Miss America 1923
Miss America 1923 | |
---|---|
Date | September 7, 1923 |
Presenters | King Neptune (Hudson Maxim) |
Venue | Million Dollar Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey |
Entrants | 75 |
Placements | 5 |
Winner | Mary Katherine Campbell N/A |
Miss America 1923, was the third Miss America pageant, held at the Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday, September 7, 1923.[1][2]
At the conclusion of the event, King Neptune crowned the incumbent titleholder Mary Katherine Campbell as Miss America 1923. Campbell is the only Miss America to win the title twice.[3][4]
Contestants from 75 cities, states, and titles competed at the event. The event was presented by Hudson Maxim dressed as King Neptune.
Overview
[edit]Organization of pageant
[edit]The pageant consisted of four phases of competition: evening dress (called King Neptune's Court); roller chair parade, bathing girl revue, and the final.[5] There was no talent competition at this pageant (this would not become part of the Miss America competition until 1935).[6]
Judges
[edit]The panel of judges for the national pageant included film director, Penrhyn Stanlaws; painter, Joseph Cummings Chase; glamour artist, J. Knowles Hare; illustrator, Dean Cornwell; and painter and illustrator, Norman Rockwell.[7]
Aftermath
[edit]Soon after the conclusion of the pageant, numerous women clubs and church groups protested against any further beauty contests and, "[urged] that they be prohibited by law," and, "[denounced them] as vulgar, undignified 'and demoralizing to young womanhood."[8][9][10] One woman was quoted saying, " 'The beauty of our girls is too glorious, too sacred a thing to be put on exhibition like the freaks in a circus side show, to be commercialized and made the basis for all sorts of mercenary schemes.' "[8]
Another protest arose when Ethelda Kenvin, Miss Brooklyn, was named the 1st runner-up at the conclusion of the contest despite being married since 1921 to professional baseball player Eppie Barnes.[8] Some of her fellow contestants insisted that her placement and awards be revoked due to her marital status and violations of eligibility rules.[8] The judges' panel were made aware of this but ultimately decided to allow Kenvin to keep her prizes.[8]
Additionally, Helmar Liederman of New York filed suit against the contest directors, Armand T. Nichols and Harry L. Godshall, Sr., for $150,000 due to their refusal to allow her to enter the national competition as "Miss Alaska" because she was a married woman, despite being authorized to compete by a newspaper in Juneau, Alaska.[8]
Results
[edit]Placements
[edit]Placement | Contestant |
---|---|
Miss America 1923 "Golden Mermaid"
|
|
1st Runner-Up | |
2nd Runner-Up |
|
3rd Runner-Up | |
4th Runner-Up |
|
Awards
[edit]Evening Dress Award
[edit]Award also referred to as "King Neptune's Court."[5]
Results | Contestant |
---|---|
Winner | |
Runner-up |
Roller Chair Parade
[edit]Awards | Contestant |
---|---|
Grand Prize | |
Second Prize | |
Third Prize |
|
Fourth Prize |
|
Fifth Prize |
Contestants
[edit]- Winner
- Runner-up
- Non-Finalist Award Winner
City / State / Title | Name | Age | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Akron | Thelma Boyd[17] | ||
Alaska | Helmar Liederman[8][18] | 24 | Competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Alaska.[19] Disqualified from 1923 pageant because she was married.[8][18] |
Albany | Peggy Ross[20] | ||
Allentown | Helen Noble[21] | ||
Altoona | Margaret Lillian Ross[20] | ||
Asheville | Rose Hildebrand[20] | ||
Atlanta, Georgia | Frances Thayer[20] | ||
Baltimore | Billie Muller[20] | ||
Binghamton | Bonita C. Bement[21] | 19 | |
Birmingham | Louise Newman[20] | ||
Boston | Margaret L. Black[20] | ||
Bridgeton | Sarah Delp[20] | ||
Brighton Beach | Edithea Lois Wild[22] | 15 | |
Brooklyn | Ethelda Kenvin[20] | 24 | Married baseball player, E.D. Barnes, in 1921[8] |
Buffalo | Irene Knight[20] | ||
Burlington | Hazel Gove[20] | ||
Cambridge | Doris Rowden George[23] | ||
Camden | Florence Nurock[23] | ||
Cape May | Mildred McCann[23] | ||
Chicago | Corrine Dellefield[23] | ||
Cincinnati | Olga Emrick[23] | Later worked as a stenographer and was active with the "Anti-Flirt Club"[24] | |
Cleveland | Mary Jane Clark[23] | ||
Columbus | Genevieve Mambourg[23] | ||
Coney Island | Heather Eulalie Walker[14] | Star of the lost musical film, Hit the Deck, opposite Jack Oakie[25] | |
Cumberland | Elizabeth Catherine Steele[26] | 18 | |
Detroit | Beth Madson[23] | Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Detroit[27] | |
Easton | Agnes Connelly[23] | ||
Erie | Dorothy Haupt[23] | Also competed in Miss America 1922 pageant as Miss Easton[28] | |
Fort Worth | Bessie Laurene Roosa[29] | ||
Hammonton | Alice Kind[23] | ||
Harrisburg | Helen R. Knisely[30] | ||
Jacksonville | Alyce Phillips[21] | ||
Johnstown | Betty Grening[31] | ||
Lakeland | Mary Weaver[32] | ||
Lebanon | Grace Kohr[33] | ||
Long Branch | Elene Hicks[6] | 19 | Died of breast cancer in 1940 at age 38[6] |
Louisville | Juanita Hobbs[23] | ||
Memphis | Elizabeth Mallory[34] | ||
Miami | Katherine Kyle[35] | Also known as "Katherine Newlon"[35] | |
Miss America 1921 | Margaret Gorman[36] | 18 | Competed as Miss America 1921[36] |
Miss America 1922 | Mary Katherine Campbell[23] | 16[9] | Competed as Miss America 1922[23] Only woman to win the national pageant twice[11] |
New Bedford | Mildred Salisbury[21] | ||
New Haven | Helen Haddock[23] | ||
New Jersey | Elizabeth McClure[37] | ||
Alberta Dorothy Smith[37] | |||
Elsie Banholzer[37] | |||
New York City | Peggy Verna Shevlin[23] | ||
Niagara Falls | Nelda Tell[23] | ||
Norristown | Mildred Maconachy[38] | ||
Ocean City | Grace Taylor[39] | ||
Oklahoma City | Mary Deen Overly[40] | ||
Pensacola | Katherine Floyd[41][42] | ||
Philadelphia | Marion Green[43] | ||
Portland | Winona Evelyn Drew[30] | ||
Portland | Patricia Smith[23] | ||
Pottsville | Isabel Lynch[21] | ||
Providence | Loretta La Flamme[21] | ||
Reading | Jane Ondeck[44] | ||
Richmond | Billie Gates[45] | ||
Rochester | Reta Cowles[46] | ||
St. Louis | Charlotte Nash[16] | 17 | Married millionaire and theatre magnate, Fred Nixon-Nirdlinger, twice[47][48] Shot and killed Nixon-Nirdlinger in March 1931 in Nice, France[47][49] Was acquitted after successfully arguing act was in self-defense[50][51] |
San Antonio | Katherine Helmsley[23] | ||
San Francisco | Violet Regal[52] | ||
Sunbury | Mary Botto[30] | ||
Syracuse | Eileen Snyder[5] | ||
Trenton | Alma D. DeCone[23] | ||
Tulsa | Constance Crosby[53] | ||
Vineland | Mary E. Edwards[23] | ||
Washington, D.C. | Lorraine Bunch[23] | ||
West Virginia | Neva Jackson[54] | ||
Wildwoody | Eleanor Addis[23] | ||
Wilmington | Ruth Agnes Brady[45] |
References
[edit]- ^ "Miss Columbus Again Captures Beauty Title". The Norwalk Hour. 1923-09-07. p. 16.
- ^ "Ohio Girl Again is 'Miss America'". The Sandusky Register. 1923-09-08. p. 1.
- ^ "Twice Honored As Miss America". The Sandusky Star Journal. 1923-09-08. p. 5.
- ^ "Miss America History 1923". Archived from the original on 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- ^ a b c d Croyle, Johnathan (September 8, 2018). "Miss Syracuse charms at the 1923 Miss America Pageant". Syracuse.com.
- ^ a b c Schnitzspahn, Karen (September 8, 1997). "There She Was – Miss Long Branch". Asbury Park Press. Asbury Park, New Jersey. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
...talent contest that was established in 1935.
- ^ a b c "Columbus, O. Girl Again Wins Title of "Miss America"". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 8, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Why They Want a Law Forbidding Beauty Contests". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. November 11, 1923. Feature Section, p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Watson, Elwood; Martin, Darcy (2004). "There She Is, Miss America": The Politics of Sex, Beauty, and Race in America's Most Famous Pageant (1 ed.). New York, New York: Springer Publishing. ISBN 1403981825 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Attacks Bathing Review: Preacher Says Atlantic City Event Endangers Youthful Morals". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 11, 1923. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Miss Columbus Again Captures Beauty Title". The Norwalk Hour. September 7, 1923. p. 16.
- ^ "Miss Columbus Again Elected Beauty Queen". Wausau Daily Record-Herald. Wausau, Wisconsin. September 8, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1923 Miss America Pageant 1st Runner-Up Trophy - Brooklyn Kid Makes Good". Lelands. September 21, 2016.
- ^ a b "Beauty Escapes Death; Miss Coney Island Arrives Too Late for Fatal Flight". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 9, 1923. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
...who finished third in the international beauty tournament...
- ^ a b "Columbus Girl Wins for Second Time Title of Miss America". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. September 8, 1923. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
...Miss Charlotte Nash of St Louis and Miss Marian Green of Philadelphia were the runners up, in the order named.
- ^ a b c d e f "Miss St. Louis First in Atlantic City Beauty Trials". The Pittsburgh Post. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 2.
- ^ "Be Chosen In Beauty Show". The Lima News. Lima, Ohio. September 7, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ a b Dunn, Geoffrey (August 24, 2011). "Arctic Venus: The first Miss Alaska". Anchorage Press. Anchorage, Alaska.
- ^ "Miss Alaska Follows Trail of Ice, Water, Air, Rail to Beauty Camp". Daily News. New York, New York. September 3, 1922. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Allentown Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "Half a Dozen America Beauties, Please". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspaper.com.
- ^ "Lois Wilde, Famous Model at 15, Still Loves Dolls, but Aspires to Be a Bernhardt". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Brooklyn, New York. December 10, 1922. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Golden Apple Is Sought by Scores". The Allentown Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. September 6, 1923. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Coe, Alexis (February 12, 2013). "Stop That Skirt-Chaser! The Movement to Outlaw Flirting in the 1920s". The Atlantic.
Olga Emrick, a Cincinnati stenographer, shows how a jiu-jitsu twist
- ^ "Hit the Deck – 1929". IMDb.
- ^ "Elizabeth Catherine Steele Crowned "Miss Cumberland"". Cumberland Evening Times. Cumberland, Maryland. August 30, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspaperarchive.com.
- ^ "America's Prettiest Girls". The Evening News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. September 14, 1922. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Arbuckle, Alex Q. (July 12, 2015). "1922:The first Miss America". Mashable.
Gorman, far right, poses in swimwear, with Mary Dague as "Miss Wheeling," Dorothy Haupt as "Miss Easton,"...
- ^ "Wins Beauty Contest". National Petroleum News. Vol. 15, no. 3. National Petroleum Publishing Company. September 5, 1923. p. 62 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c "More Beauties". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Johnstown Selected by Judges". The Pittsburgh Press. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. September 1, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hetherington, M.F. "History of Polk County Florida". Lakeland, Florida: The Record Company.
Miss Mary Weaver represented Lakeland in the Beauty Pageant at Atlantic City in September, 1923.
- ^ "Miss Grace Kohr Wins Right to Represent Lebanon in Shore Beauty Pageant Next Month". Evening Report. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. August 21, 1923. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Trade Conditions". The Jewelers' Circular. Vol. 88. April 23, 1924. p. 92 – via Google Books.
Miss Elizabeth Mallory, Miss Memphis for 1923, pitched the first ball.
- ^ a b "Miss Newlon Is to Represent City". Miami News-Metropolis. Miami, Florida. September 3, 1923. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Margaret Gorman Cahill, 90; First Miss America". Los Angeles Times. October 5, 1995.
- ^ a b c "Miss America 1923 Candidates". Miss America. 2018-06-28. Retrieved 2020-06-15.
- ^ "Miss Norristown". The New York Times. New York, New York. September 2, 1923. p. 74 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grace Taylor Is Miss Ocean City". Cape May County Times. New York, New York. August 17, 1923. p. 1.
- ^ "Beauty". Dixon Evening Telegraph. Dixon, Illinois. September 8, 1923. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "illegible". Albert Lea Freeborn County Standard. Albert Lea, Minnesota. September 27, 1923. p. 3 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
Katherine Floyd...was entered as "Miss Pensacola" in the National Beauty Show at Atlantic City, NJ.
- ^ "From the Sunny South". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Philadelphia Leads the Parade". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 7, 1923. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "ineligible". Reading Times. Reading, Pennsylvania. October 4, 1923. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
Miss Jane Ondeck who represented Reading at the Atlantic City pageant...
- ^ a b "Beauties". Olean Evening Times. Olean, New York. September 5, 1923. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Daily Graphic Review of News Events". Athens Messenger. Athens, Ohio. September 4, 1923. p. 7 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ a b "Beauty Contest Girl Held as Husband Shot to Death". The San Bernardino Daily Sun. San Bernardino, California. March 13, 1931. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Charlotte Nash". The St. Louis Star. St. Louis, Missouri. May 19, 1926. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Nixon-Nirdlinger Goes on Trial Today". The New York Times. New York, New York. May 20, 1931. p. 13.
- ^ "First Intimate Details of Her Romance With the Theatrical Magnate". The St. Louis Star. St. Louis, Missouri. July 7, 1931. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
...acquitted in Nice, France of the murder of her husband.
- ^ "Takes Jury Ten Minutes to Acquit US Beauty". The Central New Jersey Home News. New Brunswick, New Jersey. May 20, 1913.
- ^ "Extra Attraction". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. August 22, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Tulsa in Chair". The Tulsa Tribune. 10 September 1923. p. 1. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "West Virginia's Best". The Daily News. Frederick, Maryland. September 6, 1923. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
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.