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19/04/2020
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Mike Ridley 19 Apr 2020, 22:52
FOR more than 50 years, Henry Quinn kept the secret of how dozens of women’s lib protesters invaded the world’s greatest beauty pageant: He took a £5 bribe.
In new movie Misbehaviour, Keira Knightley stars as Sally Alexander, the real-life ringleader of the invasion that brought chaos to the 1970 Miss World contest in London.
A shaken Bob Hope crowns Miss World Jennifer Hosten after running for cover amid a hail of flour bombs Credit: Getty - Contributor
The film, which opened to rave reviews, was on screens for just four days before cinemas closed in the Covid-19 lockdown. But it is being made available to watch three months early, streaming on Sky, Amazon and iTunes.
Until now, nobody knew the truth of how nearly 100 women armed with bags of flour, smoke bombs, rotting veg and armfuls of leaflets infiltrated the Royal Albert Hall.
Millions of viewers around the globe watched in disbelief as US comedy legend Bob Hope ran for cover amid a hail of flour bombs, almost forcing the BBC to halt the live show.
It was saved by Julia Morley, the competition’s feisty organiser, played in the film by Bodyguard actress Keeley Hawes. She grabbed hold of Hope and shoved the ageing A-lister back on stage to keep the contest alive.
Women's lib protesters threw hundreds of leaflets from the upper balconies of the auditorium Credit: Getty Images - Getty
Today Henry Quinn, now 79, reveals to The Sun how he accepted a fiver to let the women into the venue he was meant to protect.
He was a general manager with Mecca, the ballroom empire that owned the rights to the annual Miss World competition.
In November 1970, he was running Mecca’s Palais nightclub in Leicester when his bosses summoned him to London to work on security at the Royal Albert Hall.
He remembers: “I was on the front door with a couple of other managers and these girls were outside protesting because they thought Miss World was a cattle market. They even had a pantomime cow with them.
Henry Quinn kept the secret of his £5 bribe to let dozens of women’s lib protesters invade the beauty pageant for more than 50 years Credit: Paul Tonge - The Sun
“The protest was against Julia Morley and her husband Eric. The Morley clan ran everything. Eric didn’t help things by saying, ‘Well, if it’s a cattle market, there’s some very fine beef there’.
“All the celebrity guests were coming in so we had to push the protesters to one side. I don’t remember a police presence.
“We took some of the guests in through the back door to avoid the woman with placards.
“We were convinced Eric Morley had arranged the protests to get extra publicity. Then one of the girls with a placard approached us and said, ‘Will you let us in?’
Keira Knightly stars as Sally Alexander, the real-life ringleader of the invasion that brought chaos to the contest, in new movie Misbehaviour Credit: Pathe
“Joe Houston, one of the managers at the time, negotiated with her.
“We got a fiver each and we let more than half a dozen of them in. A fiver was a lot of money in those days.”
Inside, as 58 contestants from around the world prepared to parade in swimsuits, Bob Hope walked on the stage.
At the main entrance, Henry listened via loud-speaker to comic Hope’s sexist wisecracks.
A policeman bundles away one of the demonstrators Credit: Rex Features
The host told the audience: “I don’t want you to think I’m a dirty old man.
“I never give women a second thought . . . my first thought covers everything.”
Then the first flour bomb hit the stage. Henry remembers: “Next thing we know, there’s absolute panic.”
Around the hall, walkie-talkies burst into life asking for: ‘More lights on the stage!’ — code for security men to race to the auditorium.
The film was on screens for just four days before cinemas closed in the lockdown but is being made available to streamCredit: Pathe / Supplied by LMK
Henry recalls: “We locked the doors and eight or ten of us ran down into the hall.
“When I got there, the protesters were still hurling flour bombs and fireworks.
“By then, poor Bob Hope had lost it. We were forced to manhandle these girl protesters to keep them from getting on the stage. Make no bones about it — they had to go out, quickly. It got a bit hairy.
“The contestants were a bit upset but they were tough girls, I don’t mind telling you. Beauty queens aren’t the most friendly people. They’re very, very bitchy.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays Miss Grenada Jennifer Hosten, the first black winner of the contestCredit: Pathe / Supplied by LMK
"It was the start of the women’s lib era and these protesters were certainly pushy. Not violent, but very obstreperous.
“I think I even removed one of the girls who had paid us to get in. And I did get the fiver. We quickly realised that there weren’t just the girls we’d let in but others who were already inside the auditorium.
“How they did it was hard to fathom because everybody in the Albert Hall on Miss World night was there by invitation only.”
Before they were chucked out, the protesters threw hundreds of leaflets — printed in a commune — from the upper balconies of the auditorium.
Rhys Ifans and Keeley Hawes star as the Morleys, the organisers of the competition Credit: Pathe / Supplied by LMK
One of the women, Jo Robinson, 27 at the time, was still in her seat when a security guard raced towards her. She took a water pistol from her handbag and pointed it at him.
Jo, played in the film by Jessie Buckley, remembers: “As I pointed the pistol at him, all the people on the row were aghast.
“I pulled the trigger and out shot all this blue ink on to his shirt.”
Back inside, Julia Morley grabbed Bob Hope, dragged him back on stage and introduced him as “a brave man”.
Henry, a general manager with Mecca in 1970, says a fiver 'was a lot of money in those days' Credit: Paul Tonge - The Sun
Clearly shaken, he told the stunned audience: “Do you know, I worked in Vietnam and it wasn’t half as scary as that.”
Unflappable TV star Michael Aspel presented Miss World for the BBC for 14 years and was the show’s compere on the chaotic night.
Now 87, he recalls: “When the flour bombs started flying, we thought a couple of Bob Hope gags will sort this out but I ended up with my head in my hands.
Comic Hope — played in the film by Greg Kinnear — admitted: “I thought they would eat me alive.”
Mecca loada money
ERIC MORLEY, publicity manager for the Mecca chain of ballrooms, launched an international beauty pageant at the 1951 Festival of Britain to promote the bikini.The media christened it “Miss World” and Morley decided the contest should become an annual event.The BBC began screening Miss World live in 1959 and it attracted nearly 20million viewers in the 1970s and 80s, earning the organisers millions along the way.It has always been controversial – in 1966 nine students tried to kidnap Miss South Africa, Johanna Carter, hoping to raise money for a charity week.The 1974 winner Miss Wales, Helen Morgan, was stripped of her title when she was revealed to be a single mum – which is still against the rules.The 1987 Miss World, Austrian Ulla Weigerstorfer, also lost her title over nude photos.It has not been on main-stream UK TV since 2000 due to dwindling audiences but the contest is still going.Eric Morley died in 2000 and his wife Julia took over as chairman of the Miss World Organisation.
Henry, who is from Derby, says: “Julia is a lovely woman, the most diplomatic woman I ever met.
“But her husband Eric was no gentleman. He was a terrible, belligerent man.
“Miss World was phenomenal at the time. The viewing figures were astronomical — as big as the Olympics. It was big money for Eric.
“I always remember that he was the only person who understood the system of adding up the judges’ score cards.
The night was also filled with controversy because the contest was won by Miss Grenada and the Prime Minister of Grenada was on the judging panel Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd
"And, of course, there was a lot of controversy that night because the contest was won by Miss Grenada Jennifer Hosten, the first black winner, and the Prime Minister of Grenada was on the judging panel.
"Eric was always trying to get Miss America to win it, for obvious reasons. America was where the money was.”
After escaping from security at the Albert Hall, protester Jo, from Walthamstow in North East London, made her way to the capital’s Café de Paris where the pageant after-party was being held.
As a bus with the winner and the other beauty queens on board drew up, Jo and more women rocked the vehicle while shouting: “Mecca pimps!”
Unflappable TV star Michael Aspel presented Miss World for the BBC for 14 years and was the show’s compere on the chaotic night Credit: Rex Features
She and dozens of women’s lib campaigners were arrested and held in Bow Street police station.
Henry met several Miss World winners while running dance halls for Mecca.
He recalls: “Eric did get his dream winner. Three years later, Miss America — Marjorie Wallace — became Miss World.
“But then Georgie Best got his hands on her and 104 days later she was stripped of her title.
"Another time, we discovered Miss Hong Kong was actually Mr Hong Kong!
"One of them reported seeing something.
“Julia Morley checked it out and went mad.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/11432799/miss-world-1970-bribe-protesters/
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