Miss America 1940

Miss America 1940
Miss America 1940
Date	September 7, 1940
Presenters	Bob Russell
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.
Entrants	44
Placements	15
Winner	Frances Marie Burke; Philadelphia
	← 1939 1941 →

Miss America 1940, the 14th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey for the first time since 1933. The finals were held on September 7, 1940.^[1] Aside from the winner, Frances Burke, Miss Philadelphia, two other contestants from Pennsylvania placed among the Top 15, one representing Eastern Pennsylvania and the other from Western Pennsylvania.

The runner-up, Rosemary LaPlanche, would become Miss America 1941, before the pageant instituted rules preventing contestants from competing more than once.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1940	Philadelphia – Frances Marie Burke
1st Runner-Up	California – Rosemary LaPlanche
2nd Runner-Up	Michigan – Monnie Drake
3rd Runner-Up	Massachusetts – Polly Connors
4th Runner-Up	Kentucky – Dorothy Slatten
Top 15	Delaware – Peggy E. Insolo District of Columbia – Catherine Virginia Howe Eastern Pennsylvania – Mildred Irene Saha Huntington – Juanita Park Wright Miami – Mitzi Strother Missouri – Virginia Morrison Montana – Kay Kittendorff Myrtle Beach – LaBruce Sherill Oklahoma – Ada Martyne Wood Western Pennsylvania – Alberta Louise Carts

Awards

Preliminary awards

Award	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	California – Rosemary LaPlanche Kentucky – Dorothy Slatten Philadelphia – Frances Marie Burke
Talent	District of Columbia – Catherine Virginia Howe Michigan – Monnie Drake (tie) Montana – Kay Kittendorff (tie) Myrtle Beach – LaBruce Sherill

Contestants


Title	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards
Arizona	Anna Marie Barnett	Bisbee
Arkansas	Betty Benson	Forrest City
Birmingham	Evelyn Motlow	Birmingham		Vocal
California	Rosemary LaPlanche	Los Angeles	17	Dance	1st Runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness
Central Ohio	Bette Jane Hart
Colorado	Eileen Hoskins	Denver
Connecticut	Dorothy Pickard	New Haven
Delaware	Peggy Insolo	Wilmington		Piano	Top 15
Delaware County	Dorothy A. Wall	Lansdowne
District of Columbia	Catherine Howe		22	Dance, "The Yam"	Top 15	Preliminary Talent Award
Eastern New York	Geraldine Anne Racine
Eastern Pennsylvania	Mildred Saha	Secane			Top 15
Huntington	Juanita Park Wright	Huntington			Top 15
Indiana	Carolyn Akin	Evansville		Tap Dance
Kansas City	Gloria Kathleen Gipson	Kansas City
Kentucky	Dorothy Slatten	Lexington			4th Runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness
Knoxville	Thelma McGhee	Knoxville
Maine	Shirley Edith Houston	Augusta
Maryland	Marie Beiser	Baltimore
Massachusetts	Polly Connors	Bedford			3rd Runner-up
Miami	Mitzie Strother	Miami			Top 15
Michigan	Monnie Drake	Detroit		Vocal, "Bill"	2nd Runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award
Minnesota	Virginia Kepler	Minneapolis
Mississippi	Carolyn Simon	Greenville
Missouri	Virginia Morrison	St. Louis			Top 15
Montana	Kay Kittendorf	Missoula		Classical Vocal, "Un bel dì, vedremo" from Madama Butterfly	Top 15	Preliminary Talent Award
Montgomery	Carolyn Foreman	Montgomery
Myrtle Beach	LaBruce Sherill	Myrtle Beach		Tap Dance, "Cocktails for Two"	Top 15	Preliminary Talent Award
New Jersey	Mildred Marie Selko	Kearny
New Orleans	Pauline Powell	New Orleans
North Carolina	Jeanne Wofford	Forest City
Ohio	Violet Berze	Steubenville
Oklahoma	Ada Martyne Wood	Oklahoma City			Top 15
Philadelphia	Frances Marie Burke	Philadelphia		Vocal/Dance, "I Can't Love You Anymore"	Winner
South Carolina	Vanadora Baker	Dillon		Recitation
St. Louis	LeFern Mueller	St. Louis
Tennessee	Christine Webb	Centerville		Dramatic Monologue, "The Waltz"
Texas	Gloria Ann Byrns	Port Arthur		Tap Dance & Baton Twirling
Virginia	Virginia Campbell	Charlottesville
Washington	Peggy Mason	Tacoma
West Virginia	Mary Schlarmann Bowles	Montgomery
Westchester County	Constantine Gray	Yonkers
Western Kentucky	Violet Owen
Western New York	Gloria Elizabeth Sheehan	Buffalo
Western Pennsylvania	Alberta Louise Carts	Pittsburgh			Top 15