Miss America 1941, the 15th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 6, 1941.[1] Shortly after the crowning of Miss California, Rosemary LaPlanche, who had been first runner-up in 1940, the pageant committee adopted this rule: "No contestant can compete in Atlantic City for the title of Miss America more than once",[2] thus eliminating future state winners with more than one attempt at the national title.
| Miss America 1941 | |
|---|---|
| Date | September 6, 1941 |
| Presenters | Bob Russell |
| Venue | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Entrants | 43 |
| Placements | 15 |
| Winner | Rosemary LaPlanche California |
LaPlanche became a film actress, as did her sister, Louise LaPlanche.
1941 was also the first year that the special award, “Miss Congeniality” was created. It went to Mifaunwy Shunatona, a member of the Otoe and Pawnee tribes — she was also the first American Indian contestant in the pageant's history.
Results edit
Placements edit
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1941 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
|
| 2nd Runner-Up |
|
| 3rd Runner-Up |
|
| 4th Runner-Up |
|
| Top 15 |
|
Awards edit
Preliminary awards edit
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
|
| Talent |
|
Other awards edit
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
|
Contestants edit
| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arkansas
|
Ferol Amelia Dumas | Magnolia | |||||
| Birmingham | Virginia McGraw | Birmingham | Tap Dance with Rope Jumping | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
| California
|
Rosemary LaPlanche | Los Angeles | 18 | Dance | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
| Charleston | Miriam King | Charleston | |||||
 Cleveland
|
Lois Jean Beck | Cleveland | |||||
 Colorado
|
Charlene Woods | Denver | |||||
 Connecticut
|
Daphne Gladding | Plymouth | |||||
 Delaware
|
Verona Smith | Bridgeville | |||||
 District of Columbia
|
Jean Cavanaugh | 18 | Soft Shoe Dance, "A Pretty Girl Is Like a Melody" | 2nd Runner-up | |||
| Eastern Pennsylvania | Catherine Jane Albert | Coatesville | |||||
 Florida
|
Mitzie Strother | Miami | Top 15 | ||||
 Georgia
|
Esther Shepard | Griffin | Top 15 | ||||
 Indiana
|
Alice Ullery | Evansville | Modeling | ||||
 Iowa
|
Lorene Snoddy | Des Moines | 20 | ||||
 Kentucky
|
Dorothy Slatten | Lexington | Top 15 | ||||
| Knoxville | Katherine Gammon | Knoxville | |||||
| Lake Mohopac | Charlotte Winstanley | ||||||
 Maryland
|
Penny Malone | Baltimore | |||||
 Massachusetts
|
Betsy Sears Taylor | Cambridge | |||||
 Miami
|
Anna Louise Baker | Miami | |||||
 Michigan
|
Gerry Marcoux | Detroit | Top 15 | ||||
 Minnesota
|
Patricia Tiets | Minneapolis | |||||
 Mississippi
|
Madeline Smith | Winona | |||||
 New Jersey
|
Marjorie Eleanor Jennings | Dover | |||||
 New Mexico
|
Beverly Brookshier | Roswell | |||||
 New Orleans
|
Helen Yvonne Englert | New Orleans | |||||
 New York City
|
Grace DeWitt | New York City | Top 15 | ||||
 North Carolina
|
Joey Augusta Paxton | Charlotte | 19 | Swing Vocal | 4th Runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
Preliminary Talent Award |
Joey Augusta Paxton of Hallandale Beach, Florida died at 79 on September 17, 2002. |
 Ohio
|
Janice Sulzman | Willoughby | Top 15 | ||||
 Oklahoma
|
Mifaunwy Dolores Shunatona | Tulsa | Top 15 | Miss Congeniality | First American Indian to compete at Miss America | ||
 Philadelphia
|
Carrie de Ludo | Philadelphia | |||||
| Savannah | Gladys Collins | Savannah | |||||
 South Carolina
|
Gloria Frances Missel | Vocal, "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" | |||||
 Tennessee
|
Martha McKinney | Nashville | Acrobatic/Tap Dance | ||||
 Virginia
|
Jacquelyn McWin | Waynesboro | Top 15 | ||||
 West Virginia
|
Juanita Park Wright | Huntington | |||||
| Westchester County | Lillian O'Donnell | Yonkers | 3rd Runner-up | ||||
| Western Pennsylvania | Roselle Hannon | Pittsburgh | Vocal, "Because of You" | 1st Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | ||
 Wisconsin
|
Betty Ann Miller | Milwaukee | 18 | Artistic Caricature of President Franklin D. Roosevelt | Top 15 | ||
 Wyoming
|
Patricia Marie Snyder | Cheyenne | Vocal & Dance |
References edit
- ^ Associated Press (1941-09-08). "Rosemary is Miss America". Indiana (PA) Evening Gazette. p. 1.
- ^ "No contestant..." Archived from the original on 2010-09-29. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
Secondary sources edit
- Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-110-7.