ATLANTA CITY, NJ (WPMT) Miss America 1945, Bess Myerson has died. She was 90. Her death on December 14 at her home in Santa Moncia, California was reported in a special tribute released by the Miss America Organization.
A native of the Bronx, New Year, Myerson became the first Jewish American Miss America when she was crowned on September 8, 1944 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
She remained in the public eye for decades, appeared regularly on television in the 1950s and 1960s, and was a regular on the celebrity quiz show “I’ve Got a Secret”. She also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from New York and was appointed to high positions in the New York City government. But her career was also marred by scandal in the 1980s.
To read the special tribute by the Miss American Organization click here.
