Miss Gay America

Miss Gay America is a national pageant for female impersonators. Established in 1972, the pageant is based on the Miss America contest and follows a similar format.[1]

Miss Gay America Pageant

Miss Gay America logo 2016

Motto	Where the boys are boys... and female impersonation is an art!
Type	Beauty pageant
Headquarters	Frederick, Maryland
Owner	Mad Angel Entertainment, Michael Dutzer, Rob Mansman
Current Titleholder	Pattaya Hart
Website	www.missgayamerica.com

Each year, contestants compete at various city, state, and direct regional preliminaries for the opportunity to advance to the official Miss Gay America pageant. Titleholders are often seen as the best in the industry and are frequently hired to entertain in a variety of venues, such as Las Vegas shows, cruise ships, and LGBT events.[1]

The Miss Gay America pageant system is the longest running pageant system for female impersonators. It is one of the four major pageant systems for the art form, in addition to Continental Pageantry, Gay USofA Pageantry, and Entertainer of the Year. Miss Gay America is unique in that it is the only national pageant that prohibits contestants from using female hormones or having undergone any feminizing plastic surgery, such as breast implants or liquid-silicone injections below the neck.[1]

Lady Gaga on the 10th of September 2017, was crowned as the first Honorary Miss Gay America.

The current Miss Gay America titleholder is Pattaya Hart, the 49th titleholder, crowned on October 5, 2019.

History

In 1971, Jerry Peek opened the Watch Your Hat & Coat Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee, the city's first gay dance and show bar. Having an understanding of the female illusionist state pageants occurring in various show bars in other states, Peek decided to establish a national level pageant to further recognize the best entertainers. On June 25, 1972, the first pageant was held at Peek's Nashville saloon.[2] Norman Jones, performing as Norma Kristie, competed representing Arkansas and was crowned the winner of the 1973 pageant and emeritus titleholder of the Miss Gay America Pageant system. In 1975, Jones assumed ownership of the pageant and later formed Norma Kristie, Inc., operating and directing the Miss Gay America pageant and the Mr. Gay All-America Contest systems. In 2005, Norman Jones retired from the pageant's regular operations and sold the Miss Gay America pageantry system to Larry Tyger and Terry Eason of L&T Entertainment.[3] On February 4, 2016 Michael Dutzer and Rob Mansman of Mad Angel Entertainment purchased the Miss Gay America pageant From L & T Entertainment.[4]

At the 2016 pageant in Memphis, Mad Angel Entertainment announced they will be retiring the solo talent category. Starting in 2017 Presentation will be judged for the top 10 contestants in its place. Also starting in 2017 contestants are able to change their talent numbers on the final night of the competition.

Mad Angel Entertainment announced in January 2017 that they will be bringing back Mr. Gay All-American as Mr. Gay America. The pageant was held on July 2, 2017 in Dallas, TX with the winner being Judas Elliott. [5]

The 2019 Miss Gay America pageant uses the slogan "Where Boys Are Boys and Female Impersonation is an Art", and is scheduled to be held on March 19, 2019. Thomas John is the official promoter.[6]

Qualification

Contestants for the national Miss Gay America pageant qualify through franchised state and direct regional preliminaries. The winner and first alternate of the preliminary contests advance to the national pageant. Many states require contestants to first compete in franchised city preliminaries, where the winner and first alternate advance to the state pageant.[1]

Competition

Historically, pageant competition consisted of interview, evening gown and talent categories. Later a Contemporary Fashion category for sportswear was added. After about a decade it was changed to Creative Fashion, a category that was never fully understood by judges or contestants and was later changed to Creative Costume. It was eventually replaced with Solo Talent. While some of the contestants perform live vocal, dance or comedy skits, the vast majority showcase their talent of lip syncing to prerecorded music. Current categories are Male Interview, Solo Talent, Evening Gown, On-Stage Interview, and Talent.[7]

Currently, the national pageant consists of 3 nights of preliminary competition, where all contestants compete in male interview, solo talent, evening gown, and production talent. Awards for each night of these categories are presented on the 4th night of the pageant week during the official Miss Gay America Revue Show, where former titleholders return to entertain. The final competition night is held on the fifth night, typically at a larger and more formal venue, and the top 10 finalists are announced. These finalists then compete again in evening gown, stage interview, and production talent. At the end of the final pageant, the top four runners-up are announced and the winner is crowned.[8]

List of past winners

Miss Gay America winners
Year	Titleholder	Given name	Crowning venue	First Alternate	Second Alternate	Notes
1973	Norma Kristie	Norman Jones	Watch Your Hat & Coat Saloon, Nashville, Tennessee	Charlie Brown	Genie Dee	As the first Miss Gay America titleholder, Norma Kristie holds the title of Miss Gay America Emeritus. In 1975, he assumed ownership of the pageant and ran it until his retirement in 2005.
1974	Lady Baronessa	Carmel Santiago	The Glass Menagerie Nightclub, Nashville, Tennessee	Roski Fenandez	Billie Eggs	Lady Baronessa's full name was "The Lady Baroness Maria Andrea Del Santiago". Lady Baronessa assisted in the operations of Norma Kristie, Inc. until his passing in 1992.
1975	Shawn Luis	Shawn Ocampo	Atlanta Americana Hotel Ballroom, Atlanta, Georgia	Roski Fernandez	?
1976-A	Shan Covington	Shan Covington	The Depository Nightclub, Houston, Texas	Michael Andrews	Dani Daletto, Miss Gay Michigan America	Title revoked for unbecoming conduct.
1976-B	Dani Daletto	Jose Mondelano	Vapors Nightclub, Hot Springs, Arkansas			Dani Daletto was crowned in a special ceremony at the 1976 Miss Gay South Pageant held at Vapors Nightclub in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
1977	Michael Andrews	Michael Androlewicz	The Old Plantation Nightclub, Houston, Texas	Naomi Sims, Miss Gay Texas America	Shannon Forrester	Michael Andrews also held the 1986 emeritus title of Miss Gay USofA. Andrews has also appeared in a number of films.[9]
1978	Jimi Dee	Jimmy Dillard	Machinist's Hall, St. Louis, Missouri	Hot Chocolate, Miss Gay Texas America	Lady Shawn	Jimi Dee was best known for his illusion of Diana Ross.
1979	Rachel Wells[10]	John Greenwell	Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia	Hot Chocolate	Lady Shawn
1980	Hot Chocolate	Larry Edwards	Atlanta Convention Center, Atlanta, Georgia	Lady Shawn, Miss Gay Texas America	Dana Manchester	Hot Chocolate is known for his celebrity female impersonations of Tina Turner. He also appeared in the films What's Love Got to Do With It and Miss Congeniality 2.[11]
1981	Lady Shawn	Shawn Marshall	Masonic Temple, Detroit, Michigan	Genevieve Ryder, Miss Gay Missouri America	Jennifer Foxx
1982	Jennifer Foxx	Bobby Bruno	Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Francesca Wakeland	Tasha Kohl
1983	Francesca Wakeland	Jon Meadows	Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, North Carolina	Naomi Sims, Miss Gay Southwest America	Tasha Kohl, Miss Gay Texas
1984	Tasha Kohl	Jerry Faulkner	Oklahoma City Convention Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Naomi Sims, Miss Gay South Regional America	Stella Starr, Miss Gay North Carolina America	Tasha Kohl is notable for his creative and eccentric costuming and performance choices. He has also held the title of Miss National Entertainer of the Year, 1991.
1985	Naomi Sims	Newman S. Braud	Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Fritz Capone, Miss Gay Kansas America	Melinda Ryder, Miss Gay Missouri America	Naomi Sims was known as the "eyes of Texas" and revered for his stellar dancing skills. Naomi also held the 1990 emeritus title to Miss National Entertainer of the Year, and 1985 National Female Impersonator of the Year.
1986	Lauren Colby	Robb Robinson	Indianapolis Convention Center, Indianapolis, Indiana	Diana Black, Miss Gay Great Lakes America	Toni Lenoir, Miss Gay North Carolina	Lauren Colby has the unique distinction of having won Miss Gay America on his first attempt at the national crown.
1987	Blaze Starr		Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Cherry Lane, Second Alternate to Miss Gay Arkansas	Kelly Ray
1988	Cherry Lane	Michael Smothers	Fox Theater, Atlanta, Georgia	Rachel Masters	Valerie Lohr, Miss Gay Texas America
1989	Vicki Vincent	Roger Piatt	Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Brandi Alexander, Miss Gay North Regional America	Sweet Savage, Miss Gay Texas America
1990	Brandi Alexander	Randy Fenoli	Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Valerie Lohr, Miss Gay Midwest America	Tiffany Bonet	Randy Fenoli used his prize money to enroll in the Fashion Institute of Technology. He is currently the television host of Say Yes to the Dress.
1991	Valerie Lohr	Gary Lytle	Dallas Convention Center, Dallas, Texas	Coco, Miss Gay South Regional America	Tiffany Bonet
1992	Tiffany Bonet	Acey Hendricks	Majestic Theater, Dallas, Texas	Leslie Rage	Blair Williams, Miss Gay North Carolina America
1993	Leslie Rage	Leslie DeLaCruz	Majestic Theater, Dallas, Texas	Coco	Dieta Pepsi, Miss Gay Heart of America	Leslie Rage declined an opportunity to dance with Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas in order to serve as Miss Gay America.
1994	Jacqulyn DeVaroe	Darius Cordell Murphy	Majestic Theater, Dallas, Texas	Ramona LeGer'	Coppa LeMay	Jacqueline DeVaroe also held the title of Miss Gay USofA 1997.
1995-A	Ramona LeGer'	Louis Marcello	Majestic Theater, Dallas, Texas	Patti Le Plae Safe, First Alternate to Miss Gulf States America	Nicole Dubois, Miss Gay Southern Elegance America	Ramona LeGer' died five months into his reign due to complications from AIDS.
1995-B	Patti Le Plae Safe	Rodd Grey	Robinson Center Music Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas			Patti Le Plae Safe was crowned Miss Gay America 1995 in a special ceremony prior to the 1996 pageant in Little Rock, Arkansas.
1996	Kerri Nichols	Jeff Capell	Robinson Center Music Auditorium, Little Rock, Arkansas	Lauren Taylor, Miss Gay Texas America	Linda Carrero
1997	Lauren Taylor	Darrell Cantu	Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, North Carolina	Laken Edwards	Lana Eastman	Lauren Taylor also held the title of Miss Gay USofA 1998.
1998	Maya Montana		Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte, North Carolina	Linda Carrero, Miss Gay Mid-America	Lana Eastman
1999	Linda Carrero	Omar Reyes	Athena Theater, Little Rock, Arkansas	Kirby Colby, Miss Gay West Virginia America	Catia Lee Love
2000	Catia Lee Love	Aron Harvey	Lincoln Theater, Washington D.C.	Charity Case, Miss Gay Southern Elegance America	Kirby Kolby	Catia is also former Miss Gay Oklahoma America 1998, and Miss Gay USofA Classic 2011.
2001	Charity Case	Marc Coleman	Athena Theater, Little Rock, Arkansas	Sabrina White	Dominique Sanchez	Charity Case competed 11 times at Miss Gay America between 1984 and 2001 before winning the Miss Gay America 2001 title. Charity was the first and still only plus size individual to win the title.
2002	Sabrina White	Russell Marcum	Dallas Convention Center-Dallas, Texas	Kitty Bob Aimes, Miss Gay Oklahoma America	Angela Dodd
2003	Dominique Sanchez	Chris Williams	Athena Theater-Little Rock, Arkansas	Jayda Alexander, Miss Gay Louisiana America	Angela Dodd	Dominique has also held the titles of Miss Gay Arkansas America 1998 and Miss Gay USofA 2010.
2004	Rachael Erikks		Athena Theater, Little Rock, Arkansas	Alana Steele, Miss Gay Indiana America	Truly Fabu
2005	Raquel Chevallier		Athena Theater, Little Rock, Arkansas	Alina Meletti, Miss Gay Florida America	Alyssa Edwards
2006	Nicole DuBois	Tommy Davis	Cannon Center, Memphis, Tennessee	Coti Collins, Miss Gay East Coast America	Victoria Parker
2007	Luscious		Cannon Center, Memphis, Tennessee	Coti Collins, Miss Gay North Carolina	Chantel Reshae	Luscious has also held the title of Miss Gay USofA 2011.
2008	Mikayla Kay	Josh Bolin	Holiday Inn Select Airport Grand Ballroom, Memphis, Tennessee	Layla Larue, Miss Gay Southern Elegance America	Victoria DePaula, Miss Gay Midwest America
2009	Victoria DePaula	Carl Glorioso	Millennium Hotel Grand Ballroom, St. Louis, Missouri	Chantel Reshae, Miss Gay East Coast America	Coti Collins, Miss Gay Mideast America
2010-A	Alyssa Edwards[12]	Justin Johnson	Millennium Hotel Ballroom, St. Louis, Missouri	Coco Montrese, Miss Gay Heart of America	Jessica Jade, Miss Gay D.C. America	Title revoked due to unprofessionalism.
2010-B	Coco Montrese	Martin Cooper	The Grey Fox Nightclub, St. Louis, Missouri
2011	Coti Collins	David Lowman	Lifestyles Pavilion Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio	Jessica Jade, Miss Gay Mid-East America	Chantel Reshae, Miss Gay Gulf States America	Coti Collins is the second longest competing Miss Gay America winner.
2012	Kirby Kolby		Capitol Theatre at the Riffe Center, Columbus, Ohio	Jessica Jade, Miss Gay Atlantic States	Jenna Skyy, Miss Gay Texas America
2013	Sally Sparkles	Michael Sharp	Sheraton Hotel Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio	Blair Williams, First Alternate to Miss Gay Mid-America	Jessica Jade, Miss Gay Southern Elegance America	Sally Sparkles was the first contestant to win the title Miss Gay America and Miss Congeniality the same year.
2014	Jessica Jade	Billy Wilson	Millennium Hotel Ball Room, St. Louis, Missouri	Blair Williams, Miss Gay D.C. America	Krista Collins, Miss Gay Missouri America
2015	Blair Williams	Todd Mauldin	Millennium Hotel Ball Room, St. Louis, Missouri	Truly Fabu, Miss Gay Eastern States America, 1st Alternate	Kelly Ray, Miss Gay North Carolina America
2016	Asia O'Hara	Antwan Lee	Memphis, Tennessee	Kelli Ray Shelton, Miss Gay Southeast America	Dextaci, Miss Gay Southern States America	Asia was the first to be crowned Miss Gay America on her first try since Lauren Colby. Asia is also a former Miss Gay USofA (2007) and All-American Goddess (2012).
2017	Suzy Wong	Arnold Myint	Memphis, Tennessee	Kelly Ray Shelton, Miss Gay Heart of America 2016	Sofia Anderson, Miss Gay Texas America 2016
2018	Deva Station		New Orleans, Louisiana	Brooke Lynn Hytes, 1st Alternate Miss Gay Heart of America 2017	Kelly Ray Shelton, Miss Gay New York America 2017
2019	Andora Te’Tee	Michael Collins	St. Louis, Missouri	Dessie Love Blake, 1st Alternate, Miss Gay New York America 2018	Sofia Anderson, Miss Gay Nevada America 2018
2020	Pattaya Hart	Plu Sayampol	O’Fallon, Illinois	Dextaci, 1st Alternate, Miss Gay Mid-Atlantic 2019	Ivy Dripp, Miss Gay Louisiana 2019	Pattaya won on her first attempt at MGA as 1st Alrernate To Miss Gay New York. The third person overall to achieve this.

Notable events

Shan Covington's title revocation

In 1976, Shan Covington's title was revoked 7 months into her reign for conduct unbecoming of a Miss Gay America titleholder. The title was offered to the 1976 First Alternate, Michael Andrews, who declined because she wanted to win the title. The title was then passed to the 1976 Second Alternate, Dani Daletto. This incident sparked the development of the current mandatory first alternate succession rules.

Showtime's Dream Boy's Revue

In 1985, titleholder Naomi Sims was also the crowned winner of the 1985 National Female Impersonator of the Year contest. That contest was organized by Norma Kristie, Inc., owner of the Miss Gay America pageant, but was created, produced and televised by the Showtime network in a television special called Dream Boy's Revue. The audience believed the pageant was real, but according to "finalist" Rachel Wells, the pageant was staged and each of the contestants were paid substantially to "compete." Additionally, the televised special faced issues with copyright infringement associated with certain lip syncing performances, which required much of the talent portion of the show to be dubbed when it was aired.

Death of titleholder Ramona LeGer'

In 1995, titleholder Ramona LeGer' died 5 months into her reign due to complications from AIDS. First Alternate Patti Le Plae Safe requested not to be crowned or wear the crown during the pageant year, instead serving as the official Miss Gay America Representative to honor Ramona LeGer's memory. Patti Le Plae Safe was crowned Miss Gay America 1995 in a special ceremony prior to the 1996 pageant in Little Rock, Arkansas. Patti donated large portions of her performance fees to AIDS charities while representing Miss Gay America 1995.

Alyssa Edwards' title revocation

In 2010, winner Alyssa Edwards had her title revoked due to scheduling conflicts with previous engagements and her Miss Gay America duties. The title was passed to the 2010 first alternate, Coco Montrese, who was crowned in a special ceremony at The Grey Fox Nightclub in St. Louis, MO. Alyssa Edwards and Coco Montrese appeared as contestants in season five of RuPaul's Drag Race, where the 2010 Miss Gay America pageant issues and animosity between Alyssa and Coco played a central theme throughout the season. L&T Productions later released a statement about the dramatized events, explaining their reasons for revoking Alyssa's title and their lack of knowledge about how this issue would be portrayed in the television series. They had been approached by the producers to provide copyright clearance for both Alyssa's and Coco's official Miss Gay America photos.

Mr. Gay All-American

The Mr. Gay All-American Contest was founded by Norma Kristie, Inc. in 1983 by the operators of Miss Gay America, Norman Jones and Carmel Santiago (Lady Baronessa, Miss Gay America 1974). The MGAA Contest was started to provide a venue for gay men to showcase their intellect, community service, and talent. It launched careers in professional entertainment for many young gay men. MGAA was the first contest of its kind, and its winner was considered to be the co-titleholder to Miss Gay America.

In 1995, Jones sold the Mr. Gay All-American Contest to Gib Hauersperger, who had been the contest director since the death of Carmel Santiago. Hauersperger operated the pageant until his retirement in 1999. Paul Lopez (Mr. Gay All-American 2000) operated the contest from 1999 to 2003, when Richard Greer (Mr. Gay All-American 1999) assumed the directorial role. John Beebe (Mr. Gay All-American 1996) succeeded Greer as director. In 2009, Beebe and Hauersperger announced that the Mr. Gay All-American Contest system would cease operations indefinitely.[13]

Mr. Gay All-American Titleholders
Year	Titleholder
1983, 1984	Ron East
1985	Keith Mitchell
1986	Ered Matthew
1987	Medwin Johnson
1988	Brad Bemis
1989	Patrick Boyd
1990	Milo Masters
1991	TJ McKay
1992	John Michael Gordon
1993	EJ White
1994	David Pace
1995	John Reny
1996	John Martin Beebe
1997	Jonathan George
1998	Antonio Edwards
1999	Richard Greer
2000	Kristian Martinez
2001	Paul Lopez
2002	Ryan Davis
2003	Enrique Perez
2004	Dave Morgan
2005	Lucas Lander
2006	John Lucas
2007	Taz Bailey
2008	Sebastian Armonte
2009	Rasean Montrese

Mr. Gay America

In January 2017, Mad Angel Entertainment announced the return of Mr. Gay All-American as Mr. Gay America.[5][14]

Mr. Gay America Titleholders
Year	Titleholder
2017	Kyle Ean
2018	Judas Elliot
2019	Simba R. Hall

In film

The 2008 documentary film Pageant presents a behind-the-scenes look at the 34th Miss Gay America pageant and some of the competitors, many of whom have since won the title of Miss Gay America.[15]

In 1982, Elizabeth Gracen, Miss America 1982, made her directorial debut with a documentary feature called The Damn Deal. The film is an intimate portrait of three female impersonators participating in the events surrounding the Miss Gay Little Rock Arkansas America pageant.[16]

References

1. L&T Entertainment. "What is Miss Gay America?". Archived from the original on May 18, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
2. Margaret Ellis. "Miss Gay America Pageant: Battle for the Crown". Out and About Nashville.
3. L&T Entertainment. "Miss Gay America: Pageant History". Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 16, 2014.
4. "Miss Gay America Pageant Sold to Mad Angel Entertainment".
5. "MGAZINE".
6. "Miss Gay New York America (A Standard Regional Preliminary)". Missgayamerica.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2019.
7. L&T Productions. "Miss Gay America Categories". Archived from the original on 2014-05-19.
8. L&T Productions. "Miss Gay America 2015 Schedule". Archived from the original on 2014-05-19.
9. "Internet Movie Database: Michael A. Andrews". Retrieved May 17, 2014.
10. Greenwell, John. "Teased Hair & the Quest for Tiaras: The Story of Rachel Wells, Miss Gay America 1979". Retrieved December 12, 2012.
11. "Internet Movie Database".
12. Hartwig, Gabe (2009-11-02). "50 contestants, 4 days, 1 Miss Gay America". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
13. CarrieFairfield.com Forums. "Mr. Gay All-American 1983-2009". Archived from the original on 2014-05-18. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
14. "The boys are back in town - Dallas Voice". 30 June 2017.
15. Lee, Nathan (2008-12-25). "There She Is, Miss ... Well, Actually, It's Mr". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-02-01.
16. thesmokingpen.co.uk. "The Smoking Pen: Elizabeth Gracen".

External links

• Official website