Jo-Carroll Dennison, Miss America 1942, dies at 97: her career explored

By News Desk May 14, 2022 20:37 EDT

Jo-Carroll Dennison is the oldest surviving Miss America winner. Furthermore, she died at the age of 97.

According to his friend Evan Mills, who won the title during World War II. Furthermore, he defied convention by refusing to wear a swimsuit on stage after the pageant. He died at his home in California last month.

According to Mills, Jo-Carroll Dennison could have been the former Miss Texas, he is the one who edited her book. Later, he learned of her death directly from her family. “serve as a role model for young women and men in a world where many are tempted to give in to societal expectations rather than trust and follow their own moral compass.”

“We appreciate her for her year of service and will sincerely miss her,” the Miss America Organization wrote on Instagram, adding that it was “saddened to hear” of Dennison’s death.

Jo-Carroll Dennison was born in Florence, Arizona. He was born in 1923. He joined his parents’ itinerant medicine program as a child. There he sang, danced and rode trick horses. She then studied to be a secretary before being selected for the Miss Tyler pageant in Tyler, Texas.

Dennison said in his book “Finding My Little Red Hat” that he had “sworn never to appear in public again” after his days on the med show. She agreed to compete in Miss Tyler in exchange for a free swimsuit. That was from a high-end department store.

She went on to win Miss East Texas and Miss Texas after winning the pageant. In 1942, when she was 18 years old, she competed in and won the Miss America pageant.

Jo-Carroll Dennison, Miss America 1942, dies at 97: her career explored

Jo-Carroll Dennison won the swimsuit competition but refused to wear swimsuits during her year as Miss America. In 2018, she praised the Miss America Organization for removing the swimsuit component from the competition. She focused on the whole of each contestant earlier this year when she spoke at the pageant’s 100th anniversary banquet.

Dennison, who has been crowned Miss America just after the USA entered World War II. In addition, he visited defense facilities, hospitals. Also, other fields of service to boost the morale of the army.

Dennison has linked a deal with 20th Century Fox. There he will appear in movies like The Jolson Story and Winged Victory, which is a battle drama. He met many of the celebrities of the time due to his proximity to Hollywood. Additionally, he had connections to Charlie Chaplin’s son Sydney and comedian Phil Silvers. In 1945 he got married and five years later they separated.

Dennison later appeared on the Dick Tracy series. He later worked on TV shows behind the scenes. The couple separated in the 1970s. However, she had two children with producer and CBS director Russell Stoneham.

Dennison supported the #MeToo movement in his memoir. Stating that, when she was 12 years old, she was sexually violated.

https://biic.org.in/news/jo-carroll-dennison-miss-america-1942-dies-at-97-her-career-explored/