| Miss America 1961 | |
|---|---|
 Nancy Anne Fleming, Miss America 1961 | |
| Date | September 10, 1960 |
| Presenters | Bert Parks |
| Venue | Boardwalk Hall,Atlantic City,New Jersey |
| Broadcaster | CBS |
| Entrants | 54 |
| Placements | 10 |
| Winner | Nancy Fleming Michigan |
← 1960 1962 → | |
Miss America 1961, the 34thMiss America pageant, was held at theBoardwalk Hall inAtlantic City, New Jersey on September 10, 1960, onCBS.
The telecast was watched by a reported 85 million viewers.Nancy Fleming, the winner asMiss Michigan, later became a television personality and the wife ofJim Lange, host of TV'sThe Dating Game.
| Placement | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss America 1961 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
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| 2nd Runner-Up |
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| 3rd Runner-Up |
|
| 4th Runner-Up | |
| Top 10 |
|
Top 10[edit]
| Top 5[edit]
|
|
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Lifestyle and Fitness |
|
| Talent |
|
| Award | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss Congeniality |
|
| Non-finalist Talent |
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| State | Name | Hometown | Age | Talent | Placement | Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | Teresa Rinaldi | Birmingham | 21 | Vocal, "Addio" fromLa bohème | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Alaska | June Bowdish | Anchorage | 22 | Dramatic Monologue fromSt. Joan | |||
 Arizona | Georgia Garbarino | Flagstaff | 18 | Modern Dance, "An American in Paris" | |||
 Arkansas | Claudette Smith | Star City | 18 | Vocal | Mother ofMiss Arkansas 1991, Heather Hunnicut | ||
 California | Suzanne Reamo | La Mesa | 20 | Vocal, "Love is Where You Find it" | 1st runner-up | ||
 Canada | Iris Elaine Thurwell | Northtown | Vocal | Non-finalist Talent Award | |||
 Chicago | Margaret McDowell | Evanston | 21 | Dramatic Reading | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Colorado | Anne Walker | Littleton | 18 | Dance | |||
 Connecticut | Wendy Mitchell | New Haven | 18 | Vocal, "Just in Time" | |||
 Delaware | Deborah Dunkenfield Benoit | Wilmington | 21 | Composite Expression of Special Training | |||
 District of Columbia | Ruth Rea | Chevy Chase, MD | 18 | Vocal, "A Little Brains, A Little Talent" fromDamn Yankees | 3rd runner-up | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
 Florida | Kathy Magda | Fort Lauderdale | 19 | Dramatic Monologue fromOur Town | |||
 Georgia | Sandra Tally | Homerville | 18 | Piano, "Deep Purple" | |||
 Hawaii | Gabriella Haleakala'l | Honolulu | 20 | Hula | |||
 Idaho | Marlene Coleman | Pocatello | 18 | Vocal, "If I Were on the Stage" | Top 10 | Contractedlaryngitis and was unable to perform her talent during the national telecast | |
 Illinois | Vicky Joyce Nutter | Vandalia | 18 | Presentation of Fashion Designs | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Indiana | Tommye Glaze | Culver | 21 | Classical Vocal, "Una Voce Poco Fa" fromThe Barber of Seville | 4th runner-up | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Iowa | Sally Neville | Davenport | 18 | Dramatic Reading, "Mother on a Moment's Notice" | |||
 Kansas | Gayla Leigh Shoemake | El Dorado | 19 | Original Dramatic Interpretation, "Rude Awakening" | |||
 Kentucky | Alice Chumbley | Jamestown | 21 | Dramatic Monologue fromThe Country Girl | |||
 Louisiana | Judith Ann Coday | Baton Rouge | 20 | Vocal | |||
 Maine | Sally Ann Robinson | Enfield | 20 | Monologue/Piano | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Maryland | Robin Carole Davis | Hyattsville | 18 | Vocal, "I Cain't Say No" | |||
 Massachusetts | Brenda Crovo | Reading | 20 | Vocal Medley, "Bill" & "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" fromShow Boat | Top 10 | ||
 Michigan | Nancy Fleming | Montague | 18 | Presentation of Dress Design | Winner | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Minnesota | Jean Elverum | Fairbault | 22 | Vocal, "Romany Life" fromThe Fortune Teller | |||
 Mississippi | Patricia McRaney | McComb | 20 | Speech & Art Presentation | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Missouri | Dusene Vunovich | Kansas City | 19 | Vocal, "Honey Bun" fromSouth Pacific | |||
 Montana | Lois Marie Volkel | Missoula | 18 | Classical Vocal, "Voi lo Sapete" fromCavalleria rusticana | |||
 Nebraska | Cheryl Ann Jacke | Shelton | 18 | Vocal | |||
 Nevada | Nancy Bowen | McGill | 19 | Humorous Reading & Piano | |||
 New Hampshire | Drina Bouchard | Rochester | 18 | Cha-cha-cha Interpretation | |||
 New Jersey | Ann Barber | Westfield | 18 | ||||
 New Mexico | Carolyn Moore | Carlsbad | 18 | Caricature Drawing | |||
 New York | Susan Talbert | Ogdensburg | 19 | Dance | Miss Congeniality | ||
 New York City | Sherrylyn Patecell | New York City | |||||
 North Carolina | Ann Herring | Winston-Salem | 19 | Vocal, "The Lonely Goatherd" fromThe Sound of Music | 2nd runner-up | ||
 North Dakota | Carol Olson | Fargo | 21 | Dramatic Monologue fromMary Stuart | |||
 Ohio | Alice McClain | Marion | 18 | Vocal, "Summertime" & "I Got Plenty of Nothin'" | |||
 Oklahoma | Donna Kay Creed | Enid | 20 | Vocal, "The Sound of Music" | |||
 Oregon | Rosemary Doolen | Salem | 19 | Vocal, "A Heart That's Free" | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Pennsylvania | Priscilla Mae Hendricks | Shillington | 19 | Original Display of Art Work | |||
 Rhode Island | Sally Saabye | Warwick | 18 | Piano/Pantomime | |||
 South Carolina | Edith Sandra Browning | Greenwood | 19 | Comic Dance/Pantomime, "I Wish I Could Shimmy Like my Sister Kate" | Top 10 | Preliminary Lifestyle & Fitness Award | |
 South Dakota | Janet Barber | Britton | 18 | Dramatic Interpretation, "Casual Approach to Violence" | |||
 Tennessee | Jenny Thomas | Nashville | 19 | Modern Ballet,Porgy and Bess | |||
 Texas | Mary Cage Moore | Laredo | 18 | Spanish Dance with music byManuel de Falla | Non-finalist Talent Award | ||
 Utah | Marian Faye Walker | Salt Lake City | 27 | Classical Vocal, "The Waltz Aria" fromMireille | Top 10 | Preliminary Talent Award | |
 Vermont | Anne Masino | Randolph | 18 | Accordion, "China Boy" | |||
 Virginia | Catherine Birch | Staunton | 19 | Classical Ballet | Later married magicianJohn A. Daniel | ||
 Washington | Connie Hughes | Bellingham | 18 | Original Monologue | |||
 West Virginia | Mary Hoback | Bluefield | 18 | Original Dramatic Reading | |||
 Wisconsin | Karen Fahrenbach | Racine | 21 | Classical Ballet en Pointe,The Sleeping Beauty | |||
 Wyoming | Sharon Luond | Cheyenne | 18 | Dramatic Monologue fromWingless Victory byMaxwell Anderson |
