jakeem Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Bess Myerson, who went from Miss America to television celebrity to political hopeful, has died at the age of 90. Her death on December 14, 2014 was not reported until now. Born in the Bronx, she was the first (and only) Jewish woman to become Miss America. She began her year-long reign on September 8, 1945, and persevered despite instances of anti-semitism directed at her. Television viewers became more familiar with Myerson as a longtime panelist on the CBS game show "I've Got a Secret" in the 1950s and 1960s. Here's part of a 1959 episode that featured Johnny Carson, almost three years before he became the host of NBC's "The Tonight Show.' Myerson's daughter, Barra Grant, became an actress in the 1970s and appeared opposite a pre-"Magnum, P.I." Tom Selleck in the 1972 horror film "Daughters of Satan." She has since become a screenwriter and director. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-bess-myerson-20150105-story.html#page=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laffite Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 This is lookupable (like most anything these days) but what was the program where she modeled the mink coat. Was if "Queen for a Day."? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 This is lookupable (like most anything these days) but what was the program where she modeled the mink coat. Was if "Queen for a Day."? It was a 1950s NBC game show called "The Big Payoff." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Sad news. She was wonderful on "I've Got a Secret," elegant, graceful, and funny. And she played the violin to boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Sad news. She was wonderful on "I've Got a Secret," elegant, graceful, and funny. And she played the violin to boot. Now that I did not know. I was aware she played the piano and the flute during her Miss America competition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElCid Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 she was the first (and only) Jewish woman to become Miss America. Redundant to say first and only. If someone or something is the only one, it is automatically also the first. Sorry to be pedantic, but it just annoys me that this improper phrasing has become so commonplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jakeem Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Redundant to say first and only. If someone or something is the only one, it is automatically also the first. Sorry to be pedantic, but it just annoys me that this improper phrasing has become so commonplace. My intention was to effectively establish that there hasn't been another Jewish Miss America titlist. In retrospect, I probably should have written that she was the only Jewish woman to win the title. I appreciate the viewpoint! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I didnt realize she was still alive. Sorry to hear. I remember her well on I've Got A Secret........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Redundant to say first and only. If someone or something is the only one, it is automatically also the first. Sorry to be pedantic, but it just annoys me that this improper phrasing has become so commonplace. Not neccesarily. For all YOU know, I might STILL wear NEHRU shirts! I may not have been the FIRST, but CERTAINLY am the ONLY one now! But, Ms. Meyerson's passing IS the end of an era for ME, so it saddens! RIP, Bess! Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Bess Myerson, who went from Miss America to television celebrity to political hopeful, has died at the age of 90. Her death on December 14, 2014 was not reported until now. Born in the Bronx, she was the first (and only) Jewish woman to become Miss America. She began her year-long reign on September 8, 1945, and persevered despite instances of anti-semitism directed at her. Television viewers became more familiar with Myerson as a longtime panelist on the CBS game show "I've Got a Secret" in the 1950s and 1960s. Here's part of a 1959 episode that featured Johnny Carson, almost three years before he became the host of NBC's "The Tonight Show.' Myerson's daughter, Barra Grant, became an actress in the 1970s and appeared opposite a pre-"Magnum, P.I." Tom Selleck in the 1972 horror film "Daughters of Satan." She has since become a screenwriter and director. http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-bess-myerson-20150105-story.html#page=1 She was going great guns for a while, but it all fell apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 She was going great guns for a while, but it all fell apart. Bess or her daughter? I seem to remember Bess involved in some scandal that derailed her political career...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Bess or her daughter? I seem to remember Bess involved in some scandal that derailed her political career...... Yes. It grew out her affair with a much younger man with mob connections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGayDivorcee Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Now that I did not know. I was aware she played the piano and the flute during her Miss America competition. Now I wonder! It may well have been the flute I'm thinking of. The memory is the first to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 Now I wonder! It may well have been the flute I'm thinking of. The memory is the first to go. Interesting that one who plays the flute is called a flautist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im4movies2 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 She gave fellow quiz panelist Kitty Carlisle some competition didn't she. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 She gave fellow quiz panelist Kitty Carlisle some competition didn't she. How so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sepiatone Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Interesting that one who plays the flute is called a flautist. There's supposed to be a story that Rampal, when asked how he'd rate Jethro Tull's leader Ian Anderson as a flautist, said(supposedly), " I consider Mr. Anderson to be more of a FLATULIST!" I put THAT up there with Fred Allen's comment about Jack Benny "plays the fiddle like the strings were still IN THE CAT!" But, like I alliterated, Ms. Myerson WAS a figure from my childhood( being an avid TV zombie back then), and although she WAS long past an age when MOST of us leave, it's still kind of sad. I felt that way when all those OTHER "panelists" died. Cerf, Arlene, Morgan, Carlysle, Allen.... Sepiatone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 How so? Kitty was on To Tell the Truth, right? I think Betsy Palmer was on I've Got A Secret........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Kitty was on To Tell the Truth, right? I think Betsy Palmer was on I've Got A Secret........... and? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 and? And nothing. Someone posted Kitty was Bess' fellow panelist.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 And nothing. Someone posted Kitty was Bess' fellow panelist.......... So Bess was on "To Tell the Truth"? Please don't lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primosprimos Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 And nothing. Someone posted Kitty was Bess' fellow panelist.......... Just a wee bit of googling: It was the small screen that would make Kitty a welcome household commodity. The steadfast panelist of several quiz shows in the 1950s, it was the popular game show To Tell the Truth (1956) that anointed her game show doyenne and icon. A regular panelist for some 20 years, she appeared on each and every revamped format from its 1956 inception to its 2002 syndicated version. Known for her stately presence, infectious laugh, pouffy dark Prince Valiant hairstyle, and sweeping couture gowns on the show, audiences reveled at her effortless class to these simple parlor games. She also was a substitute panelist for other popular game shows such as "What's My Line?" and "I've Got a Secret." Seen frequently on television during the 1950s and 1960, Myerson was a regular on the celebrity quiz show I've Got a Secret. She (Betsy Palmer) would later become a familiar face on television as a long-running regular panelist on the quiz show I've Got a Secret. She joined the show's original run, replacing Faye Emerson in 1958 and remaining until the show's finale in 1967. She did not subsequently reprise her role in any of the various revivals of the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 So Bess was on "To Tell the Truth"? Please don't lie. Wish there was a dislike button..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownGoesFrazier Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 Wish there was a dislike button..... If I deleted my post, would you hit the "like" button for the delete? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hibi Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If I deleted my post, would you hit the "like" button for the delete? Of course......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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