Miss Atomic was a designation given to several showgirls in the United States, generally in Nevada in the 1950s, to promote
nuclear tourism in the city of
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
and to capitalize on the imagery of the
Atomic Age
The Atomic Age, also known as the Atomic Era, is the period of history following the detonation of the first nuclear weapon, The Gadget at the '' Trinity'' test in New Mexico on 16 July 1945 during World War II. Although nuclear chain r ...
.
The "Miss Atomics"
The pageants were "inspired by the cultural phenomena, Las Vegas decided to combine two of its major attractions—
nuclear bomb
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s and
showgirl
A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...
s—into a beauty contest".
There were only four "showgirl-turned-beauty-queens" and "there was no single Miss Atomic Bomb beauty pageant, and most of the queens were simply showgirls chosen for their radiant ... looks".
"The queens came about in an only loosely related manner: atomic-themed, usually of the mushroom cloud variety, costumes."
*The first atomic
pin-up girl
A pin-up model is a model whose mass-produced pictures and photographs have wide appeal within the popular culture of a society. Pin-up models are usually glamour, actresses, or fashion models whose pictures are intended for informal and aesth ...
, Candyce King, appeared on May 9, 1952, in the ''Evening Telegraph'' (
Dixon, Illinois
Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...
) and the ''Day Record'' (
Statesville, North Carolina
Statesville is a city in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. The population was 28,419 at the time of the 2020 census. Statesville was established in 1789 by an act of the North Carolina Legislature. It is part ...
) papers as "Miss Atomic Blast".
*In the spring of 1953, the city of
North Las Vegas
North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 262,527, with an estimated population of 280,543 in 2022. The city was incorporated on May 1, 1946 ...
chose Paula Harris as Miss North Las Vegas of 1953 and gave her the nickname "Miss A-Bomb".
*In 1955,
Operation Cue drew attention when it was delayed multiple times because of high winds and was nicknamed "Operation Mis-Cue."
Linda Lawson was crowned "Miss Cue" on May 1, 1955. The title was "to illustrate another mis-firing of the Operation Cue Bomb." Lawson's "crown" was a
mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke, and usually condensed water vapour resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently e ...
.
*The last and most famous was Lee A. Merlin (real name Anna Lee Mahoney),
who was dubbed "Miss Atomic Bomb". Mahoney was the lead dancer at the Copa showroom of the
Sands Hotel
The Sands Hotel and Casino was a historic hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States, that operated from 1952 to 1996. Designed by architect Wayne McAllister, with a prominent high sign, the Sands was the seven ...
in 1957, when she was photographed by Don English of the ''
Las Vegas Sun
The ''Las Vegas Sun'' is one of the Las Vegas Valley's two daily subscription newspapers. It is owned by the Greenspun family and is affiliated with Greenspun Media Group. The paper published afternoons on weekdays from 1990 to 2005 and is now ...
'' as part of an promotional ad for
atomic tourism
Atomic tourism or nuclear tourism is a form of tourism in which visitors witness nuclear tests or learn about the Atomic Age by traveling to significant sites in atomic history such as nuclear test reactors, museums with nuclear weapon artifacts, ...
coinciding with
Operation Plumbbob
Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following ''Project 57'', and preceding '' Project 58/58A''.
Background
The operation consisted of 29 explosions ...
.
The popular photograph, depicting Mahoney wearing a cotton mushroom cloud on the front of her swimsuit, was distributed nationally and she was coined "Miss Atomic".
In popular culture
Several references to the Atomic pageants have appeared in various media over the years.
* In October 2012, the Las Vegas-based
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band,
the Killers
The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...
, released the song "
Miss Atomic Bomb".
* The
stage musical
Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...
''Miss Atomic Bomb'', set in 1950s America at the time of nuclear testing, ran from March 7 to April 9, 2016, at London's
St. James Theatre. It was written by
Adam Long, Gabriel Vick and Alex Jackson-Long and starred
Catherine Tate
Catherine Tate (born Catherine Jane Ford, 5 December 1969) is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC Two, BBC sketch comedy series ''The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007), as well as bein ...
,
Simon Lipkin
Simon Joshua Lipkin (born 9 January 1986) is an English actor, best known for his work in musical theatre. He has originated roles in several major West End musicals such as '' Avenue Q'' and ''Rock of Ages''. His television work includes ''T ...
,
Dean John-Wilson
Dean John-Wilson (born 6 June 1989) is a British actor. During 2008, he went on ''Britain's Got Talent'', where he was a semi-finalist. He subsequently played the title role in the original West End production of Disney's ''Aladdin'' at the Prin ...
,
Daniel Boys
Daniel Boys (born 26 March 1979) is an English actor. He starred in the West End productions of the musicals ''Rent'' and ''Grease'' before being a 2007 contestant on the BBC talent series '' Any Dream Will Do''. Boys went on to star in many ...
and Florence Andrews. The show received poor reviews from critics, including a one-star review from ''
The Stage
''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. Founded in 1880, ''The Stage'' contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at thos ...
''.
* In
Michael Mann
Michael Kenneth Mann (born February 5, 1943) is an American film director, screenwriter, author and producer, best known for his stylized crime dramas. He has received a BAFTA Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards as well as nominations for four ...
's 1960s-set police drama ''
Crime Story'', in one of the later episodes, the photograph of Lee A. Merlin, as Miss Atom Bomb, shows up in the background in the bar patronized by the detectives.
See also
*
Miss Atom
References
External links
* The Killers music video of
Nevada culture
Atomic
American awards
Atomic tourism
Nuclear war and weapons in popular culture
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