from Finland, who gave up her title, though not officially, to get married, shortly before her year was completed. Until 1958, the Miss Universe title, like that of Miss America, was dated by the year following the contest, so at the time Ms. Kuusela's title was Miss Universe 1953. Since its founding by Pacific Mills, the pageant has been organized and conducted by the Miss Universe Organization. Eventually Pacific Mills and its subsidiaries were acquired by the Kayser-Roth Corporation, which was in turn acquired by Gulf and Western Industries. Donald Trump acquired the pageant in 1996. The pageant was first televised in 1955. CBS began broadcasting the combined Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants in 1960, and as separate contests in 1965. John Charles Daly hosted the pageant from 1955 to 1966, Bob Barker from 1967 to 1987, Alan Thicke in 1988, John Forsythe in 1989, Dick Clark from 1990 to 1993, and Bob Goen from 1994 to 1996. In 2003, NBC outbid the other networks for the TV rights. From 2003 to 2014, the pageant was broadcast in the US on NBC. NBC and Univision dropped the pageant in 2015 due to comments made by presidential candidate Trump about illegal immigrants from Mexico. Starting in 2015, Fox was the official broadcaster of the pageant. Up until September 2015, the Miss Universe Organization was a joint venture between NBC and Donald Trump. The company has run the contest since 2002. Following Trump's controversial comments about illegal immigrants during his 2016 Presidential announcement speech, NBC cancelled all business relationships with the Miss Universe Organization and with Trump. In September 2015, Trump bought out NBC's 50% stake in the organization making him the company's sole owner, which he held for three days before selling the entire pageant to WME/IMG. The current president of the Miss Universe Organization is Paula Shugart.