The Return of the Classic Films Obituary Thread

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58. Robbin Bain, Pageant Winner and 'Today Girl,' Is Dead at 87

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After winning the annual Miss Rheingold beauty contest, in which millions voted, she covered fashion and beauty for the popular morning show.

By Richard Sandomir/New York Times

Robbin Mele Gaudieri, who, as Robbin Bain, embodied traditional women’s roles as the winner of a beauty contest designed to promote beer in 1959 and later as the “Today Girl,” handling fashion and beauty segments on the popular NBC-TV morning show, died on Oct. 21 in Southampton, N.Y. She was 87.

Her daughter Lara McLanahan said the cause was breast cancer.

Robbin Bain was elected Miss Rheingold in 1959, representing what was then the most popular beer in the New York region. (It was also sold in Pennsylvania and throughout New England.) She defeated five other finalists in an election that the brewer said attracted 24 million votes.

As Miss Rheingold, she received $50,000 (about $530,000 in today’s money) and spent a year making appearances in the United States and Europe. She also starred in newspaper ads in which she was seen in a kitchen during a party, outdoors at a barbecue and in front of a Christmas tree, among other places.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/business/media/robbin-bain-dead.html