Miss America 1966

Miss America 1966, the 39th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1965 on CBS Network.

Miss America 1966
Deborah Bryant, Miss America 1966
Date	September 11, 1965
Presenters	Bert Parks Bess Myerson
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Broadcaster	CBS
Winner	Deborah Bryant Kansas

Deborah Bryant became the first Miss Kansas to win the crown. The judges for this year's pageant included actress Joan Crawford.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1966	Kansas – Deborah Bryant
1st Runner-Up	Mississippi – Patricia Puckett
2nd Runner-Up	Indiana – Eileen Smith
3rd Runner-Up	Florida – Carol Blum
4th Runner-Up	Wisconsin – Sharon Singstock
Top 10	Alabama – Linda Folsom Louisiana – Lynda Lee Ferguson Oregon – Susan Elizabeth Pack South Carolina – Nancy Janice Moore Utah – Frances Yvonne Vernon

Order of announcements

Top 10

1. Indiana
2. Alabama
3. South Carolina
4. Kansas
5. Louisiana
6. Wisconsin
7. Oregon
8. Utah
9. Florida
10. Mississippi

Top 5

1. Florida
2. Indiana
3. Kansas
4. Mississippi
5. Wisconsin

Awards

Preliminary awards

Award	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	Kansas – Deborah Bryant Mississippi – Patricia Puckett Nevada – Kathryn Elizabeth Blaikie
Talent	Alabama – Linda Folsom Indiana – Eileen Smith South Carolina – Nancy Janice Moore

Other awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Iowa – Marie Mushro
Non-finalist Talent	California – Sandra Lynne Becker Idaho – Rhonda Hammond Iowa – Marie Mushro Michigan – Esther Lynne Smith Montana – Dianne Feller Pennsylvania – Judith Lynn McConnell Washington – Kippy Lou Brinkman West Virginia – Lois Gay Ratcliff

Contestants

State	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Alabama	Linda Folsom	New Brockton	20	Classical Vocal, "Caro Nome" from Rigoletto	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Alaska	Mary Ruth Nidiffer	Anchorage	21	Popular Vocal, "Typically English"
Arizona	Sandra Montgomery	Yuma	18	Vocal, "Once in a Lifetime" & "I Love Being Here With You"
Arkansas	Rhonda Oglesby	Pine Bluff	19	Popular Vocal
California	Sandra Lynne Becker	Covina	18	Semi-classical Vocal, "Make Believe"		Non-finalist Talent Award
Colorado	Kristina Holm	Denver	19	Piano, "More" from Gigi
Connecticut	Donna Scott	Stratford	18	Vocal, "Someone to Watch Over Me"
Delaware	Kathleen Grandell	Wilmington	18	Multilingual Monologue
Florida	Carol Lynn Blum	Miami Beach	21	Classical Vocal, "Il Bacio" by Luigi Arditi	3rd runner-up
Georgia	Mary Jane Yates	Savannah	20	Semi-classical Vocal, "With a Song in My Heart"
Hawaii	Roberta Rosaria Conlan	Honolulu	18	Monologue, "Hawaiian History"
Idaho	Rhonda Hammond	Boise	19	Speech on Fashion Design with Modeling		Non-finalist Talent Award
Illinois	Kathleen Oros	Granite City	20	Popular Vocal, "Just You Wait" from My Fair Lady
Indiana	Eileen Smith	Indianapolis	18	Vocal Medley, "The Sound of Music" & "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"	2nd runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award
Iowa	Marie Mushro	Sioux City	19	Ballet en Pointe, The Dying Swan		Miss Congeniality Non-finalist Talent Award
Kansas	Deborah Irene Bryant	Overland Park	19	Dramatic Interpretation, "The Miserable Miserliness of Midas Moneybags"	Winner	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award	Previously Miss Kansas World 1963 Top 7 finalist at Miss USA World 1963
Kentucky	Rebecca Snyder	Owensboro	20	Dramatic Monologue, "Portrayal of the Sphinx"
Louisiana	Lynda Ferguson	Shreveport	20	Semi-classical Vocal, "Italian Street Song" from Naughty Marietta	Top 10
Maine	Ellen Margaret Fowler	Old Orchard Beach	19	Vocal/Dance, "Some People"
Maryland	Barbara Lynn Hamilton	College Park	19	Vocal, "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man"
Massachusetts	Mabel Bendiksen	New Bedford	18	Dramatic Reading & Folk Singing, "The Hazards of Nuclear Fallout" & "What Have They Done to the Rain"
Michigan	Esther Lynne Smith	Portage	19	Classical Vocal		Non-finalist Talent Award	Born in Vlaardingen, Netherlands
Minnesota	Jeanne Ruth	St. Paul	18	Interpretive Jazz Dance to selections from West Side Story
Mississippi	Patricia Puckett	Columbus	20	Vocal, "I Ain't Down Yet" from The Unsinkable Molly Brown	1st runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award	Featured performer at Miss America 1967
Missouri	Lesley Fleenor	Springfield	20	Vocal, "Hard Hearted Hannah"
Montana	Dianne Feller	Helena	21	Classical Vocal, "Un bel dì vedremo" from Madama Butterfly		Non-finalist Talent Award
Nebraska	Karen Hansmeire	Ogallala	20	Semi-classical Vocal, "Love is Where You Find It"
Nevada	Kathryn Blaikie	Carson City	18	Musical Comedy, "I'm Late"		Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
New Hampshire	Cheryl-Leigh Buffum	Manchester	21	Musical Comedy Sketch, "I Ain't Down Yet" from The Unsinkable Molly Brown
New Jersey	Kathleen Holmes	Toms River	19	Vocal/Tap Dance, "Steppin' Out With My Baby"
New Mexico	Ellen Growden	University Park	21	Dramatic Sketch, "Relationship of a Mother and Daughter"
New York	Marlene Butcher	Hamburg	19	Vocal/Dance, "I Ain't Down Yet" from The Unsinkable Molly Brown
North Carolina	Penelope Clark	Sanford	19	Classical Ballet, "Robina"
North Dakota	Onalee Olson	Fargo	19	Original Interpretive Dance, "Charleston"
Ohio	Valerie Lavin	Canton	20	Vocal/Dance, "I Ought to Dance"
Oklahoma	Sandra Curtis	Tulsa	20	Dramatic Reading, "Sorry Wrong Number"
Oregon	Sue Pack	Eugene	18	Vocal, "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music	Top 10		Joined The New Christy Minstrels in 1966 Wife of Mickey Newbury
Pennsylvania	Judith Lynn McConnell	Pittsburgh	21	Dramatic Reading from Saint Joan		Non-finalist Talent Award	Best known for her role in the soap opera, Santa Barbara
Rhode Island	Maureen Manton	Warwick	21	Dramatic Reading from The Diary of Anne Frank
South Carolina	Nancy Moore	Aiken	18	Piano, Variations on "There She Is"	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award	Later married US Senator Strom Thurmond, who was 44 years her senior, in 1968
South Dakota	Nancy Sandwick	Sioux Falls	19	Vocal Medley, "Wouldn't it be Loverly" & "I Could've Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady
Tennessee	Marcia Murray	Paris	19	Popular Vocal, "Spellbound"
Texas	Mary Lou Butler	Irving	19	Vocal
Utah	Frances Yvonne Vernon	Salt Lake City	22	Original Modern Dance, "The American Pioneer Woman"	Top 10
Vermont	Lois Dodge	Grand Isle	20	Vocal, "Climb Ev'ry Mountain"
Virginia	Jean Inge	Norfolk	22	Speech about Politics & Government entitled "Democracy"
Washington	Kippy Lou Brinkman	Richland	21	Harp & Tap Dance, "Night and Day"		Non-finalist Talent Award
West Virginia	Lois Gay Ratcliff	Bluefield	19	Dramatic Reading, "Lonesome Train"		Non-finalist Talent Award
Wisconsin	Sharon Singstock	Oshkosh	20	Vocal, "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Medley"	4th runner-up
Wyoming	Trudy Bower	Freedom	19	Vocal, "From This Moment On"

External links

• Miss America official website