Jacque Mercer
Jacquelyn Joy Mercer (January 7, 1931 – February 2, 1982) was Miss America in 1949.
Jacque Mercer | |
|---|---|
 Mercer in 1949 | |
| Born | Jacquelyn Joy Mercer January 7, 1931 |
| Died | February 2, 1982 (aged 51) |
| Title | Miss Arizona 1949 Miss America 1949 |
| Predecessor | BeBe Shopp |
| Successor | Yolande Betbeze |
| Spouse(s) | Douglas Cook
(m. 1949; div. 1950)William Oldenburger
(m. 1952; div. 1952)Dick Curran
(m. 1953; div. 1974)Marvin Gillespie
(m. 1978–1982) |
| Children | 2 |
Biography
Mercer was born in Thatcher, Arizona. In 1949, she won the title of Miss America. She is mentioned (usually by title, once by name) several times in the 1997 Philip Roth novel, American Pastoral.
She married and divorced her high school sweetheart, Douglas Cook, during her reign as Miss America. After this, a rule was enacted which requires Miss America contestants to sign a pledge vowing they have never been married or pregnant.
While a student at the Arizona State College at Tempe, Mercer acted in a professional stage production of Hay Fever at the Sombrero Playhouse in Phoenix during February 1953, alongside Miriam Hopkins, Wilton Graff, and George Nader.[1]
On February 2, 1982, Mercer died in Los Angeles, California[2]
References
- "'Hay Fever' Provides Hilarious Evening". The Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona. February 17, 1953. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- Baltimore Sun