Tony Curtis in Miss Universe Pageant 1977

The Miss Universe Pageant was held in the Dominican Republic in 1977 to help push the promotional drive to place the country as a big tourist destination to this island.

Miss Universe was owned then by Gulf+Westen Industries an American conglomerate which had large investments in the Dominican Republic such as Teh Central Romana sugar mill , the Casa de Campo resort, free trade zone, Consolidated Cigars among others.

The late Charles G. Bluhdorn, G+W's chairman had big projects for the Dominican Republic country he loved very much and for which he had many big projects in the future specially Altos de Chavon an artists village located within the Casa de Campo complex.

So holding Miss Universe with an estimated 200 million viewers TV audience was the perfect vehicle for boosting the Dominican tourist sector.

So here I was again in the middle of all the turmoil caused by the organization of the event. It's really a big production . I had the opportunity to watch and meet some of the prettiest girls in the world. I was some kind of an expert because I had married a couple of years before the Dominican Republic's representative to another beaty pageant; Miss World.

So I was only watching , not touching.

There many celebrities around.

I remember attending one of the dancing rehearsals for the contestants held at the Hispaniola Hotel in Santo Domingo.

Among the girl watchers was one of the most watched movie stars in the the world:

Tony Curtis.

He was one of my movie heroes. I loved his style in adventure movies,dramas , comedy. He was really fun to watch.He represented to me what movie was all about.

Living a dream , escaping, romancing.

I had to go and shake his hand or die.

So I walked towards him and say : Hi Tony.

He flashed his famous smile and answer back wit his Bronx accent:

Hi how are you?

He Tony , I have been one of your fan since I was a teenage.

You were my idol and I tried many times to comb my hair to look like you.

Tony's hairstyle was really unique and created a fashion among youngsters all over the world.

Tony then replied. Sorry pal: there's isn't too much hair left to comb.

We all laughed.

Then

Tony moved to another place to pose with the girls who were wild about him.

There you have one of my lucky days in my life.

I don't have too much hair to comb now.So my new idol is Sean Connery whom I hope to run into one of this day.

Who knows?

Golf has become a major international business driving billions of dollar in tourism around the world-not to mention the ancillary growth in equipment sales, clothing, shoes, green fees, food and beverage and resort vacations.

The Dominican Republic it's rapidly become one one the world class golf destination in the Caribbean.

These are some of the big developments going on at this moment.

Cap-Cana is revolutionizing the tourist market on the easternmost tip of the island with Jack Nicklaus designed golf course such as the one in Punta Espada soon the site of a PGA tournament.

Casa de Campo, in La Romana conttine to offer and elegant service with several top class courses including the legendary Teeth of the Dog.

Roko Ki is building it Nick golf course at its Westin resort located at a paradisiacal Eastern coast with miles of beautiful beaches.

Punta Cana Resort continues to expand with its Tortuga Bay Resort and new Fazio track.

There are many other excellent golf courses near Santo Domingo, its capital , in the mountains and on the beaches of the Northern Atlantic coast , one in Puerto Plata and the other in Playa Grande.

So Dominican Republic is on its way to become the golf Mecca of the Caribbean.