People, Mar. 18, 1974

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When blonde Marjorie Wallace, 20, of Indiana became the first American to win the "Miss World" title last November, she pledged to remain single for a year and agreed to tour the world promoting the virtues of single womanhood. In no time, however, Marjorie overdid it. Her love life sizzled into the headlines: Singer Tom Jones was photographed giving her a soulful kiss, Millionaire Peter Revson was seen squiring her around, and last month, after a tiff, Britain's swinging Soccer Star George Best allegedly broke into Marjorie's London apartment and stole her passport, checkbook, correspondence, liquor and her fur coat, plus other miscellaneous loot. The British organizers of the contest decided that Marjorie's idea of being single was giving "the wrong impression." They stripped her of her title, costing her about $120,000 in promotion contracts. "Events occurred over which I had no control," she said philosophically. "That really is the truth about my private life."