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.
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 – Patricia Donnelly 1st Runner-Up – Bettye Cornelia Avert 2nd Runner-Up – Anna Mae Schoonover 3rd Runner-Up – Marguerita Louise Skliris 4th Runner-Up – Rose Marie Elliott Top 15 – Florine Holt – Ethel Lorraine Lobdell – Clare E. Foley – Rose Marie Magrill – Irmigard Margaret Dietel – Marion June Rudeen – Margo Lundgren – Margaret Wood – E. Louise Fletchner – Charmayne Smith
Awards
Preliminary awards Award Contestant Talent - Marguerita Louise Skliris - Marion June Rudeen - Margaret Wood
Other awards Award Contestant Miss Congeniality - Doris Coggins
Contestants
+TitleNameHometownAgeTalentPlacementAwardsNotesBirminghamFlorine HoltBirminghamVocal, "Moonglow" & "A Little Bit of Heaven"Top 15 ArkansasJean ThompsonHelena CaliforniaMarguerita SklirisSan FranciscoDramatic Monologue, "The Poison Scene" from Romeo and Juliet3rd Runner-upPreliminary Talent AwardLater known as actress Margia DeanCentral ConnecticutCatherine HarrisonDerbyCharlotteMarguerite TaylorCharlotte ConnecticutFrieda LamparBridgeportConey IslandGrayce M. Reilly District of ColumbiaEvelyn Foster19Ballet en PointeEastern New YorkClaire E. FoleyVocal Comedy & DanceTop 15Eastern OhioMaxine DrummEastern PennsylvaniaEmma Louise KnoellPhiladelphia FloridaRose Marie MagrillMiamiTap DanceTop 15 GeorgiaMary DurranceGlennvilleVocal IllinoisEthel Lorraine LodbellChicagoMonologue, "From the Diary of a Contestant"Top 15 KansasRosemary WinslowSalina KentuckyLouise HolmanPinevilleLexingtonMattigene PalmoreLexington MarylandElaine PasquallaCrisfield MiamiIrmigard DietelMiamiVocal Medley, "See You Again", "Blue Evening", & "Solitude"Top 15 MichiganPatricia DonnellyDetroit19Vocal/Bass Fiddle, "To You" & "Ol' Man Mose"Winner MinnesotaMarion RudeenMinneapolisAcrobatic DanceTop 15Preliminary Talent Award MississippiDoris CogginsBaldwynMiss Congeniality MissouriMargaret LeySt. Louis MontanaLucille ChouinardFort PeckMontgomeryLouise RobertsonMontgomeryMyrtle BeachMary Eleanor ParishMyrtle Beach New HampshireLois Marjorie TruaxNashua New JerseyMargo LundgrenHarrisonWhistling Tunes Vocal, "Don't Worry About Me"Top 15 New OrleansFrances Helen AnelloNew Orleans North CarolinaMargaret WoodVocal, "If I Didn't Care"Top 15Preliminary Talent Award OhioJeanne SabodaCleveland OklahomaBettye Cornelia AvertOklahoma CityOriginal Piano & Vocal, "Wondering & Dreaming"1st Runner-up PennsylvaniaRuth Phyllis WillockPittsburgh PhiladelphiaNancy LeePhiladelphia South CarolinaMargaret Allan ShealyClintonVocal, "Especially for You"Staten IslandLillian Evelyn HessenAnnadaleSun Valley E. Louise Fletchner Clarinet, "Stardust"Top 15 E. Louise Flechtner Brierton died at age 99 on May 5, 2020 in Pennsylvania. TennesseeJudy JonesTracy CityVocal Medley, "I Surrender" & "Come True" TexasCharmayne SmithDallasVocal, "Round Up Time in Texas"Top 15 VirginiaRose Marie ElliotSulfolkVocal, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes"4th Runner-upLater known on Broadway as Rose Marie Brown WashingtonAnna Mae SchoonoverSeattleDramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth2nd Runner-upWestern TennesseeLouise BussartEtowah
References
Secondary sources
External links Miss America official website