Cheryle Thompson Kaye, who was Miss Nevada 1963, died June 25, 2003, at age 59. She was a successful singer as a young woman. She is survived by her husband, Norman Kaye, the entertainer and businessman, as well as by her children and grandchildren.

Retired Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, whose long life included a record-breaking political career and marriages to two beauty queens, died June 26, 2003, in his hometown of Edgefield. He was 100. When Thurmond retired from the U.S. Senate in January 2003, he was the longest-serving and oldest member of Congress in history. He spent his final 36 years in office as a Republican senator, but before that, he had been a Democratic senator, a Democratic governor of South Carolina and a 1948 "Dixiecrat" candidate for president. On a personal level, he was legendary for his courtly attention to beautiful women. In 1947, after gaining a reputation as a confirmed bachelor, he married Jean Crouch, a former Azalea queen who was half his age. They had no children, and she died in 1960. Then, in 1968, he married Nancy Janice Moore, Miss South Carolina 1965, who was young enough to be his granddaughter. They had four children before separating in 1991. Their daughter Nancy Moore Thurmond, a candidate for Miss South Carolina, was killed by a drunken driver in 1993. Thurmond's life spanned a remarkable era of transition in his native region. As a child, he personally knew some of the old men who had imposed the "Jim Crow" system of white supremacist rule in the South. As a middle-aged man, he fought to preserve that system. As an old man, he came to terms with its demise. After 100 years and two marriages, he died only weeks after the birth of his first grandchild.

Tennessee-based PNB photographer Benjamin Gibbs will be a judge at the Indiana American Coed competition in Indianapolis from June 25 to June 29, 2003.

Atlanta TV personality Paul Ossmann and former Miss Georgia USA Tiffany Fallon will be the hosts of the 2003 Miss Georgia USA Pageant. Kim Greenwood, the director of the event, told PNB she was "thrilled" to have engaged this high-powered team. Ossmann is an experienced pageant emcee as well as a popular broadcaster. During the years when the Miss Georgia (America) Pageant was televised, he was its best-known host.

Former PNB cover girl Jenna Morasca, who became a TV star and million-dollar winner on "Survivor: The Amazon," will pose nude in the August 2003 issue of Playboy magazine. Her "Survivor" chum Heidi Strobel will join her in the feature. There are reports that Ms. Morasca bagged another million dollars for the appearance.

Kelly Platt, who is Mrs. New York American Queen 2003 has signed on as the co-host of "Excelsior Forum" on Long Island, N.Y., joining Larry Mikorenda. "Excelsior Forum" is a political talk show, and Ms. Platt is increasingly involved in local politics.

A Florida judge has ordered a man to remove crude sexual references to former beauty queen Katy Johnson from his Web site. On the Web site, the man has claimed that he was once intimately involved with Ms. Johnson, who was Miss Vermont 1999 and Miss Vermont USA 2001. She acknowledges knowing him but denies any such relationship. The Web site includes bawdy references to various women with whom the man claims to have been involved.

Miss Pakistan 2003, Natasha Newcombe, has left for an official monthlong visit to the United Arab Emirates, where she has modeling assignments lined up, as well as official meetings with the International University in Dubai regarding environmental projects. During this time, she will also raise funds for Edhie Orphanage. She will be back in Pakistan in July to fulfill her commitment to host Manhunt Pakistan 2003.

Sarah Teodoro-Belmonte, most recently a first runner-up to Miss Germany Universe, is reportedly dating Eros Ramazzotti, the top figure in contemporary Italian music.

Mia Rahaman, 24, who was Miss Guyana Universe 2002, has been charged with attempting to smuggle cocaine into Canada. She allegedly was found to have a large quantity of the drug in her luggage while clearing customs at an airport in Toronto.

Internationally revered Puerto Rican pageant director Anna Santisteban died on May 18, 2003, in Santurce, Puerto Rico. She was 90. She ran the Miss Puerto Rico Pageant for more than 30 years, and trained and worked with countless successful contestants, including three Miss Universe titleholders and one Miss International winner. At last year's Miss Universe Pageant in San Juan, a special room was inaugurated in her honor at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, as a tribute to her devotion to pageantry and her beloved Puerto Rico.

Former Argentine President Carlos Menem, husband of former Miss Universe Cecilia Bolocco, gave up his quest to regain his office on May 14, 2003. If he had succeeded, his wife would have been the most charismatic first lady in Argentina since Eva Peron.

On the Web — The Christian Reader (May-June 2003) features an article about Miss America, Erika Harold, and other evangelical Christians attracted to pageant competition. Click here for the article.

Longtime pageant supporter and the first male University of Nebraska-Lincoln baton twirler in the Cornhusker Marching Band Robert "Bobby" Andrew Foehlinger Jr, 21, of Ralston, Neb., died in a car accident May 9, 2003, in Lee's Summit, Missouri. He was on an internship trip at the time of the accident when a vehicle driven by a 49-year-old Missouri woman crossed the median, went airborne and hit Foehlinger. The woman remains hospitalized. Foehlinger was the younger brother of twin 23-year-old sisters Christina (Tina) Lee, who was Miss Nebraska 2001, and Tami Jo, who is the current Miss Metro and is scheduled to compete for the 2003 state title in June. He also had a younger brother and sister. The accident happened the night before Tami was to graduate from UN-Lincoln, where all three were popular baton twirlers. Foehlinger also appeared with his sisters in 2002 in the MTV show "True Life: Miss America" where four Miss America contestants were featured. He also appeared on Ed McMahon's "Next Big Star" and on "30 Seconds To Fame" on FOX, where he performed his baton twirling act. Foehlinger, a champion baton twirler who would have turned 22 in July, won the Junior World Baton Twirling Championship at ages 11 and 18. In April 2003 in Marseilles, France, he won the 2003 Adult World Baton Twirling Championship. He had just finished his junior year at UN-Lincoln as a broadcasting major and was the vice president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity.

Famed Washington, D.C., jazz artist, evangelical musician and businessman Noble Levi Jolley, Sr. died of a heart attack on May 6, 2003, in Washington. He was the father of seven children — one of whom is Miss District of Columbia 2000, Rashida Jolley — and was a popular entertainer at Republican events and at JazzFest each year.

Samuel J. Butcher, a former member and former president of the Miss America Organization Board of Directors, died in New Jersey on April 18, 2003. The longtime community leader and bank executive from Margate, NJ was 91.

Big band leader Manny Harmon, 93, who spent several years as the musical director of the Miss Universe Pageant, died March 5, 2003, in Century City, Calif. He was best known as the orchestra manager for RKO Studios and for playing at all of the Republican National Conventions from 1956 through 1992. At the 1976 Republican Convention in Kansas City, Mo., he helped end a shouting contest between delegates for Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan by playing "God Bless America."

Actress Kelly Ann Hu, who was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993, has revealed an unusual interest in boots. Appearing on the CBS program "The Late Late Show" on April 29, 2003, she told host Craig Kilborn that she has been "obsessed" with boots since childhood, though they were in short supply in Hawaii and she had to order them from a catalog. She now has 40 pairs. She appears in the action movie "X-Men 2," which opens across the United States on May 2, 2003. Ms. Hu stars as "Yuriko Oyama aka Lady Deathstrike" in the film. It also features Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry, who was Miss Teen All American 1985, Miss Ohio USA 1986 and Miss United States (for Miss World) 1986.

Author and pageant consultant Jamie Swenson, who was Miss South Dakota USA 1997, gave birth to her son, Jacob, on April 6, 2003. Despite some difficulties with the birth, mother and child have now fully recovered and gone home.

Heather Hogan, Miss Georgia USA 2002, was the featured woman on the Food Channel program "Date Plate" in early April 2003. She selected a young man for a date based on the special dish that he prepared for her.

Dr. Diana Santoro, Mrs. Florida Galaxy 2003, has been selected as national stage manager for the Miss Plus America Pageant in August 2003 in Monroe, La.

Christa Borden, who was Miss Teen Newfoundland & Labrador 1998, won the latest edition of the Canadian version of "Popstars." She won out over an original pool of more than 3,000 applicants from across the country. She receives a contract from a major Canadian recording label as her prize. The popular "Popstars" television franchise has launched dozens of successful recording careers for winners of the Australian, South African, Latin American and European editions of the program. 

Kimberly Clark, Miss New York United States 2002, has announced her engagement to Drew Prochazka, an architectural student from New York. The wedding is scheduled for November 2003. She has competed for many years, was third runner-up at New York USA and most recently was a finalist at Miss United States. She is currently working in Long Island for a public relations firm.

Ali Landry, who was Miss USA 1996 and went on to become the "Doritos girl" and host of NBC's "Spy TV," has a fashionable new job. Starting April 6, 2003, she will host "Full Frontal Fashion" on WE (Women's Entertainment Television).