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INDEX
People
Abravanel,
Don Isaac
Berg, Gertude (Molly Goldberg)
Berg, Moe
Berle, Milton
Berlin, Irving
Bernstein, Leonard
Brandeis, Louis D.
Cardozo, Benjamin
Einstein, Albert
Elion, Gertrude
Frankel,Jacob
Gershwin, George
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader
Gompers, Samuel
Goode, Alexander
Goodman, Benny
Gratz, Rebecca
Greenberg, Hank
Hillman, Sidney
Hoffman, Jeffrey
Houdini, Harry
Jefferson, Thomas
Karpeles,
Leopold
Lamarr, Hedy
Lazarus, Emma
Lehman, Herbert H.
Levy, Asser
Levy, Uriah P.
Magnes, Judah L.
Meir, Golda
Miller, Arthur
Myerson, Bess
Noah, Mordecai.
Ochs, Adolph
Pulitzer, Joseph
Resnik, Judith
Rose, Ernestine
Rosenthal, Robert
Ross, Barney
Salk, Jonas
Salomon, Haym
Santangel, Luis de
Sarnoff, David
Schick, Bela
Seixas, Gershom M.
Singer, Isaac B.
Stern, Isaac
Straus, Isidor & Ida
Strauss, Levi
Streisand, Barbra
Szold, Henrietta
Torres, Dara
Torres, Luis de
Touro, Judah
Wacks, Mel
Wald, Lillian
Washington, George
Wiesel, Elie
Wise, Isaac Mayer
Zacuto, Abraham
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| Bess
Myerson medal designed by Alex Shagin. |
Bess Myerson
(1924-2014)
Bess Myerson was the first (and, so far, only) Jewish Miss America. She went
on to become a popular television personality, a public servant, and a
philanthropist.
Bess encountered anti-Semitism during the Miss America Pageant,
when an official tried to convince her to change her name to one
that was less ethnic, suggesting Betty Merrick. Bess refused.
The dark haired statuesque (she was the tallest contestant at
5' 10") beauty was the first recipient of a scholarship, but
none of the pageant's sponsors, including Catalina Swimsuits
-- chose to use the Jewish beauty from the Bronx as a spokesperson..
During her year as Miss America, Ms. Myerson made many personal
appearances. One of these was scheduled at an antebellum country
club, but just before the event she was told that there had been
a terrible mistake, the country club was restricted, and no Jewish
person could possibly be welcomed there.
Bess Myerson, determined to fight racial bigotry, traveled around the country
speaking in behalf of the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, in
cooperation with the NAACP and the Urban League.
Many Americans remember Ms. Myerson as Mistress of Ceremonies for "The Big Payof" (1951-9) and as a panelist on "I've Got A Secret" (1958-67). From 1969-73 as Commissioner of Consumer Affairs of New York City, Myerson was architect of the most far-reaching consumer protection legislation in the country at that time, and was featured on the cover of Life Magazine (July 16, 1971) as "A Consumer's Best Friend ... Bess Myerson on the prowl for stores that cheat us."
From 1983-7 she served under Mayor Ed Koch as Commissioner of Cultural Affairs, where Bess substantially broadened financial support for New York City's art community.
Ms. Myerson is a Founder of The Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, where
she established the Bess Myerson Film and Video Collection with a grant of
over a million dollars. She has also made six-figure contributions to The
Guild for the Blind, Hebrew University (for Cancer Research), and SHARE (to
launch an Ovarian Cancer Program). Her concern over the rising racial and
religious tensions on college campuses led Bess to endow the Bess Myerson
Campus Journalism Awards given annually by the Anti-Defamation League.
Bess Myerson's presidential appointments include Lyndon Johnson's White
House Conference on Violence and Crime, Gerald Ford's Commission on the
National Center for Productivity and Quality of Working Life, and Jimmy
Carter's Commissions on Mental Health and on World Hunger. And she has
served on the boards of the International Rescue Committee, the Consumers
Union, Another Mother for Peace, etc. Hunter College, where she graduated
with a music degree in the same year that she was crowned Miss America, later
presented Ms. Myerson with an honorary doctorate, as did Long Island
University and Seton Hall.
Click
Here to Take Bess Myerson Quiz
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