Jo-Carroll Dennison (December 16, 1923 – October 18, 2021) was an American actress and model who was Miss America 1942.

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 for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

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 Co ...

, 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 in 1940, and was a stenographer in Tyler.

Pageantry

Dennison was crowned Miss America 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 opposing ...

, 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'' 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 Demares ...

''.

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 mo ...

. 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 Miss America 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