Jean Bartel (born Jean Bartlemeh; October 26, 1923 – March 6, 2011) was

Miss California The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition. The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Mi ...

and Miss America 1943.

Early life

Bartel was from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She was born Jean Bartlemeh; later her name was shortened to Bartel.

Pageantry

She initially entered the pageant after learning one of the judges was

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

actor and producer,

W. Horace Schmidlapp William Horace Schmidlapp, II (January 29, 1916 – June 27, 1987) was an American investment banker and Broadway theatre, Broadway producer,Victoria Schmidlapp Bride in Florida, ''The New York Times'', April 2, 1970, page 46 and the fourth ...

. As talent counted for 50% of the score, she thought it was a way to launch her career on Broadway. Not only was she named Miss America after a vocal performance the press hailed as "forceful and dramatic", but she landed a career on Broadway and an agent who booked her on tours in South America, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and in every State of the Union except Maine. She won the talent and swimsuit awards at the national pageant. At 5 feet 8 inches tall, Bartel was the tallest pageant winner up to that time. There had been comparisons between Bartel and popular blond actress

Carole Lombard Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard 2 ...

. She was the first college student to win the title of

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. After visiting her sorority sisters in

Kappa Kappa Gamma Kappa Kappa Gamma (), also known simply as Kappa or KKG, is a collegiate sorority founded at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois, United States. It has a membership of more than 260,000 women, with 140 collegiate chapters in the United States a ...

around the country, she and her travelling companion developed the idea of awarding scholarships to those who competed in the Miss America Organization. The Miss America Organization is now the world's largest provider of scholarships for women in the world.

Career

In 1946 she appeared on stage in ''The Desert Song'' at the New York City Center for Music and Drama. Notably she appeared as the female lead in the Broadway production of

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

's ''

Of Thee I Sing ''Of Thee I Sing'' is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President o ...

'' in 1952. She sold more

Series E bond Series E United States Savings Bonds were government bonds marketed by the United States Department of the Treasury as war bonds during World War II from 1941 to 1945. After the war, they continued to be offered as retail investments until 1980, ...

s in 1943 than any other United States citizen, amounting to over $2.5 million. Eighty percent of those bonds were sold to women. Bartel worked for many years on Broadway and in television, including starring in her own travel series, ''It's a Woman's World'', as well as performing for seven months in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. She appeared in an episode of ''

The Love Boat ''The Love Boat'' is an American romantic comedy/drama television series that aired on ABC from 1977 to 1986; in addition, four three-hour specials aired in 1986, 1987, and 1990. The series was set on the luxury passenger cruise ship MS ''Pac ...

'' in 1984, along with

Marian McKnight Marian McKnight (born December 19, 1936) is an American actress, model and former beauty pageant winner. She was crowned Miss America in 1957. Pageantry She earned the 1957 Miss America title with a Marilyn Monroe act in the talent portion. Sh ...

, Miss America 1957;

Nancy Fleming Nancy Anne Fleming (born May 20, 1942) is an American beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss America 1961 on September 10, 1960. Education Fleming graduated from Michigan State University in 1964 and earned a teaching certificate from th ...

, Miss America 1961; and Vanessa L. Williams, Miss America, 1984.

Personal life

Bartel died in Brentwood, California, on March 6, 2011, aged 87. The Miss America Organization issued a statement calling her "one of our most beloved Miss Americas". The Quality of Life award, given out yearly to one Miss America contestant was named after Bartel.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartel, Jean 1923 births 2011 deaths Actresses from Los Angeles American stage actresses American television actresses Television personalities from Los Angeles Miss America 1940s delegates Miss America winners Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners People from Greater Los Angeles 20th-century American people 21st-century American women