A Peek Inside Miss America's Judging
By "Early Show" Correspondent Dr. Debbye Turner Bell
(CBS) When I was asked to judge the Miss America Pageant on its 90th anniversary, to say I was thrilled would be the understatement of the year. I was elated, honored, tickled, and instantly worried about my weight! How could I drop 20 pounds before the big day? I soon stopped worrying about my girth and concentrated on the awesome task of helping to choose the next Miss America. And the experience was indeed awesome in every way.
I served on the judge's panel with Joy Behar, Marc Cherry, Tony Dovolani, Taryn Rose, Marilu Henner and Mark Wills. There couldn't have been a more fun, warm, and hilarious group of people. We bonded instantly.
The competition actually started a week before the Saturday telecast. We (the judges) arrived on Sunday, Jan. 9. From the first orientation meeting, we laughed and joked and teased each other endlessly. There were no divas, prima donnas, or sour pusses. Quite a feat if you think about it! In a very short time, each judge filled a role in our "family." Joy, of course, was the funny one. Also funny, with a tinge of harmless snarky, was Marc Cherry. As a writer (and creator of "Desperate Housewives"), he could always sum up a situation or contestant in one, insightful, gut-bustingly funny line.
Taryn has an amazing story of coming to the U.S. with her family from Vietnam, so she was so grateful to be a part of this decidedly American experience. She was our soft heart. Marilu is a wonder. She is one of a handful of people in the world that has total recall. So she was the group's encyclopedia. Whenever we wanted to know when something happened or any detail at all, Marilu could recall it on the spot. Tony and Mark (Wills) developed a cute "bro-mance." They teased each other constantly. Both are happily married with children, but during pageant week, they were like reunited twins who were separated at birth.
I was the "den mother" apparently. This moniker was given to me by Marc Cherry. As the veteran pageant girl, I guess I was frequently informing them of pageant tradition, reminding them of what the Miss America program is really about and generally making sure we didn't descend into total chaos. We really loved being with each other. We've even planned a reunion next year to watch the next Miss America be crowned together.
It was a long, busy week. After two days of interviewing each contestant, the stage competition began on Tuesday night. There were three nights of preliminary competition which served to narrow the field down to the 15 women that competed on Saturday during the telecasted finals.
A special highlight of the week was seeing my Miss America sisters. In celebration of the pageant's 90 anniversary, 47 former Miss Americas returned to the show. We are a unique, closely-knit sorority. It was amazing to see them. And I was proud to be introduced with them on stage during the show. They all look fabulous. I will have to work hard to meet the high standard these fantastic women have set.
It was a glorious week. And I am bone tired. But my heart is warm with fond memories of fabulous times.