Miss America 1956

Miss America 1956
Miss America 1956
Date	September 10, 1955
Presenters	Bert Parks
Venue	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Broadcaster	ABC
Entrants	50
Placements	10
Winner	Sharon Ritchie; Colorado

Miss America 1956, the 29th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1955 and was broadcast of the competition on ABC.

Sharon Ritchie became the first Miss Colorado to be the winner. As she was crowned, master of ceremonies Bert Parks performed the song "There She Is..." for the first time.

Results

Placements

Placements	Contestant
Miss America 1956	Colorado – Sharon Ritchie^[1]
1st Runner-Up	Oregon – Dorothy Johnson^[1]
2nd Runner-Up	Chicago – Florence Gallagher^[1]
3rd Runner-Up	North Carolina – Clara Faye Arnold^[1]
4th Runner-Up	Oklahoma – Ann Campbell^[1]
Top 10	Alabama – Patricia Huddleston Arizona – Beth Andre Florida – Sandra Wirth Hawaii – Barbara Mamo Vieira Massachusetts – Virginia E. Maffucci

Awards

Preliminary awards

Awards	Contestant
Lifestyle and Fitness	Hawaii - Barbara Mamo Vieira North Carolina - Clara Faye Arnold Oklahoma - Ann Campbell
Talent	Alabama - Patricia Huddleston Florida - Sandra Wirth Massachusetts - Virginia E. Maffucci

Other awards

Awards	Contestant
Miss Congeniality	Hawaii - Barbara Mamo Vieira
Non-finalist Talent	Missouri - Sharon Knickmeyer Utah - Suzanne Storrs Poulton

Contestants


State	Name	Hometown	Age	Talent	Placement	Awards	Notes
Alabama	Patricia Huddleston^[2]	Clanton	21	Classical Vocal, "Pace, Pace Mio Dio!" from La Forza del Destinó	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Arizona	Beth Andre	Phoenix		Comic Monologue, "What Do I Do Now, Mr. McLeod?"	Top 10
Arkansas	Charlene Bowers	Helena		Vocal, "I Want to be Evil"
California	Barbara Harris	Santa Cruz		Vocal, "Over the Rainbow"
Canada	Dalyce Gail Smith	Whitehorse
Chicago	Florence Gallagher	Chicago		Semi-classical Vocal, "Love is Where You Find it"	2nd runner-up
Colorado	Sharon Ritchie	Denver	18	Recitation, "The Murder of Lidice" by Edna St. Vincent Millay	Winner
Connecticut	Audrey Figlar	Hartford		Charleston Dance
Delaware	Joanne Sakowski	Wilmington		Vocal
District of Columbia	Judith Dunkle	Washington, D.C.	19	Vocal
Florida	Sandra Wirth^[2]	Miami		Fire Baton, "Jazz Medley"	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Georgia	Jeanine Parris	Atlanta	22	Dramatic Monologue
Hawaii	Barbara Mamo Vieria^[2]	Honolulu		Vocal/Hula, "The Night is Young"	Top 10	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Miss Congeniality
Idaho	Judy Voiten	Boise	19	Vocal/Guitar, "Western Folk Song Medley"
Illinois	Marian Elizabeth Cox	Oak Park		Vocal, "If I Loved You"
Indiana	Carolyn Turner	Indianapolis		Chalk Talk & Poetry
Iowa	Kay Taylor	Iowa City	20	Tap Dance, "French Maids Dreaming of Marriage"
Kansas	Gail White	Arkansas City		Piano
Kentucky	Ann Shirley Gillock	Carrollton		Organ
Louisiana	Jan Aline Johnston	Ruston		Drama
Maine	Janice Vaughn	Waterville		Dramatic Monologue
Maryland	Carol Jeanette	Westminster		Fashion Display & Speech, "How to Pack a Suitcase"
Massachusetts	Virginia Maffucci^[2]	Watertown		Dramatic Monologue, "Solitary Confinement"	Top 10	Preliminary Talent Award
Michigan	Margaret Devereaux	Howell		Piano, "Flight of the Bumblebee"
Minnesota	Marlyse Reed	Fairmont		Dramatic Monologue from L'Aiglon
Mississippi	Carolyn Cochran	Lucedale		Dramatic Monologue
Missouri	Sharon Knickmeyer	St. Louis		Synchronized Swimming		Non-finalist Talent Award
Montana	Bertha Mae Huebl	Glendive		Vocal
Nebraska	Sandra Spiecher	Omaha		Speech, "Teaching Handicapped Students"
Nevada	Vivienne Potter	Reno		Dramatic Monologue, "An Address to the Jury"
New Hampshire	Margaret Johnson	Dover		Dramatic Monologue
New Jersey	Patricia Campbell	Camden		Dance
New York City	Diana Deutsch	New York City		Art Sketching
North Carolina	Clara Faye Arnold	Raleigh		Monologue, "Sabrina Fair"	3rd runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
North Dakota	MaryAnn Gibbs	Williston		Vocal
Ohio	Marguerite Garr	Cincinnati		Vocal & Zither, "Old Black Joe"
Oklahoma	Ann Campbell^[2]	Oklahoma City		Speech & Furniture Design Display	4th runner-up	Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award
Oregon	Dorothy Johnson	Portland		Dramatic Monologue from Macbeth	1st runner-up
Pennsylvania	Pam Ulrich	Sinking Spring		Drama, "Proper Recitation"
Puerto Rico	Gladys Rodríguez
Rhode Island	Claire Mae Emerson	Pawtucket		Dramatic Monologue
South Carolina	Martha Chestnut	Conway		Piano
South Dakota	Connie White	Canistota		Piano
Tennessee	Patty Williams	Jackson		Vocal, "The Student Prince"
Texas	June Prichard	Seymour		Horseback Riding			1st runner-up at Miss Dixie 1957
Utah	Suzanne Storrs Poulton	Salt Lake City				Non-finalist Talent Award
Vermont	Phyllis Reich	Bennington		Vocal & Dance
Virginia	Betty Sue Matthews	Norfolk		Vocal, "There's No Business Like Show Business"
West Virginia	Mary Fryman	Madison		Vocal
Wisconsin	Margaret Walls	Milwaukee	18	Ballet, "Dying Swan"

External links

Miss America official website

References

1 2 3 4 5 Times, Special to The New York (1955-09-11). "Denver Girl Crowned Miss America of 1956". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-03.
1 2 3 4 5 "Miss America 1956 Contestants". digital.library.temple.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-03.

[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 5 Times, Special to The New York (1955-09-11). "Denver Girl Crowned Miss America of 1956". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-03.

[:1-2] 1 2 3 4 5 "Miss America 1956 Contestants". digital.library.temple.edu. Retrieved 2026-03-03.

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