Miss America 1939

Miss America 1939, the 13th Miss America pageant, was the last pageant to be held at the famed Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The finals were held on Saturday, September 9, 1939, and Miss Michigan, Patricia Donnelly, was crowned Miss America 1939. The Miss Congeniality Award was also introduced at the 1939 competition.

Miss America 1939
Date	September 9, 1939
Venue	Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Entrants	43
Placements	15
Winner	Patricia Donnelly Michigan

Donnelly later became a singer and actress. Third runner-up Marguerita Skliris became the actress Margia Dean, who starred in such Hollywood films as Seven Women from Hell and The Quatermass Xperiment. Fourth runner-up Rose Marie Elliott had a successful musical career on the Broadway stage as Rose Marie Brown.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1939	Michigan – Patricia Donnelly
1st Runner-Up	Oklahoma – Bettye Cornelia Avert
2nd Runner-Up	Washington – Anna Mae Schoonover
3rd Runner-Up	California – Marguerita Louise Skliris
4th Runner-Up	Virginia – Rose Marie Elliott
Top 15	Birmingham – Florine Holt Chicago – Ethel Lorraine Lobdell Eastern New York – Clare E. Foley Florida – Rose Marie Magrill Miami – Irmigard Margaret Dietel Minnesota – Marion June Rudeen New Jersey – Margo Lundgren North Carolina – Margaret Wood Sun Valley – Louise Fletchner Texas – Charmayne Smith

Awards

Preliminary awards

Award	Contestant
Talent	California - Marguerita Louise Skliris Minnesota - Marion June Rudeen North Carolina - Margaret Wood

Other awards

Award	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Mississippi - Doris Coggins

Contestants

Title	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Birmingham	Florine Holt	Birmingham		Vocal, "Moonglow" & "A Little Bit of Heaven"	Top 15
Arkansas	Jean Thompson	Helena
California	Marguerita Skliris	San Francisco		Dramatic Monologue, "The Poison Scene" from Romeo and Juliet	3rd Runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award	Later known as actress Margia Dean
Central Connecticut	Catherine Harrison	Derby
Charlotte	Marguerite Taylor	Charlotte
Connecticut	Frieda Lampar	Bridgeport
Coney Island	Grayce M. Reilly
District of Columbia	Evelyn Foster		19	Ballet en Pointe
Eastern New York	Claire E. Foley			Vocal Comedy & Dance	Top 15
Eastern Ohio	Maxine Drumm
Eastern Pennsylvania	Emma Louise Knoell	Philadelphia
Florida	Rose Marie Magrill	Miami		Tap Dance	Top 15
Georgia	Mary Durrance	Glennville		Vocal
Illinois	Ethel Lorraine Lodbell	Chicago		Monologue, "From the Diary of a Contestant"	Top 15
Kansas	Rosemary Winslow	Salina
Kentucky	Louise Holman	Pineville
Lexington	Mattigene Palmore	Lexington
Maryland	Elaine Pasqualla	Crisfield
Miami	Irmigard Dietel	Miami		Vocal Medley, "See You Again", "Blue Evening", & "Solitude"	Top 15
Michigan	Patricia Donnelly	Detroit	19	Vocal/Bass Fiddle, "To You" & "Ol' Man Mose"	Winner
Minnesota	Marion Rudeen	Minneapolis		Acrobatic Dance	Top 15	Preliminary Talent Award
Mississippi	Doris Coggins	Baldwyn				Miss Congeniality
Missouri	Margaret Ley	St. Louis
Montana	Lucille Chouinard	Fort Peck
Montgomery	Louise Robertson	Montgomery
Myrtle Beach	Mary Eleanor Parish	Myrtle Beach
New Hampshire	Lois Marjorie Truax	Nashua
New Jersey	Margo Lundgren	Harrison		Whistling Tunes Vocal, "Don't Worry About Me"	Top 15
New Orleans	Frances Helen Anello	New Orleans
North Carolina	Margaret Wood			Vocal, "If I Didn't Care"	Top 15	Preliminary Talent Award
Ohio	Jeanne Saboda	Cleveland
Oklahoma	Bettye Cornelia Avert	Oklahoma City		Original Piano & Vocal, "Wondering & Dreaming"	1st Runner-up
Pennsylvania	Ruth Phyllis Willock	Pittsburgh
Philadelphia	Nancy Lee	Philadelphia
South Carolina	Margaret Allan Shealy	Clinton		Vocal, "Especially for You"
Staten Island	Lillian Evelyn Hessen	Annadale
Sun Valley	Louise Fletchner			Clarinet, "Stardust"	Top 15
Tennessee	Judy Jones	Tracy City		Vocal Medley, "I Surrender" & "Come True"
Texas	Charmayne Smith	Dallas		Vocal, "Round Up Time in Texas"	Top 15
Virginia	Rose Marie Elliot	Sulfolk		Vocal, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"	4th Runner-up		Later known on Broadway as Rose Marie Brown
Washington	Anna Mae Schoonover	Seattle		Dramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth	2nd Runner-up
Western Tennessee	Louise Bussart	Etowah

References

Secondary sources

• Saulino Osborne, Angela (1995). "Miss Americas and their Courts". Miss America The Dream Lives On. Taylor Publishing Company. ISBN 0-87833-110-7.

External links

• Miss America official website