Wikipedia
Miss America 1937
Miss America 1937, the 11th Miss America pageant, was held at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, September 11, 1937.[1] Shortly after being presented as Miss America, the newly crowned 17-year-old winner, Bette Cooper, left Atlantic City and returned home. Once there, she missed scheduled appointments on her first day as Miss America, as well as a theater appearance and a trip to Hollywood.[2] Her father cited illness as the reason.[3] Though not placing in the top five, representatives from different areas of New York captured three of the semi-finalist positions.
| Miss America 1937 | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 11, 1937 |
| Presenters | King Neptune |
| Venue | Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Entrants | 49 |
| Placements | 16 |
| Winner | Bette Cooper Bertrand Island |
← 1936 1938 → | |
Results
| Final results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1937 | |
| 1st runner-up |
|
| 2nd runner-up |
|
| 3rd runner-up (tie) | |
| 4th runner-up |
|
| Top 16 |
|
Awards
Best Evening Gown
Preliminary awards
| Awards | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Talent |
|
Contestants
| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta | Lorraine Mayfield | Atlanta | |||||
| Augusta | Olga Strickland | ||||||
| Baltimore | May Vivian Miller | Baltimore | |||||
| Bertrand Island | Bette Cooper | Hackettstown | 17 | Vocal, "When the Poppies Bloom Again" | Winner | Best Evening Gown Award | |
| Birmingham | Josephine Beall | ||||||
| Bronx | Helen Fleiss | The Bronx | Top 16 | ||||
| Buckeye Lake | Evelyn Townley | Top 16 | |||||
| California | Phyllis Randall | Hollywood | 20 | Vocal/Dance | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Sister of Miss North Carolina 1941, Joey Augusta Paxton |
| Charlotte | Betty Hunneycutt | Charlotte | Top 16 | ||||
| Cincinnati | Sally Lillian Frank | Cincinnati | |||||
| Connecticut | Frances Greene | Milford | |||||
| Delaware | Nickey Harriet | Harrington | |||||
| Delray Beach | Mary P. Hollran | Delray Beach | |||||
| District of Columbia | Helen Greene | 24 | Blues Vocal & Piano | ||||
| Eastern Pennsylvania | Beryl Kober | Chalfont | |||||
| Eastern Shores | Margaret Myers | Rock Hall | |||||
| Empire State | Dorothy Armstrong | Whitesboro | |||||
| Jacksonville | Frances Powell | ||||||
| Kansas | Lucia Benton | Norton | Top 16 | ||||
| Kentucky | Audrey Catherine Flaig | Bellevue | |||||
| Louisiana | Gertrude Rissie Miller | Winnsboro | Top 16 | ||||
| Maine | Cornelia Campbell | South Portland | |||||
| Massachusetts | Claire Nevulis | South Boston | Vocal/Tap Dance | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| Miami | Irmigard Dietel | Vocal | 4th Runner-up | ||||
| Minnesota | Cecelia Rodge | Minneapolis | |||||
| Mississippi | Virginia Riley | West Point | |||||
| Moberly | Mary Sue Klein | Moberly | |||||
| Montgomery | Ingram Starkey | Montgomery | |||||
| Nebraska | Ruth Lenore Jones | Nebraska City | |||||
| New York City | Grace Travis | New York City | Vocal | Top 16 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| North Carolina | Ruth Covington | Tap Dance, "Gonna Go" | 2nd Runner-up | ||||
| Ohio | Jean Fadden | Cleveland | Top 16 | ||||
| Philadelphia | Kathryn Crase | Philadelphia | |||||
| Puerto Rico | Malen Pietrantoni | ||||||
| Rhode Island | Dorothy May Eden | East Providence | 18 | Dr. Dorothy May Eden Trayner Erinakes died at 97 on March 20, 2017 in San Luis Obispo, California. | |||
| Riverside | Helen Frances Murphy | Riverside | |||||
| San Antonio | Oliver Henderson | ||||||
| Savannah Beach | Carolyn Cumbie | ||||||
| South Carolina | Wayring Smathers | Columbia | |||||
| South Jersey | Margaret Julia Jardon | Burlington | |||||
| St. Louis | Wauneta Bates | St. Louis | Top 16 | ||||
| Sunnybrook | Kathryn H. Kendrick | Sunnybrook | |||||
| Texas | Alice Emerick | Fort Worth | Tap Dance | 1st Runner-up | |||
| Troy | Irene Alice Vanderburgh | Watervliet | |||||
| Virginia | Frances Lee Sultan | Kecoughtan | Top 16 | ||||
| Washington | Juliana Bernhardt | Seattle | |||||
| Westchester County | Evelyn Raye | New Rochelle | Top 16 | ||||
| Wyoming | Mary Ann McLaughlin | Riverton |
References
- ^ United Press (1937-09-12). "17-Year-Old Jersey Blond is Miss America for 1937". Syracuse Herald. p. Two A.
- ^ Hetrick, Christian (July 18, 2015). "The curse of Miss New Jersey". The Press of Atlantic City. Pleasantville, NJ: BH Media. Retrieved July 31, 2015.
- ^ Associated Press (1937-09-13). "Bette Cooper, Tired and Ill, Leaves Atlantic City with First Boyfriend". Lewiston Daily Sun. p. 13.
Secondary sources
- Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-87833-110-9.
External links
- Miss America official website