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Bess Myerson

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Bess Myerson
Myerson in 1957
BornJuly 16, 1924
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 14, 2014 (aged 90)
Santa Monica, California, U.S.
NationalityUnited States
Alma materHunter College
Occupation(s)Model, city commissioner, TV show celebrity
Known forOnly Jewish American and first Miss New York elected Miss America
Height5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
TitleMiss America 1945
Miss New York 1945
Spouse(s)Allan Wayne (1946-1958; divorced)
Arnold M. Grant
ChildrenBarra Grant

Bess Myerson (July 16, 1924 – December 14, 2014), was an American model, television actress, politician, and civil rights activist who was crowned Miss America in 1945.

At the time of her death, Myerson was the only Jewish Miss America. With World War II just ending and details regarding the atrocities committed against the Jewish people during the Holocaust finally being fully disclosed, Myerson winning the title was seen as a remarkable achievement.[1]

During the 1950s and 1960, Myerson appeared regularly on television and was a regular on the celebrity quiz show I've Got a Secret. Later embarking on a political career, she held the position of commissioner in the New York City government through two administrations and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate from New York in 1980. During the late 1980s, she was tried in federal court on multiple charges, though she was later acquitted.[1]

Early life

Myerson was born in The Bronx, New York.[2] and lived with parents Louis Myerson and Bella (nee Podell), both Russian-Jewish immigrants. Myerson's father worked as a housepainter, handyman and carpenter. The family resided in the Shalom Aleichem Co-operative.[2] Myerson began studying piano when she was nine years old and furthered her studies in the second class of New York's High School of Music and Art in 1937. Following high school graduation, she attended Hunter College, graduating with honors in 1945 with a degree in music.[3][1][2] To support herself and her family while in college she gave piano lessons for fifty cents an hour.[4][2]

Miss America

By the time she was 21, Myerson was 5'10" with "luxuriant brown hair".[1] Two accounts exist on how Myerson became a pageant contender. According to one, she wanted to buy a black Steinway grand piano and decided to compete for Miss America after someone joked that it would be a way to afford and buy the piano.[2][5] According to the other, her sister entered her photo in the Miss New York City competition without her knowledge.[1]

While competing as Miss New York in the 1945 Miss America pageant,[1] she had been asked to use a pseudonym that "sounded less Jewish." Myerson refused.[3][6] As a result, controversy arose after she won the title on September 8, 1945, when three of the pageant's five sponsors withdrew from having her represent their companies as Miss America.[2][3][6] Myerson later became a supporter and activist for civil rights, including working with the Anti-Defamation League.[3]

Myerson used the scholarship money she won as Miss America to pay for graduate studies at the Juilliard School and Columbia University.[2]

Television and politics

In 1954, Myerson was a panelist the television game show, The Name's the Same, and from 1958 through 1967, a panelist on I've Got a Secret. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Myerson's television career as a TV personality, actress and commercial pitchwoman for a number of products led to her becoming a consultant to several consumer products companies. From 1969 to 1973, she was the first Commissioner of the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, becoming a pioneer in consumer protection law.[1][7] She also served on several presidential commissions in the 1960s and 1970s.[clarification needed] Throughout the late 1970s and the beginning of his mayoral ambitions, Myerson was a frequent public companion of then-Congressman Ed Koch and later chaired his campaign for New York City mayor.[2]

In 1980, Myerson vied for Democratic nomination in New York's U.S. Senate race against Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, Queens District Attorney John J. Santucci, and former New York City mayor John Lindsay. Myerson lost to Holtzman by a slim margin. Holtzman was subsequently defeated by Alphonse D'Amato, who had defeated incumbent Senator Jacob Javits in the Republican primary.[2]

The 'Bess Mess'

After assuming a prominent role in the Koch administration in 1983 as Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs, her career was enmeshed in scandal. She became romantically involved with a married sewer contractor, Carl Andrew Capasso. It soon emerged that the judge hearing Capasso's divorce, Hortense Gabel, had started socializing with Myerson, and that her daughter Sukreet was hired by Myerson. Gabel cut Capasso's child support payments, and investigators probed whether she had been bribed. Myerson was forced to resign her position in April 1987 after she invoked the Fifth Amendment. The scandal became known as the "Bess Mess."[1]

In 1988, Myerson, Capasso, and Gabel were tried on federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, obstruction of justice, and using interstate facilities to violate state bribery laws. The main issue at the trial, in which Sukreet Gable was the chief prosecution witness, was whether her hiring constituted bribery. All three defendants were acquitted after a four-month trial.[1][8][9]

Personal life

In October 1946, Myerson married Allan Wayne, a recently discharged U.S. Navy captain. They had one daughter, Barbara. With their marriage marred by domestic violence, the couple divorced after eleven years.[10][5][3] Myerson's second marriage was to Arnold Grant, an attorney. In 1962, he legally adopted her daughter, Barbara. Myerson and Grant divorced in the early 1970s. Daughter Barbara later became an actress, director and screenwriter who is now known as Barra Grant.[3]

In May 1988, before her federal trial began, Myerson was arrested for shoplifting in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.[11] She pleaded guilty to retail theft and received a fine.[12]

Myerson survived a bout of ovarian cancer in the 1970s and suffered a mild stroke in 1981, from which she fully recovered. In 2013 was reported to be suffering from dementia.[9][13][14][15] She died on December 14, 2014 in Santa Monica, California, at the age of 90, after many years of living in relative obscurity. Her death was not announced and was not publicly known until early January.[1][9]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Nemy, Enid; McDonald, William (5 January 2015). "Bess Myerson, 90, Dies; Famed for Beauty, Public Service and Scandal". Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Green, David (2014-07-16). "This day in Jewish history/A Jewish Miss America who scandalized the press is born". Haaretz.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Jewish Women's Archive: Bess Myerson". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  4. ^ Dworkin, p. 1
  5. ^ a b Berman, Susan (14 November 1977). "Bess Myerson Is One Tough Customer". New York. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  6. ^ a b People & Events: Breaking the Color Line at the Pageant
  7. ^ Murphy, William (5 January 2015). "Bess Myerson, first Jewish Miss America, television star and NYC's first consumer affairs commissioner, dies at 90". Newsday. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  8. ^ "Miss America Wins Again". Time Magazine. January 2, 1989. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
  9. ^ a b c Woo, Elaine (5 January 2015). "Bess Myerson, Miss America who rose in politics and fell in scandal, dies at 90". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  10. ^ "Milestones, October 28, 1946". Time. October 28, 1946. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
  11. ^ "Bess Myerson Is Accused Of Shoplifting". New York Times. May 28, 1988. Retrieved January 14, 2011.
  12. ^ "Myerson Pleads Guilty to Shoplifting Charge in Pennsylvania". New York Times. July 16, 1988. Retrieved April 23, 2014.
  13. ^ Soloff, Emily D. (6 October 1995). "Bess Myerson reflects on fame, Miss America and Judaism". JWeekly.com. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  14. ^ Green, Michelle (29 June 1987). "Downfall of An American Idol: How Did Miss America Bess Myerson, Famous for Her Beauty and Brains, Get Entangled in a Growing Political Scandal?". People. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  15. ^ Dillon, Nancy (2 February 2013). "Ed Koch's pal, former Miss America Bess Myerson, was a constant at his side". The Daily News. Retrieved 5 January 2015.

References

  • Dworkin, Susan (2000). Miss America, 1945 : Bess Myerson and the year that changed our lives (1st pbk. ed.). New York: Newmarket Press. ISBN 1557043817.

Further reading


Awards and achievements
Preceded by Miss America
1945 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Bobby MacAdam
 Miss New York
1945 		Succeeded by
June Jenkins

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