Miss America pageant celebrating 90th anniversary
If the term “beauty pageant” seems quaint, you’re not alone in your thinking. Television ratings for the Miss America pageant have declined significantly in the last 20 years, dropping from 29 million viewers in 1989 to 4.5 million last year, according to the Nielsen Co. There’s way too much instant gratification to be had online, and our culture has seen the definition of “talent” expand to include “GTLing” (gym, tan, laundry) on “Jersey Shore” and acts our mothers never dreamed of.
And yet, the Miss America festivities continue. On Jan. 15, ABC will broadcast the pageant live from the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas. This year will acknowledge the event’s 90th anniversary, celebrating nine decades of women who have dedicated themselves to beauty, smarts and dancing, flute playing and belting out pop standards. And it will mark the largest gathering of Miss Americas in history — at least 50 women who wore the crown are scheduled to take the stage.
For the reigning Miss America, getting appropriately clothed, done up and photo ready is a complex process — one she does without the help of a stylist or entourage. When the winner travels (20,000 miles a month), she blow-dries her own hair, curls her own lashes and chooses her own outfits.
She will visit a new city every other day and needs a wardrobe that is fashionable but travel-friendly. Essentials include business attire with four pairs of slacks and six to eight blouses, at least two cocktail dresses and one evening gown and about six pairs of shoes to complement her wardrobe.
But will she be stylish?
Staying up-to-date isn’t getting any easier for beauty contestants as they face the question of whether sexier is better. Last year, for example, 51 Miss USA hopefuls posed for their contestant photos and promotion videos in sexy lingerie, some of them in large beds with rumpled sheets. The publicity stunt garnered plenty of, well, publicity, but some fans complained about the lack of family values.
Sam Haskell, chairman of the board of directors of the Miss America Organization, says there “is no pressure about being sexier.” Rather, the pressure is “just to stay relevant. That keeps young women … participating.”
It should be noted, however, that some Miss America contestants do wear two-piece bathing suits — a far cry from the first pageant in Atlantic City, N.J., when 200 local women and tourists dressed in modest swimsuits competed against 11 professional models in what was called the Bather’s Revue. Instead of a crown, the winner took home the Golden Mermaid Trophy.
What follows are a few more highlights from the last 90 years of pageantry.
1921
Margaret Gorman was only 16 when a combination of official judging and rapturous audience applause won her the titles of Inter-City Beauty, Amateur and Most Beautiful Bathing Girl in America at a small beauty pageant in Atlantic City, N.J. Gorman then beat out two winners of a Bather’s Revue contest to win the Golden Mermaid Trophy. The following year, she returned to defend her titles and was named the first Miss America.
1926
Norma Smallwood, Miss America 1926, was an “it” girl of sorts who had some understanding of her own worth. She caused quite a scandal when she charged fees for public appearances and endorsements, and she used her crown to earn an income of about $100,000, more than Babe Ruth or the president of the United States.
1933
Marian Bergeron was announced as Miss America 1933. But there was so much confusion during and after the vote tabulations that no one bothered to inform her that she had won. She was unaware of her victory until the dressing assistants placed the banner on her. She was 151/2.
1937
Perhaps the weight of the crown was too heavy for Bette Cooper, Miss America 1937, to bear, so she fled Atlantic City, N.J., before her press conference. In her absence, no other contestant was crowned Miss America, though several participants from that year have made claim to the title throughout the decades.
1938
Ever wonder when it became mandatory for Miss America to be beautiful and talented? In 1938, talent became a mandatory part of the competition. Pictured is Miss America 1938 Marilyn Meseke tap dancing her way to victory.
1939
Miss America 1939 Patricia Donnelly was the last Miss America to be crowned on the Steel Pier of Atlantic City, N.J. When asked by judges what she would do if she became Miss America, she replied, “I’d drop dead!”
1945
Bess Myerson took the crown to become the first Jewish Miss America. She used her $5,000 prize money to attend Julliard and Columbia for graduate studies before starting a career in television, making appearances on “The Big Payoff” and “I’ve Got a Secret.” She married three times and became New York City’s first commissioner of consumer affairs. But her golden-girl image turned sour when she became a tabloid queen in the late ‘70s and was accused of conspiring to influence the divorce case of her boyfriend. She was indicted and, then, acquitted.
1955
After winning her Miss America crown, Lee Meriwether went on to become an actress, starring as Catwoman in the original “Batman” and in the CBS series “Barnaby Jones.”
1956
In his second year as master of ceremonies, Bert Parks sang “There She Is, Miss America,” by Bernie Wayne as Miss America 1956 Sharon Ritchie walked down the runway. The song that is now synonymous with crying girls sporting “Oh my God, me?” faces became an American classic — for a time. Parks sang it for the last time in 1990.
1965
Miss America 1965 Vonda Van Dyke lent her vocals to a dummy as the first ventriloquist to appear on the Miss America stage. Van Dyke was also the first and only Miss America to win the Miss Congeniality prize.
1971
Miss Texas Phyllis George won the crown in 1971 and later had a successful career as a television sportscaster for CBS Sports and as an anchor on the CBS Morning News. She also founded a chicken company, By George chicken fillets, which she later sold to Hormel. And, wait, there’s more: She was married for a time to former Kentucky Gov. John Y. Brown and started Phyllis George Beauty, a line of cosmetics and skin-care products sold on the Home Shopping Network.
1972
Miss America went pint-size when Mattel launched the first Miss America doll, complete with crown, sash and a yellow and white gown with a cape. The mini pageant star sold for just $3. Her human counterpart that year was Laurel Schaefer of Bexley, Ohio.
1984
Vanessa Williams became the first African American to win the crown but resigned the title after nude photos of her, taken years earlier, were published in Penthouse magazine. Losing the title didn’t exactly slow her down as she became a successful actress and recording artist.
1994
Heather Whitestone, who is deaf, became the first women with a disability to become Miss America.
1997
This was the first year contestants were allowed to wear two-piece suits in the swimsuit competition. Need we say more?
2011
Miss America hopeful Loren Galler-Rabinowitz is a former competitive ice skater whose platform issue is “Fighting Childhood Hunger.” She is the fourth in a growing dynasty of Harvard women who have claimed the Miss Massachusetts title.
Source: Staff reports, the Miss America Organization and PBS.
For a more detailed look at 90 years of the Miss America pageant with an interactive online timeline visit: latimes.com/missamerica.
