Jo-Carroll Dennison (December 16, 1923 – October 18, 2021) was an American actress and model who was

Miss America 1942 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 fi ...

Early years

Dennison was born on December 16, 1923, in

Florence, Arizona , settlement_type = Town , image_skyline = Main Street original town-site of Florence Arizona National Register of Historic Places.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = Main Street of the original town ...

, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Brownd) and Harry Arthur Dennison, who ran a travelling medicine show in Texas. She was born in the infirmary of a men's state prison in Arizona, delivered by the prison doctor as he was the only medical help her travelling parents could find. Her father had wanted her to be born in California so the couple had been driving west from Texas when her mother went into labour. Her family later lived in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, and

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

. She graduated from

Hale Center High School Hale Center High School is a public high school located in the city of Hale Center, Texas, USA and classified as a 2A school by the UIL. It is a part of the Hale Center Independent School District located in central Hale County. In 2015, the ...

in 1940, and was a stenographer in Tyler.

Pageantry

Dennison was crowned

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 ...

September 12, 1942, after having entered the contest as Miss Texas. She had earlier won both the talent and the swimsuit competitions in the contest. As Miss America during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, much of her time was spent visiting "Defence plants, hospitals and service camps" and selling war bonds.

Film career

After her time as Miss America, Dennison went to Hollywood. On November 18, 1942,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

signed her to a seven-year contract. She had roles in ''

Winged Victory The ''Winged Victory of Samothrace'', or the ''Nike of Samothrace'', is a votive monument originally found on the island of Samothrace, north of the Aegean Sea. It is a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, dating from the beg ...

'' and ''

The Jolson Story ''The Jolson Story'' is a 1946 American musical biography film which purports to tell the life story of singer Al Jolson. It stars Larry Parks as Jolson, Evelyn Keyes as Julie Benson (approximating Jolson's wife, Ruby Keeler), William Demarest a ...

''.

Personal life

Dennison married comedian

Phil Silvers Phil Silvers (born Phillip Silver; May 11, 1911 – November 1, 1985) was an American entertainer and comedic actor, known as "The King of Chutzpah". His career as a professional entertainer spanned nearly sixty years. Silvers achieved major popu ...

on March 2, 1945. They divorced March 8, 1950. The union produced no children. Dennison later married television producer Russell Stoneham and had two sons, Peter and John, with him. She lived in Idyllwild, California, in the

San Jacinto Mountains The San Jacinto Mountains (''Avii Hanupach''Munro, P., et al. ''A Mojave Dictionary''. Los Angeles: UCLA. 1992. in Mojave) are a mountain range in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles in southern California in the United States. The mou ...

. Dennison died from

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce ...

on October 18, 2021, at the age of 97.

Filmography

References

External links

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Jo-Carroll Dennison
at

1923 births 2021 deaths 20th Century Studios contract players American film actresses Miss America 1940s delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America winners People from Tyler, Texas {{US-entertainer-stub