# 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.
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 |

### 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" | | | |