Beauty Queen, Actress. The tallest Miss America up to that time and the first college student to win the crown, she followed her 1943 pageant win with a long career she on television and Broadway. Born Jean Bartelmeh, she was raised in Los Angeles, joined the Civic Light Opera of Los Angeles at 14, and was a UCLA student when she had the idea of jump starting her career by entering the Miss California contest. After taking top honors there and in Atlantic City, where she sang Cole Porter's "Night and Day" in the talent competition, she toured the country representing the pageant and earned credit for selling $2.5 million in War Bonds, the highest total for any individual. (She also refused to pose for swimsuit photos). Jean finished her year as Miss America, was instrumental in getting the contest to offer scholarships as prizes, spent time in Las Vegas opening for Danny Thomas' nightclub act, then headed for New York. Her Broadway credits included Sigmund Romberg's "The Desert Song" (1946) and 1952 revival of Gershwin's "Of Thee I Sing", while on the small screen she was seen in "The Red Skelton Hour", "The Rockford Files", "Perry Mason", and other fare. For a time she even had her own travel show entitled "It's a Woman's World"; Jean donated her tiara to the Smithsonian, lived her entire life in Southern California and died of the effects of advanced age. Looking back she said: "I was never beautiful. I had vitality. I looked healthy. People always told me how wholesome I was."
Beauty Queen, Actress. The tallest Miss America up to that time and the first college student to win the crown, she followed her 1943 pageant win with a long career she on television and Broadway. Born Jean Bartelmeh, she was raised in Los Angeles, joined the Civic Light Opera of Los Angeles at 14, and was a UCLA student when she had the idea of jump starting her career by entering the Miss California contest. After taking top honors there and in Atlantic City, where she sang Cole Porter's "Night and Day" in the talent competition, she toured the country representing the pageant and earned credit for selling $2.5 million in War Bonds, the highest total for any individual. (She also refused to pose for swimsuit photos). Jean finished her year as Miss America, was instrumental in getting the contest to offer scholarships as prizes, spent time in Las Vegas opening for Danny Thomas' nightclub act, then headed for New York. Her Broadway credits included Sigmund Romberg's "The Desert Song" (1946) and 1952 revival of Gershwin's "Of Thee I Sing", while on the small screen she was seen in "The Red Skelton Hour", "The Rockford Files", "Perry Mason", and other fare. For a time she even had her own travel show entitled "It's a Woman's World"; Jean donated her tiara to the Smithsonian, lived her entire life in Southern California and died of the effects of advanced age. Looking back she said: "I was never beautiful. I had vitality. I looked healthy. People always told me how wholesome I was."
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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