Awesome - Miss America Contestant Regrets Everything After She Wins, Then She Vanished
There she is! Miss America! Wait. She isn't here? Where could she be? That was the major question at the 1937 Miss America pageant when the woman of the hour mysteriously disappeared. No one was sure if she vanished on her own accord, or was the victim of nefarious circumstances. But when the truth finally came out, it was the biggest scandal to ever hit the pageant world.
Amusement Park Trip
Bette Cooper was only involved in the pageant by happenstance. When the 17-year-old left her house in Hackettstown, New Jersey, on a fateful summer day in 1937 for Bertrand Island Amusement Park, she could only think about how much fun she was going to have.
Miss Bertrand Island
While walking around the park, Bette and her friends spotted a sign calling for contestants for the “Miss Bertrand Island” beauty pageant, happening that day. Thinking, what the heck, Bette signed up to compete.
Unlikely Winner
It was all supposed to be for laughs, but low and behold, Better Cooper was a natural! She surprised everyone, including herself, by winning the title. Though there was a bit of a snag, another prize beyond bragging rights, that made her stomach drop.
Miss America
As Miss Bertram Island, Bette Cooper was automatically entered into another contest that was way more competitive — the Miss America pageant. It was too late to turn back now, and she still had to break the news to her parents.
Parents Didn't Approve.
Bette's parents weren't thrilled by the idea of their daughter entering the pageant world. Beauty contests clashed with their religious beliefs, and it was a lot of pressure to put on the young teen's shoulders.
Doubted Her Chances
But ultimately, they figured her chance of winning was too much of a long shot for Bette’s world to turn upside down by overnight fame. After all, she was up against incredibly seasoned pageant girls. What could go wrong?
Assigned An Escort
The Cooper family took it as a vacation opportunity and made their way to the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City. Bette was a bundle of nerves until she met her assigned personal escort, 23-year-old Louis "Lou" Off.
Shirley Temple Quality
Bette and Lou had hearts in their eyes from the moment they met, which made her relaxed enough to breeze through each pageant category. Her small-town charm, sweet singing voice, and golden curls drew comparisons to Shirley Temple. Everyone adored her.
The Ultimatum
On the eve of the pageant's grand conclusion, Bette and Lou went out to dinner, where they discussed the possibility of her snatching the crown. She didn't think she stood a chance of winning, but if she did, Lou wasn't going to stick around.
Forget About Louis
In 1971 book There She Is: The Life and Times of Miss America, Louis Off remembered his blunt response, “I just want to let you know now that if you do win, you can forget about me, because I don’t want anything to do with it. The last thing in the world I want is publicity.”
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Excelling Without Trying
Sadly, Bette was a publicity magnet. Her performance of the song “When the Poppies Bloom Again” for the talent portion wowed the crowd. Then there was the evening gown portion, where she looked every bit the stoic beauty. To Bette and Louis' disappointment, her chances of winning weren't as laughable anymore.
Crowned Miss America
With her newfound love on the line, Bette Cooper went off to the pageant finals where she learned her fate. In a mighty underdog victory, Better Cooper was crowned Miss America 1937.
False Reports
A local newspaper printed a blurb about her win: "The new Miss America has aspirations for a theatrical career. Her first choice is the screen, the stage second, and in a pinch would accept a radio future.” Though, surprisingly, that wasn’t Bette’s dream at all.
Bette Panics
Instead of celebrating her win, Bette retreated to her hotel room. The realization that her life had suddenly changed forever was crashing down on her and she was panicked. Bette’s father was at a loss oh how to console her, so he called up her recent ex, Louis Off.
Escape
With her parents' permission, Louis sneaked Bette out of the hotel under the cover of darkness. They climbed in a boat and puttered off to hide from the fervor of press conferences and interviews, waiting onboard only a short ride away from the pier at Atlantic City.
Missing Miss America
The next day everyone gathered at the Steel Pier for the official reveal of the year’s Miss America winner. The crowd and pageant officials waited for the young woman of honor, and they kept on waiting because Bette Cooper was a no show.
Frantic Search
When it dawned on people that Miss America was not running late, panic set in. Bette Cooper was declared missing and people jumped to drastic conclusions, like kidnapping. They combed the area searching for her, though no one noticed the little boat where she sat in hiding.
Sneaking Back Home
At nightfall, Louis and Bette docked the boat without detection. They transferred over to a car and set off to Hackettstown to bring Bette back home. She wasn't interested in fulfilling the duties of Miss America, she just wanted a normal life.
Out Of The Spotlight
Louis and Bette said their goodbyes and never reconnected again. Both went on to marry and live lives out of the spotlight, though, Bette couldn't run away from her title entirely. Officials tracked her down and reminded her that Miss America wasn't an empty title.
Beauty Queen Curse
They convinced Bette to complete a few of her Miss America duties, but when those were finished, she swore off life in the limelight.
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