Jean Bartel was Miss California and Miss America 1943. She won a talent and swimsuit award at the Miss America pageant. Bartel initially entered the pageant after learning one of the judges was Broadway actor and producer W. Horace Schmidlapp. As talent counted for 50% of the score, she thought it was a way to launch her career on Broadway. This tactic worked. Not only was she chosen as Miss America after a vocal performance the press hailed as a...
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Jean Bartel was Miss California and Miss America 1943. She won a talent and swimsuit award at the Miss America pageant. Bartel initially entered the pageant after learning one of the judges was Broadway actor and producer W. Horace Schmidlapp. As talent counted for 50% of the score, she thought it was a way to launch her career on Broadway. This tactic worked. Not only was she chosen as Miss America after a vocal performance the press hailed as a "forceful and dramatic style," but she landed a career on Broadway and an agent that booked her on tours in South America, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, and in every State of the Union but Maine.
Bartel was the first Miss America to refuse to pose in her swimsuit after the pageant, a choice that eventually led to Catalina Swimwear dropping their sponsorship and starting the Miss USA Pageant.
She sold the most Series E bonds in 1943 than any other United States Citizen, amounting to over $2.5 million. 80% of those bonds were sold to women....
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