| Miss America 1965 | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 12, 1964 |
| Presenters | Bert Parks Bess Myerson |
| Venue | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Broadcaster | CBS |
| Winner | Vonda Kay Van Dyke Arizona |
Miss America 1965, the 38th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1964 [1] on CBS Network.
Pageant winner Vonda Kay Van Dyke authored books in years to come. She was the first Miss America to use ventriloquism in the talent portion of the contest. Miss Arkansas, first runner-up Karen Carlson, later became an actress, seen in several films and many television series.
The pageant took place at Boardwalk Hall less than two weeks after it played host to the Democratic National Convention.
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1965 | |
| 1st Runner-Up | |
| 2nd Runner-Up |
|
| 3rd Runner-Up |
|
| 4th Runner-Up |
|
| Top 10 |
|
Top 10
| Top 5
|
| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
|
| Talent |
|
| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality | |
| Non-finalist Talent |
 |
| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | Vickie Powers | Mobile | 19 | Classical Vocal, "Habanera" | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | Featured performer at Miss America 1966 |
 Alaska | Karol Hommon | Anchorage | 20 | Acrobatic & Modern Jazz Dance | Non-finalist Talent Award | Died in 1965 after falling from Sugarloaf Mountain | |
 Arizona | Vonda Kay Van Dyke | Phoenix | 22 | Ventriloquism, "Together (Wherever We Go)" | Winner | Miss Congeniality | Semi-finalist at America's Junior Miss 1961
|
 Arkansas | Karen Carlson | Fayetteville | 20 | Vocal, "As Long as He Needs Me" from Oliver! | 1st runner-up | Ex-wife of David Soul | |
 California | Sherri Raap | Fremont | 18 | Jazz Baton Dance & Acrobatics | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | ||
 Colorado | Kathleen Knight | Denver | 19 | Semi-classical Vocal, "The Telephone" | |||
 Connecticut | Honora Bukowski | Wallingford | 18 | Jazz Dance, "Bossa Nova" | |||
 Delaware | Anita Gail Euban | Wilmington | 20 | Popular Vocal & Dance | |||
 Florida | Priscilla Schnarr | Hollywood | 18 | Vocal/Dance, "Whatever Lola Wants" | |||
 Georgia | Vivian Davis | Augusta | 19 | Skit & Vocal | |||
 Hawaii | Leina'ala Ann Teruya | Honolulu | 18 | Interpretive Monologue, "Footprints" from Leaves of a Grass House by Don Blanding | Top 10 | ||
 Idaho | Judith Steubbe | Moscow | 21 | Piano, Fantaisie-Impromptu | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Illinois | Patricia Quillen | North Aurora | 21 | Clarinet | Finalist at the National Press Photographers' Pageant 1962 | ||
 Indiana | Sandra Miller | Bedford | 20 | Popular Vocal | |||
 Iowa | Carol Johnson | Ames | 21 | Folk Vocal & Guitar | |||
 Kansas | Sharon Margene Savage | Florence | 20 | Vocal, "Johnny One Note" & "Ritorna Vincitor" from Aida | During her reign she was killed in an automobile accident near Peabody, Kansas | ||
 Kentucky | Linda Sawyer | Louisville | 21 | Vocal & Speech, "Stephen Foster Medley" | Top 10 | Older sister of newscaster Diane Sawyer | |
 Louisiana | Cherie Martin | Pineville | 19 | Toreador Dance & Baton Twirling | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Maine | Ellen Warren | Kennebunk | 18 | Vocal/Dance | |||
 Maryland | Donna Marie McCauley | Rockville | 19 | Interpretive Ballet | |||
 Massachusetts | Kathleen Kenneally | Whitman | 21 | Dramatic Reading | |||
 Michigan | Sarah Jane Noble | East Lansing | 18 | Free Exercise Routine | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Minnesota | Barbara Hasselberg | Bloomington | 21 | Authentic Polynesian Dances, "Hawaiian War Chant" | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Mississippi | Judy Simono | Vicksburg | 20 | Classical Ballet, The Sleeping Beauty by Tchaikovsky | |||
 Missouri | Carol Browning | Lee's Summit | 20 | Marimba & Accordion Medley | |||
 Montana | Merilee Miller | Radersburg | 20 | Dance | |||
 Nebraska | Sandra Lee Rice | Cozad | 20 | Dramatic Reading from After the Fall | |||
 Nevada | Ellen Roseman | Sparks | 21 | Comedy Skit | |||
 New Hampshire | Elizabeth Emerson | Somersworth | 22 | Comedy Reading | |||
 New Jersey | Susan Krasnomowitz | Fair Lawn | 19 | Jazz Dance | |||
 New Mexico | Jane Nelson | Tularosa | 19 | Original Vocal with Guitar & Tympani to the theme from Exodus | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Later Miss Arizona USA 1965 1st runner-up at Miss USA 1965
Top 7 at Miss USA World 1966 |
 New York | Julie Just | Buffalo | 20 | Popular Vocal, "Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 North Carolina | Sharon Finch | Thomasville | 20 | Vocal & Dance with Castanets | |||
 North Dakota | Karen Kopseng | Bismarck | 19 | Classical Vocal, "Un Bel Dì" from Madama Butterfly | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
 Ohio | Diane Courtwright | Columbus | 19 | Popular Vocal & Modern Jazz Dance | |||
 Oklahoma | Jane Hitch | Guymon | 18 | Dance | |||
 Oregon | Carol Pedersen | Newport | 18 | Dramatic Reading | |||
 Pennsylvania | Marilyn Cutaiar March | Havertown | 19 | Toe Dance Ballet, "Dance of the Painted Doll" | |||
 Rhode Island | Judy Anderson | Warwick | 20 | Vocal/Dance | |||
 South Carolina | Sue Smith | Florence | 20 | Vocal Medley | |||
 South Dakota | June Ann Delbridge | Sioux Falls | 19 | Piano | |||
 Tennessee | Rita Munsey | New Tazewell | 20 | Vocal Medley & Accordion, "You Don't Know Me" & "Walkin' After Midnight" | |||
 Texas | Sharon McCauley | Athens | 20 | Vocal, "Let Me Entertain You" from Gypsy: A Musical Fable | 3rd runner-up | ||
 Utah | Lois Anne Bailey | Salt Lake City | 18 | Piano, "Symphonie espagnole" | |||
 Vermont | Jean Conner | Rutland | 21 | Popular Vocal | |||
 Virginia | Carolyn Eddy | Norfolk | 21 | Dramatic Reading | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Washington | Lauren Waddleton | Burien | 19 | Vocal. "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady | Top 10 | ||
 West Virginia | Ella Dee Kessel† | Ripley | 21 | Piano, "Three Preludes" by Gershwin | 2nd runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | Later First Lady of WV |
 Wisconsin | Angela Baldi | Glendale | 18 | Piano, "On Wisconsin" in Three Variations | |||
 Wyoming | Joan Selmer | Cheyenne | 21 | Acro-Baton Routine |
Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, formerly known as the Historic Atlantic City Convention Hall, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was Atlantic City's primary convention center until the opening of the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1997. Boardwalk Hall was declared a U.S. National Historic Landmark in 1987 as one of the few surviving buildings from the city's early heyday as a seaside resort. The venue seats 10,500 people for ice hockey, and at maximum capacity can accommodate 14,770 for concerts. Boardwalk Hall is the home of the Miss America Pageant.
Miss America 2002, the 75th Miss America pageant, was televised live from Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 22, 2001, on the ABC Network. The pageant was won by Katie Harman of Oregon, the first woman representing that state to take the crown.
Miss America 1991, the 64th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 8, 1990. It was telecast live on NBC.
Miss America 2001, the 74th Miss America pageant, was broadcast from on the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, October 14, 2000 on ABC Network. This was the first time that the pageant took place outside its traditional month of September. It was moved to October because the 2000 Summer Olympics were held in September.
Miss America 1997, the 70th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 14, 1996, and televised by the NBC Network. Until the 2019 Pageant, this was the last time that NBC aired the Miss America pageant.
Miss America 1970, the 43rd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1969.
Miss America 1996, the 69th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 16, 1995, and was televised by the NBC Network.
Miss America 1969, the 42nd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 7, 1968 on NBC Network. Miss Illinois was the winner, Judith Ford performing on a trampoline during the talent competition of the pageant. She later became a physical education teacher at an elementary school.
Miss America 1967, the 40th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1966. It was televised in the United States on NBC, and the first telecast of the pageant in color.
Miss America 1966, the 39th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1965 on CBS Network.
Miss America 1953, the 26th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1952.
Miss America 1954, the 27th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 12, 1953. Though four women from Pennsylvania had previously held the title, Evelyn Margaret Ay was the first Miss Pennsylvania to be crowned Miss America, as the others represented cities.
Miss America 1940, the 14th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the first time since 1933. The finals were held on September 7, 1940. Aside from the winner, Frances Burke, Miss Philadelphia, two other contestants from Pennsylvania placed among the Top 15, one representing Eastern Pennsylvania and the other from Western Pennsylvania.
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 1949, the 23rd Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1949. The 1949 pageant marked the first time that a public official, New Jersey Governor Alfred E. Driscoll, had taken part in the coronation, placing the jeweled crown on the new queen's head.
Miss America 1951, the 24th Miss America pageant, was held at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1950. Traditionally, since a majority of Miss America's reign occurred during the year following her coronation, the pageant referred to her title with the upcoming year. Thus, Yolande Betbeze, who was crowned in September 1950, was called Miss America 1951. This practice continued until 2006, when pageant activities moved from September to January. From that point, the title year aligned with the year in which the titleholder won. This change also occurred recently in 2024, and it marked the transition from Atlantic City, the pageant's long-time base, to its new home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Miss America 1956, the 29th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1955 and was broadcast of the competition on ABC.
Miss America 1987, the 60th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 13, 1986 on NBC Network.
Miss America 1962, the 35th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 9, 1961, and was broadcast on CBS.
Miss America 1957, the 30th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 8, 1956, on ABC.
