Sharon Stone's re-emergence as Catherine Trammel in the new "Basic Instinct 2" movie brought back some fond and not so fond memories for me.
Almost 30 years ago, Sharon and I competed for the 1976 Miss Pennsylvania title. The winner would represent the state in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City, N.J.
I was a pageant pro. I had competed in many pageants, winning more than 25 titles — everything from Miss Lehigh Valley to New Jersey Peach Queen. It was a business for me: Pageant winnings paid for my college education, including room and board.
On the other hand, at 17, Sharon was a real pageant novice.
We became fast friends during pageant week in Altoona, Pa. I was impressed by her all-American pretty looks and smarts. She was very confident sharing with me that she was going to be the next Marilyn Monroe. I was a little surprised at her remark since she weighed about 145 (or more) pounds.
During the talent segment, she recited the Gettysburg Address with sparkles in her hair. During the evening gown competition, she announced to the audience that she was going to win an Academy Award.
She did not finish in the Top 10 that evening.
The following year, in June of 1977, as I was relinquishing my Miss Pennsylvania title, Sharon came to the pageant with her mother on the final night, she said, "to specifically thank me for helping her the year before."
Sharon was totally transformed. At a statuesque 5 foot 9, she now weighed about 115 pounds. She wasn't just pretty anymore. She was beautiful. I was thrilled when she told me she had signed a modeling contract with the prestigious Ford Modeling Agency in New York City.
I never saw Sharon again, but always followed her career.
I went on to compete in the Miss America pageant and was a Top 10 finisher, I got the chance to perfrom on national TV: Displaying my ventriloquism abilities with my wooden partner Timothy.
Two days after my reign ended I was in Chicago signing a contract with Leaf Confectionery to promote their line of candies. Timothy became the "Whopper Malted Milk Ball Kid," and that exposure led to a wonderful show business career. I got the opportunity to appear with many great performers, including Liberace (my favorite), Kenny Rogers, the Osmonds, Tom Jones and Jerry Vale, to name a few, on stages from glitzy Las Vegas to small town America.
In 1984 I retired to get married, and devoted much of my time to raising millions of dollars for charities, especially for terminally and chronically ill children.
In 1994, the national Italian-American Hall of Fame named me their Humanitarian of the Year. This was a tremendous honor, since previous recipients included Jerry Lewis, Princess Grace, Nancy Reagan and Raoul Wallenberg. I was so humbled, and so proud, never expecting my philanthropic work would be recognized in such a momentous way.
That wonderous feeling came to a screeching halt with an early morning phone call from a friend in May of that year. She told me that Sharon Stone had trashed me in the National Enquirer.
The publication said she called the pageant "sick." And called the winner (me) " brutal, coldhearted and callous." She was quoted as saying that I "intimidated the other girls and didn't socialize with them." That I "was out for blood."
There were no denying her words: The National Enquirer said all of it was on tape.
The story was carried internationally. I did numerous interviews, radio shows, TV shows and a segment of American Journal.
In the end, Sharon Stone gave me another 15 minutes of fame. But it came with a personal price, and it certainly was not the kind of fame I wanted.
Time has marched on. I love my life, and my husband and our home in Olde Cypress, surrounded by many friends.
As for Sharon: At 47, I hope she looks good in her new movie and that she someday wins an Academy Award.
PS: When she married Phil Bronstein, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, in 1998, she wore a crown.
Saturday, April 8, 2006
Do you have an interesting story to tell? Send submissions to In Your Own Words at neapolitan@naplesnews.com and we may decide to publish it in Neapolitan and Gulf Life.
TKPN
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