Bess Myerson

Bess Myerson (born July 16, 1924 in Bronx, New York) became in 1945 the first Jewish woman to win the Miss America pageant. She appeared on various television shows in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s and '80s, she was involved in New York City politics.

While competing in beauty pageants, Myerson refused, despite entreaties, to employ a pseudonym that "sounded less Jewish." She faced prejudice even after winning the Miss America title, with many sponsors and events long associated with the pageant refusing to deal with her. She later campaigned for civil rights, in particular, working with the Anti-Defamation League.

In 1954, Myerson was a panelist on The Name's the Same television game show. From 1958 through 1967, she was a panelist on I've Got a Secret. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Myerson enjoyed a successful television career as a TV personality, actress and commercial pitchwoman for a myriad of popular products.

She survived ovarian cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 1973. She also suffered a stroke many years later.

Marriages

Myerson married Allen Wayne, a doll company executive, in 1947. They had one daughter, Barbara, before divorcing in 1958. Her second marriage was to Arnold Grant, a tax lawyer, in 1962. They divorced in 1967. Myerson and Grant remarried in 1968 before divorcing again in 1971.

Politics

Cover of Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson's Own Story by Susan Dworkin

Myerson was New York City's first Commissioner of Consumer Affairs (under Mayor John Lindsay), later serving as Commissioner of Cultural Affairs under Mayor Ed Koch. Throughout the late 1970s and the beginning of his mayoral ambitions, Myerson was a frequent public companion of Ed Koch.

In 1980, Myerson ran for the Democratic nomination for New York's U.S. Senate seat 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. Meanwhile, Alfonse D'Amato had defeated Jacob Javits, the incumbent, in the GOP primary. The ailing Javits ran as a Liberal, splitting the left of center opposition to d'Amato, who narrowly defeated Holtzman. After her loss, Myerson reasoned that she seemed "too tall and beautiful" to be a Senator.

Later years

In the 1980s, Myerson's life was darkened by a messy legal controversy (colloquially known as "the Bess Mess"). Her lover, sewer contractor Carl Andrew Capasso (1945-2001) ^[1], who had been convicted of tax fraud, was accused of bribing judge Hortense Gabel (1912-1990) by arranging, for the judge's daughter Sukhreet Gabel, a job in Myerson's department. Myerson was herself indicted and resigned her positions with the City of New York. She was ultimately acquitted. The scandal is the subject of a book by Shana Alexander (1991). In recent years, Myerson has promoted social causes and engaged in philanthropy. She has recorded public service announcements about ovarian cancer awareness for broadcast in the area of her home in South Florida.

References

• Dworkin, Susan, 1987. Miss America, 1945: Bess Myerson's Own Story. ISBN 1-55704-000-1
• Shana Alexander, 1991. When She Was Bad. Dell.

External links

• Bess Myerson IMDb.com
• Bess Myerson on the Jewish-American Hall of Fame site
• Jewish Women's Archive
• Robert Slater and Elinor Slater, Great Jewish Women
• Time, October 28, 1946