Miss America 1949, the 23rd

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 ...

pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

on September 10, 1949. The 1949 pageant marked the first time that a public official,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Governor

Alfred E. Driscoll Alfred Eastlack Driscoll (October 25, 1902 – March 9, 1975) was an American Republican Party politician, who served in the New Jersey Senate (1939–1941) representing Camden County, who served as the 43rd governor of New Jersey, and as ...

, had taken part in the coronation, placing the jeweled crown on the new queen's head. The winner,

Jacque Mercer Jacquelyn Joy Mercer (January 7, 1931 – February 2, 1982) was Miss America in 1949. Biography Mercer was born in Thatcher, Arizona. In 1949, she won the title of Miss America. She is mentioned (usually by title, once by name) several times ...

, was the first Miss Arizona to take the crown, as well as the last previously married woman before the Miss America pageant adopted new rules. Among the finalists was Betty Jane Crowley, Miss New Jersey, who became an actress and guest-starred in dozens of television series, billed professionally as Kathleen Crowley. Another future actress,

Allison Hayes Allison Hayes (born Mary Jane Hayes; March 6, 1930 – February 27, 1977) was an American film and television actress and model. Early life Allison Hayes was born to William E. Hayes and Charlotte Gibson Hayes in Charleston, West Virginia. She ...

, competed in the pageant as Miss District of Columbia. In

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

's 1997 novel, ''

American Pastoral ''American Pastoral'' is a Philip Roth novel published in 1997 concerning Seymour "Swede" Levov, a successful Jewish American businessman and former high school star athlete from Newark, New Jersey. Levov's happy and conventional upper middle cla ...

'', Mary Dawn Dwyer (the future wife of main protagonist Seymour "Swede" Levov) was Miss New Jersey in the 1949 pageant, and did not make it to the Top 15, despite the contest being held in her home state. Roth recreates the pageant in the novel, and mentions real-life winner

, as well as several of the judges.

Results

Awards

Preliminary awards

Other awards

Contestants

References

Secondary sources

* Lillian Ross, "Symbol of all we possess (October 22, 1949 (On the Miss America pageant))" from "The 40s: The story of a decade: The New Yorker" Edited by Henry Finder with Giles Harvey Modern Library, New York Copyright 2014 by The New Yorker Magazine

External links

Miss America official website
{{Miss America

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

1949 beauty pageants 1949 in the United States 1949 in New Jersey September 1949 events in the United States Events in Atlantic City, New Jersey