In 1945, a total of 41 women competed at Miss America; 28 held state titles, 12 held city titles, and the final contestant's title was Miss Northern British Columbia (in Canada), who was also named Miss Congeniality. Bess was a double prelim winner in both Swimsuit and Talent (the only double prelim winner that year). Interestingly, 9 of the 12 city title holders came from states that also sent state winners to Miss America (Atlanta & Georgia; Boston & Massachusetts; Chicago & Illinois; Cincinnati & Ohio; Detroit & Michigan; Miami Beach & Florida; New York City & New York State; Philadelphia & Pennsylvania; San Diego & California). AND, only 6 of the 41 contestants came from west of the Mississippi River.
As we remember and honor Bess Myerson, Miss America 1945, I would like to share a few anecdotes from 'There She Is, The life and Times of Miss America," by Frank Deford (1970):
From Chapter 4 "How to Be 36-24-26 in a Swimsuit":
Bess Myerson, in 1945, held the first Miss America scholarship, presumably because she was so talented musically, but Miss Myerson has often credited a tight bathing suit with playing a large part in her victory. She wanted to wear a size 34 white suit, but her hostess was a bit put off by the tight fit and suggested Bess wear a lime-colored size 36. She appeared in this suit at an impromptu veterans' hospital show that was staged the day before the Pageant officially began. "They hooted and hollered at the other girls," Bess said. "When I passed they politely flipped their hands together."
back at her hotel that night, Bess conferred with her two sisters, and it was decided that Sylvia, who was a size 36, would sleep in the white 34 to stretch it just a bit. This Sylvia did, but the next morning they still couldn't get the straps to fit Bess, so her sisters sewed the straps shut. Bess had to wear the suit under her evening gown and other performing clothes when she was sewn back into it for the competition. She was a smashing victory.
From Chapter 9 "Up from Cheesecakery":
Bess Myerson once said of Lenora Slaughter, "She picked the Pageant up by its bathing suit straps and put it in an evening gown."
(Need your comments/thoughts on this next part considering the five Miss America winners since this was written in 1970): The national press, located in New York, has always looked down smugly on Miss America, and treated it, automatically, with contempt. Nevertheless, the New York/national press has taken pains to separate its own Miss America from these indignities. Bess has always been dealt with seriously. Her case, of course, is only one example of the New York bias that runs through every element of the New York/national press. The Pageant has been rather unlucky that no New York girl has won in the last quarter century, for it is nearly predictable that if one ever did, Miss America's image-which is weak in metropolitan areas, especially the more titled East-would be instantly repaired. (Thoughts?)
Without question Bess remains the most famous of all Miss Americas-although Lee Meriwether, 1955, has been making a late run on the outside as a movie and TV actress.
Bess first was quoted telling this story in 1950,...,and she repeated the tale nine years later for another newspaper.
"After I won the title, I toured vaudeville. I came out in a high-neck gown and played The Fire Dance and Malaguena on the piano and flute. I could hear the boys up front complaining and muttering. 'Where's the bathing suit?' so in the finale I came out in a white bathing suit, and the boys would cheer. Toward the end of the tour, I realized they didn't want to hear my music, so I just came out in a bathing suit. Finally, I was losing weight and not filling out the bathing suit, so I quit."
Bess remains, however, the most famous of the breed. generally, in the quarter of a century before her, girls entered Miss America as a way to get to Hollywood. In the quarter of a cenury past, they have entered as a way to get a scholarship. And, unquestionably the girls have fared better in college than in the movies. In this respect, anyway, scholarships have certainly occasioned an improvement in the Pageant, and Bess, as Exhibit A, provided a rare visibility for a Miss America that surely heightened the advance.
***
Bess, thank you for your leadership and your service.
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