Miss America 1945

Miss America 1945, the 19th Miss America pageant, was held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8, 1945.[1] Two days prior to the actual selection and coronation, the night of the talent competition, the Army Air Force Veterans voted the eventual winner, Miss New York City (Bess Myerson) as their favorite beauty queen.[2]

Miss America 1945
DateSeptember 8, 1945
PresentersBob Russell
VenueBoardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants39
Placements13
WinnerBess Myerson
New York City

Overview
Miss New York City, Bess Myerson: Miss America 1945 (Image taken in 1957)

Bess Myerson was the first Jewish-American and the first Miss New York[3] (competing as Miss New York City, a competition organized by a local radio station[4]) to win the Miss America Pageant as Miss America 1945.[5][6][7][4][8] As the only Jewish contestant, Myerson was encouraged by the pageant directors to change her name to "Bess Meredith"[6] or "Beth Merrick"[5] but she refused.[6][5] After winning the title (and as a Jewish Miss America), Myerson received few endorsements[6][5][7][8][4] and later recalled that "I couldn't even stay in certain hotels [...] there would be signs that read no coloreds, no Jews, no dogs. I felt so rejected. Here I was chosen to represent American womanhood and then America treated me like this."[6] She thus cut short her Miss America tour and instead traveled with the Anti-Defamation League. In this capacity, she spoke against discrimination in a talk entitled, "You Can't Be Beautiful and Hate."[6][5][7][8][4]

Results

Placements
Final results Contestant
Miss America 1945
1st runner-up
2nd runner-up
3rd runner-up
4th runner-up
Top 13

Awards

Preliminary awards
Awards Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness
Talent

Other awards
Awards Contestant
Miss Congeniality
  • Northern British Columbia - Georgina E. Patterson

Delegates

The Miss America 1945 delegates were:[9]

City or StateNameHometownAgeTalentPlacementAwardsNotes
ArkansasLeslie HamptonLake Village18
AtlantaPauline WalkerAtlanta18
BirminghamFrances Lanell DornBirmingham182nd runner-upPreliminary Talent Award (tie)[10]
BostonClaire ThibadeauCambridge19
CaliforniaPolly EllisTarzana19Top 13Preliminary Talent Award
ChicagoLouise WielandChicago19Top 13Preliminary Swimsuit Award
CincinnatiVirginia Lee PleasantPortsmouth20
ConnecticutSylvia K. ShawHartford20
DetroitBarbara Lee SmithDetroit20
District of ColumbiaDorothy Louise PowellDistrict of Columbia21Top 13
FloridaVirginia FreelandMiami193rd runner-up
GeorgiaDoris Joyce CokerColumbus18
IllinoisBeverly Ann LongJoliet18
IndianaBetty Anna LackyearEvansville20
IowaJeanne GordonDes Moines19
MaineVirginia TraskPortland18
MarylandVirginia Lee Van SantCumberland20Top 13
MassachusettsRuth Claire ThomasBelmont18
Miami BeachRae Evelyn CristMiami Beach19
MichiganTheresa Mary SullivanDetroit19
MinnesotaArlene AndersonMinneapolis194th runner-upPreliminary Talent Award
MississippiHarriet Jane CarrMarks21
MissouriBetty Ruth ReamHughesville19
New HampshireMargorie LundfeltSpofford Lake19
New JerseyMatilda AginNew Brunswick20
New OrleansHelen ShivelyNew Orleans21
New York CityBess MyersonNew York City21Piano & Flute, "Grieg's Piano Concerto In A Minor" & "Summertime"WinnerPreliminary Talent Award (tie)[10]

Preliminary Swimsuit Award[11]
New York[12]June JenkinsElmont18
North CarolinaDorothy Louise JohnsonWinston-Salem21Top 13
Northern British ColumbiaGeorgina E. PattersonBritish Columbia, Canada19Miss Congeniality
OhioJulia Ann DonahueOxford19
PennsylvaniaTimmy WestonMcKeesport18
PhiladelphiaGloria BairPhiladelphia19Top 13
Rhode IslandMary StevensCranston24
San DiegoPhyllis MathisSan Diego191st runner-up
South CarolinaMargaret NeeleyColumbia19
TennesseeLee Harriet HensonChattanooga18Top 13Preliminary Swimsuit Award
TexasPolly BelowGalveston18Top 13
UtahDorothy F. HolohanSalt Lake City21
VermontMary StaikosBurlington21
WisconsinEileen ChristyMenomonie20

References
  1. "Will Use Prize To Study Music". Ogden Standard-Examiner. 1945-09-10. p. 1.
  2. "Beauty Queen of AAF Veterans". Lowell Sun. Associated Press Wire Photo. 1944-09-06. p. 1.
  3. "Bess Myerson Biography (Miss America 1945)". Miss America Organization. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13.
  4. Woo, Elaine (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, Miss America who rose in politics and fell in scandal, dies at 90". Los Angeles Times.
  5. "PBS American Experience: Miss America Transcript". PBS American Experience. 2002.
  6. Morrisroe, Patricia (March 30, 1987). "Bess and the Mess: Myerson's Slide Into Scandal (pp. 34-35)" (PDF). New York.
  7. Nemy, Enid (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, New Yorker of Beauty, Wit, Service and Scandal, Dies at 90". New York Times.
  8. Hollander, Sophia (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, Miss America who rose in politics and fell in scandal, dies at 90". Wall Street Journal.
  9. Official Yearbook of the Miss America Pageant, 1945. Miss America Organization. 1945. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  10. International News Service (1944-09-06). "Takent Awards". Lowell Sun. p. 1.
  11. "New York City Girl Is Beauty Queen". Salamanca Republican-Press. Associated Press. 1944-09-10. p. 5.
  12. Miss New York History Archived 2016-01-30 at the Wayback Machine
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