1966 Perfect Miss America. But She Lost The Pageant Competition

1966 Perfect Miss America. But She Lost The Pageant Competition

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This is Debbie Ann Molitor, Miss South Dakota in 1965. Watching this piece of old film from my archive makes me a bit uncomfortable. She is behaving like a young beauty pageant queen and you can see a scene with her mom fixing up her outfit and perfecting her hair. I don’t know what happened to her as a result of her upbringing and focus on her beauty. Has she lived a comfortable and happy life in which she continued to express her feminine ways or did things change? As my subscribers know, I am fascinated by old documentaries like this one and what happened to the people who were young back in the 1950s and 1960s. I have made many documentaries on this time in American social history and interviewed hundreds of women, a surprising number of whom felt pressured that in order to be “normal” as it was called at that time, they had to be pretty and perfect and feminine. Debbie Ann may have been one of those women who was comfortable in that role. It is hard to tell from this old footage. And personally, I never liked the idea of the beauty pageants and especially Miss America and Miss World. I know that the women who participated and won received scholarships and automobiles and more. As they said back then, there was good money in it. I would love it if one of my subscribers or the viewers of this video find out what happened to Debbie Ann and would certainly post the results should her life story be uncovered…(read more at source)



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29 Comments

  1. Thanks for showing this video. I was surprised that they went to their home to discuss social security entitlements to help pay for Deborah's education. Unfortunately for Deborah Miss Oklahoma won the Miss America pagent.

  2. I feel like this is a good example of grooming for a socialite wife or what we would call a social media influencer these days. The gowns were so beautiful.

  3. Her hairdo was popular in the early to mid 1960s. You had to sleep all night on huge rollers in your hair. So uncomfortable. By the late 60s straight hair was in!! With young women actually ironing their hair to make it straight. After that freedom I never went back to spending a lot of time on my hair. I'm sure Miss Dakota had a regular perm in addition to the rollers.
    I noticed she planned on getting a master's degree in education. In 1965 an educated woman could be a teacher or a nurse. Would she have chosen another career in today's world? Did she feel limited in her choices? I felt limited. That's why I became a rebel.😀

  4. Why didn't Soc Sec Administration notify ALL beneficiaries about this supplemental income? She found it by chance. How many others missed it completely? I'm 72 and remember paying aprx $500 a semester at a large public university, so her 1,000 + SS would go a long way to pay for college in 1965.
    But, Soc Sec has not kept up with inflation, she would have a much harder time today. I paid for my education all the way through, inc grad school, by working part-time and getting a 3,000 student loan. My very small efficiency apt was 65/month including utilities. No kitchen, used a hot plate and toaster oven, a frig in the bedroom. No microwave- those didn't come out until early 70s. I could not do that today. I feel sorry for young people, paying off student loans thru retirement. It's wrong. Other developed countries are not like this.

  5. I like that there appeared to be no stigma to applying for and receiving benefits, or perhaps that's what the mini-docu was trying to combat?

  6. My Mother used to coach the Miss Victoria pageant girls for a number of years. Back in those days the girls were to be poised, cultured, not over made-up, have future plans, a talent to display their confidence, and a proportionate body. This WAS a way to get scholarship at a time when that was not easy. Today there is a lot of silicon and plastic surgery on the stage, and the higher competitions are not won by natural girls. They are shaped into an ideal, and told what their talent would be, no more home grown beauties working with their own merits. I’m sure winning Miss South Dakota helped her in many ways…she seemed very well spoken. Thanks David…this was a look back at how it was before special sponsors began to change the nature of the parents.🖤🇨🇦

  7. This made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. People were so candid, social and well-spoken back then. Proper English was considered a thing of virtue in the 60's. I'm 30 but I think I'd prefer that time over today. People didn't need much to be happy; just song, dance and enjoying simple everyday things. Thank you for this! <3

  8. Yes I was thinking…social security benefits!! Wow that would be most helpful these days to a young person trying to get educated, but ohh i forgot our govt thinks giving our money away to other causes is better, you all get the pic🙋‍♀️😉🤗

  9. 👶😉✌️🍀👶😉✌️
    *Hello*..
    I just came to this channel because I'm trying to get in contact with you we got in about a situation about corrupt CPS and a parents fight to try to get her children's back and her family back together and her children get to see their own brothers and sisters it's very interesting story and I would like to share it with somebody but I don't know how to go about it.. if you could please contact me I would be so grateful and I apologize for this intrusive letter..
    but I tried to email you ..
    Unfortunately.. it would not go through.. thank you
    peace

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