The First International Pageant of Pulchritude and Seventh Annual Bathing Girl Revue, was a beauty pageant held from May 15 to May 17, 1926, in Galveston, Texas. The previous editions of the Galveston Bathing Girl Revue had only featured contestants from the United States. However, during the 1926 event, one contestant from Mexico and another from Canada entered, giving the pageant its first international competitors. It was reported that around 160,000 people watched the bathing costume parade on the afternoon of the 16th.
Miss Dallas, Catherine Moylan (1904-1969), won the event, becoming the first Beauty Queen of the Universe. She was already a performer in the Ziegfeld Follies.
For winning, Moylan received $2000, and a gold and silver plaque engraved with “Beauty Queen of the Universe”.
After winning she signed with MGM Studios, and appeared in several silent films before having roles in “Love On The Run” (1930) and “Our Blushing Brides” (1930).
CATHERINE MOYLAN “MISS INTERNATIONAL QUEEN OF PULCHITRUDE, 1926″ (photo credit Movies ink amsterdam flickr) via
MGM Photo of Beauty Queen of the Universe Catherine Moylan via
Catherine Moylan as a ziegfeld girl by Alfred Cheney Johnston via
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