Miss America 1945

Miss America 1945
Miss America 1945
Date	September 8, 1945
Presenters	Bob Russell
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants	39
Placements	13
Winner	Bess Myerson; New York City
	← 1944 1946 →

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]

Overview

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] Consequently, she curtailed her Miss America tour and instead embarked on a journey 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

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1945	New York City – Bess Myerson
1st Runner-Up	San Diego – Phyllis Mathis
2nd Runner-Up	Birmingham – Frances Dorn
3rd Runner-Up	Florida – Virginia Freeland
4th Runner-Up	Minnesota – Arlene Anderson
Top 13	California – Polly Ellis Chicago – Louise Wieland District of Columbia – Dorothy Louise Powell Maryland – Virginia Lee Van Sant North Carolina – Dorothy Louise Johnson Philadelphia – Gloria Bair Tennessee – Lee Harriet Henson Texas – Polly Below

Awards

Preliminary awards

Award	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	Chicago – Louise Wieland New York City – Bess Myerson Tennessee – Lee Harriet Henson
Talent	Birmingham – Frances Dorn (tie) California – Polly Ellis Minnesota – Arlene Anderson New York City – Bess Myerson (tie)

Other awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Northern British Columbia – Georgina E. Patterson

Contestants

The Miss America 1945 contestants were:^[9]

Represented	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards
Arkansas	Leslie Hampton	Lake Village	18
Atlanta	Pauline Walker	Atlanta	18
Birmingham	Frances Lanell Dorn	Birmingham	18		2nd runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award (tie)^[10]
Boston	Claire Thibadeau	Cambridge	19
California	Polly Ellis	Tarzana	19		Top 13	Preliminary Talent Award
Chicago	Louise Wieland	Chicago	19		Top 13	Preliminary Swimsuit Award
Cincinnati	Virginia Lee Pleasant	Portsmouth	20
Connecticut	Sylvia K. Shaw	Hartford	20
Detroit	Barbara Lee Smith	Detroit	20
District of Columbia	Dorothy Louise Powell	District of Columbia	21		Top 13
Florida	Virginia Freeland	Miami	19		3rd runner-up
Georgia	Doris Joyce Coker	Columbus	18
Illinois	Beverly Ann Long	Joliet	18
Indiana	Betty Anna Lackyear	Evansville	20
Iowa	Jeanne Gordon	Des Moines	19
Maine	Virginia Trask	Portland	18
Maryland	Virginia Lee Van Sant	Cumberland	20		Top 13
Massachusetts	Ruth Claire Thomas	Belmont	18
Miami Beach	Rae Evelyn Crist	Miami Beach	19
Michigan	Theresa Mary Sullivan	Detroit	19
Minnesota	Arlene Anderson	Minneapolis	19		4th runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award
Mississippi	Harriet Jane Carr	Marks	21
Missouri	Betty Ruth Ream	Hughesville	19
New Hampshire	Margorie Lundfelt	Spofford Lake	19
New Jersey	Matilda Agin	New Brunswick	20
New Orleans	Helen Shively	New Orleans	21
New York City	Bess Myerson	New York City	21	Piano & Flute, "Grieg's Piano Concerto In A Minor" & "Summertime"	Winner	Preliminary Talent Award (tie)^[10] Preliminary Swimsuit Award^[11]
New York^[12]	June Jenkins	Elmont	18
North Carolina	Dorothy Louise Johnson	Winston-Salem	21		Top 13
Northern British Columbia	Georgina E. Patterson	British Columbia, Canada	19			Miss Congeniality
Ohio	Julia Ann Donahue	Oxford	19
Pennsylvania	Timmy Weston	McKeesport	18
Philadelphia	Gloria Bair	Philadelphia	19		Top 13
Rhode Island	Mary Stevens	Cranston	24
San Diego	Phyllis Mathis	San Diego	19		1st runner-up
South Carolina	Margaret Neeley	Columbia	19
Tennessee	Lee Harriet Henson	Chattanooga	18		Top 13	Preliminary Swimsuit Award
Texas	Polly Below	Galveston	18		Top 13
Utah	Dorothy F. Holohan	Salt Lake City	21
Vermont	Mary Staikos	Burlington	21
Wisconsin	Eileen Christy	Menomonie	20

References

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

External links

Miss America 1945 - Miss America Organization
Bess Myerson: Miss America 1945, Bess Myerson Dies At The Age Of 90 - CBS News, January 5, 2015.

[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.

[mabio-3] "Bess Myerson Biography (Miss America 1945)". Miss America Organization. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13.

[latobit-4] Woo, Elaine (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, Miss America who rose in politics and fell in scandal, dies at 90". Los Angeles Times.

[americanexperiencetranscript-5] "PBS American Experience: Miss America Transcript". PBS American Experience. 2002.

[nymagbess-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Morrisroe, Patricia (March 30, 1987). "Bess and the Mess: Myerson's Slide Into Scandal (pp. 34-35)". New York.

[nytmyobit-7] Nemy, Enid (January 5, 2015). "Bess Myerson, New Yorker of Beauty, Wit, Service and Scandal, Dies at 90". New York Times.

[wsjobitbm-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.

[International_News_Service_1-10] 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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