# Miss America 1939

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 | Michigan – Patricia Donnelly |
| 1st Runner-Up | Oklahoma – Bettye Cornelia Avert |
| 2nd Runner-Up | Washington – Anna Mae Schoonover |
| 3rd Runner-Up | California – Marguerita Louise Skliris |
| 4th Runner-Up | Virginia – Rose Marie Elliott |
| Top 15 | Birmingham – Florine Holt  Chicago – Ethel Lorraine Lobdell  Eastern New York – Clare E. Foley  Florida – Rose Marie Magrill  Miami – Irmigard Margaret Dietel  Minnesota – Marion June Rudeen  New Jersey – Margo Lundgren  North Carolina – Margaret Wood  Sun Valley – Louise Fletchner  Texas – Charmayne Smith |

### Awards
#### Preliminary awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Talent | California - Marguerita Louise Skliris  Minnesota - Marion June Rudeen  North Carolina - Margaret Wood |

### Other awards

| Award | Contestant |
| Miss Congeniality | Mississippi - Doris Coggins |

## Contestants

| Title | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
| Birmingham | Florine Holt | Birmingham | | Vocal, "Moonglow" & "A Little Bit of Heaven" | Top 15 | | |
| Arkansas | Jean Thompson | Helena | | | | | |
| California | Marguerita Skliris | San Francisco | | Dramatic Monologue, "The Poison Scene" from Romeo and Juliet | 3rd Runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | Later known as actress Margia Dean |
| Central Connecticut | Catherine Harrison | Derby | | | | | |
| Charlotte | Marguerite Taylor | Charlotte | | | | | |
| Connecticut | Frieda Lampar | Bridgeport | | | | | |
| Coney Island | Grayce M. Reilly | | | | | | |
| District of Columbia | Evelyn Foster | | 19 | Ballet en Pointe | | | |
| Eastern New York | Claire E. Foley | | | Vocal Comedy & Dance | Top 15 | | |
| Eastern Ohio | Maxine Drumm | | | | | | |
| Eastern Pennsylvania | Emma Louise Knoell | Philadelphia | | | | | |
| Florida | Rose Marie Magrill | Miami | | Tap Dance | Top 15 | | |
| Georgia | Mary Durrance | Glennville | | Vocal | | | |
| Illinois | Ethel Lorraine Lodbell | Chicago | | Monologue, "From the Diary of a Contestant" | Top 15 | | |
| Kansas | Rosemary Winslow | Salina | | | | | |
| Kentucky | Louise Holman | Pineville | | | | | |
| Lexington | Mattigene Palmore | Lexington | | | | | |
| Maryland | Elaine Pasqualla | Crisfield | | | | | |
| Miami | Irmigard Dietel | Miami | | Vocal Medley, "See You Again", "Blue Evening", & "Solitude" | Top 15 | | |
| Michigan | Patricia Donnelly | Detroit | 19 | Vocal/Bass Fiddle, "To You" & "Ol' Man Mose" | Winner | | |
| Minnesota | Marion Rudeen | Minneapolis | | Acrobatic Dance | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Mississippi | Doris Coggins | Baldwyn | | | | Miss Congeniality | |
| Missouri | Margaret Ley | St. Louis | | | | | |
| Montana | Lucille Chouinard | Fort Peck | | | | | |
| Montgomery | Louise Robertson | Montgomery | | | | | |
| Myrtle Beach | Mary Eleanor Parish | Myrtle Beach | | | | | |
| New Hampshire | Lois Marjorie Truax | Nashua | | | | | |
| New Jersey | Margo Lundgren | Harrison | | Whistling Tunes Vocal, "Don't Worry About Me" | Top 15 | | |
| New Orleans | Frances Helen Anello | New Orleans | | | | | |
| North Carolina | Margaret Wood | | | Vocal, "If I Didn't Care" | Top 15 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
| Ohio | Jeanne Saboda | Cleveland | | | | | |
| Oklahoma | Bettye Cornelia Avert | Oklahoma City | | Original Piano & Vocal, "Wondering & Dreaming" | 1st Runner-up | | |
| Pennsylvania | Ruth Phyllis Willock | Pittsburgh | | | | | |
| Philadelphia | Nancy Lee | Philadelphia | | | | | |
| South Carolina | Margaret Allan Shealy | Clinton | | Vocal, "Especially for You" | | | |
| Staten Island | Lillian Evelyn Hessen | Annadale | | | | | |
| Sun Valley | Louise Fletchner | | | Clarinet, "Stardust" | Top 15 | | |
| Tennessee | Judy Jones | Tracy City | | Vocal Medley, "I Surrender" & "Come True" | | | |
| Texas | Charmayne Smith | Dallas | | Vocal, "Round Up Time in Texas" | Top 15 | | |
| Virginia | Rose Marie Elliot | Sulfolk | | Vocal, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" | 4th Runner-up | | Later known on Broadway as Rose Marie Brown |
| Washington | Anna Mae Schoonover | Seattle | | Dramatic Monologue from Accent on Youth | 2nd Runner-up | | |
| Western Tennessee | Louise Bussart | Etowah | | | | | |