Miss America 1938 | |
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Date | September 10, 1938 |
Venue | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
Entrants | 44 |
Placements | 15 |
Winner | Marilyn Meseke ![]() |
Miss America 1938, the 12th Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 10, 1938. [1] The decision by the 15 judges there that Miss Ohio, Marilyn Meseke, rather than Miss California, Claire James, as Miss America surprised the audience at the event. Famous Broadway producer Earl Carroll, Murder at the Vanities , also disagreed with their choice and took the runner-up to New York City where he performed a coronation of Miss California as "the true Miss America" shortly after the official pageant. Carroll's actions resulted in widespread publicity of the incident. [2] [3]
Placement | Contestant |
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Miss America 1938 | |
1st Runner-Up |
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2nd Runner-Up |
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3rd Runner-Up |
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4th Runner-Up |
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Top 15 |
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Award | Contestant |
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Talent |
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Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
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![]() | Anna Marie Barnett | Bisbee | Top 15 | ||||
![]() | Lorene Bailey | Jonesboro | Piano, "Dinah" | ||||
Asbury Park | Ruth E. Brady | Asbury Park | Vocal & Tap Dance | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
Birmingham | Mildred Oxford | Birmingham | Tap Dance/Toe Ballet | Top 15 | |||
Brooklyn | Barbara Beech | Brooklyn | Top 15 | ||||
Burlington | Ruth Joan Sada | Burlington | |||||
![]() | Claire James | Los Angeles | Dance | 1st Runner-up | |||
Charlotte | Rebecca Pearl Hankins | Charlotte | 18 | ||||
![]() | Evelyn Bertelsbeck | Cleveland | Top 15 | ||||
![]() | Rosanna Bean | Montrose | |||||
![]() | Blanche Hawley | Stratford | |||||
Delray Beach | Patricia Hollran | Vocal, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" | |||||
Detroit | Marjorie Jackson | Detroit | |||||
![]() | Dorothy Parker | Vocal & Tap Dance, "How'd You Like to Love Me" | Top 15 | ||||
Eastern Pennsylvania | Wilma Kaspar | Rahns | |||||
Empire State | Elissa Winston | Top 15 | |||||
![]() | Mary Joyce Walsh | Miami | Vocal/Ballet | ||||
Fort Lauderdale | Mary Jane Thomas | Fort Lauderdale | Top 15 | ||||
![]() | Alice Talton | Atlanta | Top 15 | ||||
![]() | Rosemary White | ||||||
![]() | Gloria Smyley | Jacksonville | Acrobatic Dance | 4th Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
![]() | Blanche Webb | Humboldt | |||||
![]() | Evelyn Cooper | Somerset | Vocal, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" | ||||
Letts | Helen Emly | Letts | Top 15 | ||||
Long Island | Marion Rosamund | ||||||
Long Island Sound | Adeline Shull | ||||||
![]() | Doris Marie Bergeron | Lewiston | |||||
![]() | Yolanda Ugarte | Baltimore | |||||
![]() | Avis Darrow | Duluth | |||||
![]() | Frances Sykes | Aberdeen | |||||
Montgomery | Patricia McDaniel | Montgomery | |||||
![]() | Emmajane Newby | Humboldt | |||||
![]() | Gloria Martha Riley | Paterson | |||||
![]() | Irene Blush Schomberger | New Orleans | Vocal/Trumpet/Dance | ||||
![]() | Marilyn Meseke | Marion | 21 | Tap Dance, "How'd You Like to Love Me", "The World is Waiting for the Sunrise", & "Joseph, Joseph" | Winner | ||
![]() | Marjorie Ann Adams | Ada | |||||
![]() | Kathryn "Kay" Buckley | Philadelphia | Swing Vocal | Top 15 | |||
Riverside | Dorothy Kathryn Powers | Riverside | |||||
![]() | Margaret Simrill Land | Chester | |||||
![]() | Victoria Ann Motlow | Mulberry | Vocal, "You Turned the Tables on Me" | ||||
![]() | Muriel La Von Goodspeed | Salt Lake City | Classical Vocal & Piano | 2nd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
![]() | Kathleen Mann | North Arlington | |||||
Western Pennsylvania | Ruth Willock | Pittsburgh |
Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: Private Interview (30%) – a 10-minute press conference-style interview with a panel of judges, On Stage Question (10%) – answering a judge's question onstage, Talent or HER Story (20%) – a performance talent or 90 second speech, Health and Fitness (20%) – demonstrated physical fitness onstage dressed in athletic wear, and Evening Gown (20%) – modeling evening-wear onstage.
The Miss Texas competition was founded in 1937 as a scholarship contest for young women. The winner represents Texas in the Miss America pageant; three winners have gone on to be crowned Miss America.
The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition.
Miss Alaska USA, previously known as Miss Alaska Universe, is the beauty pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alaska in the Miss USA pageant, and the name of the title held by its winner. The pageant is directed by Simply Stunning LLC.
The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition.
The Miss Tennessee competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Tennessee in the Miss America Scholarship Competition.
The Miss Florida competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Florida in the Miss America pageant. Florida has twice won the Miss America crown.
The Miss New York scholarship competition selects the representative for the state of New York in the Miss America scholarship competition.
The Miss Idaho scholarship program is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Idaho in the Miss America pageant. The current titleholder receives a $4,000 cash scholarship to any accredited institution of her choice. She also represents the state of Idaho for the live ABC broadcast of the Miss America pageant.
Miss United States is a pageant held in the United States for unmarried women between the ages of 20 and 29. The pageant includes women selected to represent all 50 states, District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Miss New Jersey competition is an annual pageant held to select the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.
Jean Bartel was Miss California and Miss America 1943.
Miss Universe 1952 was the first Miss Universe pageant, held at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium in Long Beach, California, United States on 28 June 1952.
The most frequently presented Miss America awards are for preliminary talent and swimsuit. The talent award was introduced in 1936, and the swimsuit award in 1940. In the 2000s, preliminary awards for evening gown and interview were briefly introduced but were discontinued after two years as it was felt that they made the semi-finalists too predictable.
Miss America 1935, the ninth Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 7, 1935, following a one-year hiatus. Upon arrival in Atlantic City, contestants were strongly encouraged to exhibit some form of talent during the pageant, which was a first for the pageant. Aside from Henrietta Leaver, Miss Pittsburgh winning the Miss America crown, entrants from Pennsylvania placed as three of the nine semi-finalists.
Miss America 1941, the 15th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1941. Shortly after the crowning of Miss California, Rosemary LaPlanche, who had been first runner-up in 1940, the pageant committee adopted this rule: "No contestant can compete in Atlantic City for the title of Miss America more than once", thus eliminating future state winners with more than one attempt at the national title.
Miss America 1942, the 16th Miss America pageant, was held at the Warner Theater in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1942. Miss Texas, Jo-Carroll Dennison won the title after winning the swimsuit and talent categories. She was the first Miss Texas to win the Miss America title.
Miss America 1943, the 17th Miss America pageant, was held at the Warner Theater in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1943. Miss California, Jean Bartel won the title after winning awards for her swimsuit and talent.
Miss America 2012 was the 85th Miss America pageant, held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on January 14, 2012.