Miss America 1955

Miss America 1955, the 28th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1954, and marked the first live nationally televised broadcast of the competition on ABC.^[1][2]

Miss America 1955
Date	September 11, 1954
Presenters	Bob Russell
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Broadcaster	ABC
Entrants	50
Placements	10
Winner	Lee Ann Meriwether California
← 1954 1956 →

Crowned the winner was Lee Meriwether, who later came to fame as co-star of the television series Barnaby Jones and as the character Catwoman in the 1966 film version of Batman, and later, Lily Munster on the television series The Munsters Today.

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss America 1955	California – Lee Ann Meriwether
1st runner-up	Florida – Ann Gloria Daniel
2nd runner-up	South Carolina – Polly Rankin Suber
3rd runner-up	Pennsylvania – Barbara Sue Nager
4th runner-up	Michigan – Janice Hutton Somers
Top 10	Alabama – Marilyn Jean Tate Chicago – Regina Janine Dombeck District of Columbia – Linda Maud Weisbrod Ohio – Barbara Maxine Quinlan Tennessee – Gerry Johnson

Awards

Preliminary awards

Awards	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	California - Lee Ann Meriwether Florida - Ann Gloria Daniel South Carolina - Polly Rankin Suber
Talent	District of Columbia - Linda Maud Weisbrod Ohio - Barbara Maxine Quinlan Michigan - Janice Hutton Somers (tie) New York City - Heather Taferner (tie)

Other awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Illinois - Patsy Bruce
Non-finalist Talent	Hawaii - Gertrude Kapi'olani Miller

Judges

• Grace Kelly

Contestants

State	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Alabama	Marilyn Tate	Haleyville	21	Ventriloquism/Classical Vocal	Top 10
Arizona	Marjorie Nylund	Phoenix		Dramatic Reading, "A Marine's Conversation"
Arkansas	Sarah Martin	Little Rock		Classical Vocal
California	Lee Merriwether	San Francisco	19	Dramatic Monologue from Riders to the Sea	Winner	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award	Actress best known as Betty Jones in the 1970's TV series Barnaby Jones
Canada	Barbara Joan Markham	Cornwall
Chicago	Regina Dombeck	Chicago		Dramatic Monologue from Mary of Scotland by Maxwell Anderson	Top 10
Colorado	Barbara Busey	Denver		Vocal/Dance
Connecticut	Dorothy Hopkins	Storrs		Piano
Delaware	Barbara Woodall	Claymont		Piano
District of Columbia	Linda Weisbrod	Washington, D.C.	21	Classical Vocal, "O Mio Fernando" from La favorite	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Florida	Ann Gloria Daniel	Dade City	18	Accordion, "Lady of Spain"	1st runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
Georgia	Mary Jane Doar	Macon	19	Vocal Medley of songs by George Gershwin
Hawaii	Gertrude Kapi'olani Miller	Honolulu		Hula		Non-finalist Talent Award
Idaho	LaVonne Skalsky	Nampa		Dramatic Monologue, "Children of God"
Illinois	Patsy Bruce	Carbondale		Dramatic Reading		Miss Congeniality
Indiana	Sue Eaton	Monticello		Art/Photo Display & Hula
Iowa	Carol Morris	Ottumwa	18	Violin			Later Miss Iowa USA 1956, Miss USA 1956, & Miss Universe 1956
Kansas	Phyllis Danielson	Wichita		Vocal
Kentucky	Margaret Diane Hunt	Lexington		Dance
Louisiana	Gail Gleason	Shreveport		Piano & Art
Maine	Mary Ellen St. John	Old Town		Drama
Maryland	Phyllis Yvonne Leftwich	Dundalk		Vocal
Massachusetts	Judith Drake	Fairhaven
Michigan	Janice Hutton Somers	Lansing		Vocal, "You Made Me Love You"	4th runner-up	Preliminary Talent Award
Minnesota	Jeanne Reince	Winona		Classical Vocal
Mississippi	Celeste Luckett	Clarksdale		Drama
Missouri	Carole Wilkinson	Maplewood		Vocal
Nebraska	Sue Welch Fisher	Kearney		Classical Vocal, "Un bel dì vedremo" from Madama Butterfly
Nevada	Janice Babcock	Reno		Ballet, "Blues"
New Hampshire	Mae Allen	Epping		Drama
New Jersey	Joan Waller	West Orange		Vocal/Dance, "Singin' in the Rain"
New York City	Heather Taferner	New York City		Classical Vocal, "L'Air des clochettes" from Lakmé		Preliminary Talent Award
North Carolina	Betty Ring	Lexington		Dramatic Monologue, "The Sleepwalking Scene" from Macbeth
North Dakota	Delores Paulson	Bismarck		Violin, "Méditation" from Thaïs
Ohio	Barbara Quinlin	Alliance		Classical Vocal, "Habanera"	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Oklahoma	Charlavan Baker	Oklahoma City		Dress Design
Oregon	Diane Carman	Milwaukie		Drama, "This is America"
Pennsylvania	Barbara Sue Nager	Philadelphia		Egyptian Ballet Dance, "Egyptian Suite"	3rd runner-up
Puerto Rico	María del Carmen Mejías
Rhode Island	Virginia Gregory	Pawtucket		Speech
South Carolina	Polly Suber	Greenville		Monologue, "Air Corps"	2nd runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
South Dakota	Cleo Ann Harrington	Colman		Classical Vocal
Tennessee	Gerry Johnson	Nashville		Vocal/Character Pantomime, "The Deadwood Stage"	Top 10
Texas	Yvonne Erwin	Dallas		Piano & Art
Utah	Maurine Parker	Ogden		Drama, "Anne of the Thousand Days"
Vermont	Annabelle Pinkham	Brattleboro		Drama
Virginia	Julie Ann Bruening	Swoope		Charcoal Sketch of "The Statue of Liberty"
Washington	Frances Graham	Spokane		Vocal
West Virginia	Miriam Reep	Clarksburg		Dance
Wisconsin	Dixie Sarchet	Stevens Point	19	Modern Dance, "Slaughter on Tenth Avenue"