Miss America 1933, the eighth Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 9, 1933. This was the first competition since postponing the event after the 1927 contest. Armand Nichols attempted to organize it with the support of the Mayor and City Council,[1] but without support from either the Atlantic City Chamber of Commerce.[2] or the Hotelsmens Association,[1]
While the contestants of the pageants of the 1920s represented cities, usually sponsored by local newspapers, 1933 marked the change to state queens with little newspaper sponsorship. The lack of organizational infrastructure together with the decline of (free) newspaper support and advertising resulted in state qualifying contests that varied widely - from multi-day multi-city contests involving thousands, to a simple selection from a photo array.
The 1933 pageant, a five-day extravaganza on Tuesday-Saturday, September 5–9, 1933, was the first to be held at the Convention Hall (later renamed the Boardwalk Hall). Promised grand prizes (including a RKOscreen test, theatrical contracts, Ford automobile, diamond wrist watch and a trip to Bermuda) enticed 31 contestants from 30 states nationwide,[2] far fewer than the 48 state contestants originally planned.
Marian Bergeron, Miss Connecticut, was chosen Miss America but there was so much confusion during and after the vote tabulations that nobody informed Marian she had won.[3] She was unaware of her victory until the dressing assistants placed the banner on her.[3] At age 15 she is the youngest winner in the history of the Miss America Pageant.
The pageant was a public relations nightmare, financially unsuccessful, with a "Keystone Kops series of mishaps"[4] including a stolen crown. Two contestants withdrew, four were disqualified, four were underage, and 18 states sent no contestant. Amid the contention and bickering there were allegations the contest was not on the "up and up"[5] and judge Russell Patterson alleged undue influence, stating that Atlantic County treasurer and political boss Nucky Johnson tried to pressure the judges to choose his favorite.[6] The pageant went on hiatus again the following year but was revived permanently in 1935 with new organization.
Results
Marion Bergeron crowned as Miss America of 1933; first runner-up Miss New York State Florence Meyers on the right and second runner-up Miss California Blanche McDonald on the left. (See reference #9 below). Marion was so petite that she was dwarfed by the mammoth crown: "It was so big it came right down over my eyes," Marion recalled with a laugh. Then, during the rush of post-coronation activities, the crown was stolen from Miss America's suite at the Ritz Carlton.
Other awards - September 6: Most Beautiful Girl in an Evening Gown Competition
Sep 6 Evening Gown Competition at the American Beauty Ball Gala, Gateway Casino, Somers Point, NJ - from left: third place Miss CA, winner Miss NYS, second place Miss NJ. (see picture of all contestants at the bottom of the page)
29 Miss America contestants with Pageant Organizer Armand Nichols and hostess Miss Atlantic City (Miss Maine is missing as she had no bathing suit; Miss Oklahoma had withdrawn due to hospitalization with appendicitis). Thank you to Louis K. Meisel for sharing this from his Miss America panorama collection.
^"Miss America The Dream Lives On", by Angela Saulino Osborne, p. 85
^"Beauty Title Lines Field Against N. Y." Atlantic City Press article, September 9, 1933
^circa 1955 gossip magazine story by Russell Patterson - "I was in the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel with another first-time judge, artist Peter Arno, when we were buttonholed by two rough-looking agents from Nucky Johnson's office. 'This is the name of the winner Johnson wants you to pick,' they said, flaunting a piece of paper at us. 'If you know what's good for you, you'll vote for this girl.'" [Patterson and Arno did not]
^"Connecticut Platinum Blonde, Sweet 16, Is 'Miss America'", the Philadelphia Inquirer, September 10, 1933, p. 1 - "Miss New York State" - "Florence Meyers, 19-year-old brunette, was the runner-up". (Note: several 1933 newspapers reversed the names on first and second runners-up, so MAO had them reversed until 2005 when MAO historian Ric Ferentz corrected it. Previous to 2005 virtually all sources, including MAO and Osborne's 1995 "Miss America A Dream Lives On" (appendix, p.5), list the finalists' order incorrectly as Bergeron, McDonald, Meyers, and Glidewell. The 1933 Los Angeles Times confirms that hometown contestant Blanche McDonald was the second runner-up.
^Both Miss AR Vivian Ferguson and Miss KY Lucille Rader were chosen in photo arrays in May to the prestigious Court of Honor of the International Exposition (1933 World's Fair) in Chicago, to compete on May 26 for Queen to dedicate its opening. Although single when she applied, Vivian married Charles Stanley on May 20 prior selection of the Queen. Family confirmed Miss KY met promoter Jimmy Carrier in Chicago, and it is thought that Miss AR and Miss ID did too.
^Lillian Kroener had competed in the Miss St. Louis contest and lost to Marie Marks! (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 13 July 1933). She authored an 8-page article published in newspaper installments in October 1933 and in the magazine "Romantic Confessions" in May 1934 titled "Beauty and the Beasts: The Amazing Adventures of Miss Illinois In a Recent Beauty Pageant". She states she was simply appointed Miss Illinois by Jimmy Carrier; she described him as one of the Miss Missouri contest judges and self-styled promotion director, contracted by the Miss America organization to bring a dozen MidWest contestants to Atlantic City. Carrier is known to have brought eight Midwest contestants (AR, ID, IL, IA, KS, KY, MO, WV) who arrived on the promotional seven-week "Whistle Stop Tour" train, having raised money enroute with daily vaudeville performances - only three (KS, MO and WV) have been confirmed to have won state pageants.
^The mayor of Manning Iowa apparently did not return a confirmation telegram in time. Ten telegrams had been sent out to town mayors for them to verify residency, and seven return telegrams were received by the deadline. Perhaps Mayor Albert Wiese had trouble verifying Eleanor's residency as she was the only Dankenbring in Manning - she had lived there for six years with her aunt's family. He must not have consulted the newspaper (July 1933 article) or the high school (1931 valedictorian). It is thought she was contacted by Jimmy Carrier after the Valparaiso IN June 16 newspaper featured her as winner of a beauty contest at Valparaiso University.
^The September 1933 Philadelphia, PA newspapers spelled her name as Leita Laugley/Laughley. Despite much research by many including MAO historian Ric Ferentz, genealogists, N.H. librarians, and even an August 2, 2010 column "Beauty of a Mystery" by John Clayton in the New Hampshire Union Leader, she was not positively identified as Letha Langley until October 2023 when two 1933 Bangor, Maine newspaper articles were found listing her as winning the title of Miss Eastern Maine; her obituary did not mention her participation in the pageant. It is unknown how she came to represent NH.
^Sep 11 Atlantic City and Sep 10 Philadelphia newspapers: Miss NYC Elsa Donath withdrew at 5 p.m. on Sat., Sep 9 just before the final judging. The Atlantic City newspaper stated her manager Harry Arder, publicity man for RKO, told Armand Nichols the Pageant "was not on the up and up". The Philadelphia newspaper stated that Hal Olver was Elsa's manager and he double-crossed on the screen test agreement between Olver and Nichols, calling the Pageant "100 per cent phoney". Nichols' aide Noel Sherman claimed RKO wanted to sabotage the Pageant in order to take it to NY in 1934. RKO, who had sponsored both New York contestants, gave the screen test prize to Elsa.
^Atlantic City and Philadelphia newspapers: Miss OK Joanne Alcorne was hospitalized with appendicitis the first day of the pageant
^Miss VT Nettina Rich was crowned Miss New England on August 11, 1933 at a regional pageant in Fall River, MA; it is unknown how she came to represent Vermont. She was the last 1933 contestant to be identified, only in 2016, when her 2005 Norton MA obituary was found by Daryl Schabinger and Donna Hay. She called the Pageant "a racket" in several Nov 1933 newspapers.
Secondary sources
Sep 6, 1933 American Beauty Ball Gala, Gateway Casino, Somers Point, NJ. Dinner and judging for the "most beautiful girl in an evening gown".
Osborne, Angela Saulino (1995). "Miss America The Dream Lives On" "A 75 Year Celebration" p.84-85. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN0-87833-110-7.
