Miss America 1937 hailed from Hackettstown and did *not* want a career in vaudeville
If you know Miss America history, you've probably heard of Bette Cooper.
Known as the runaway Miss America, Cooper, who became the first contestant from New Jersey to win the pageant, was Miss America 1937.
Soon after her crowning, Cooper, 17, disappeared, having run off with her male pageant escort.
RELATED: Miss America rewind: Weird New Jersey wins from the past
In the above footage from the Associated Press and newsreel archive British Movietone, Cooper's disappearance was considered top news.
"Tired, or fed up, or got a cold -- or something -- Miss America is missing," the news announcer proclaims.
Cooper, who has never wanted to talk further about the pageant -- even decades later -- had only entered the competition on a dare from friends at the Bertrand Island amusement park in Mount Arlington, and didn't expect to win. (She won as Miss Bertrand Island, not Miss New Jersey.)
RELATED: Full coverage of Miss America
As a "national search" ensued for the runaway Miss America, Cooper's pageant escort drove her back home to Warren County, where she really just wanted to get on with her life and attend what was then Centenary Junior College.
"MISS AMERICA IS OK, THANKS," is the title of the interview with Cooper, when she was "found," back home at school. The reluctant pageant queen was not interested in the promised shot at "a career in the vaudeville" that was, at the time, considered a perk of winning.
"Haven't you any ambition for a career?" a reporter asks.
"Well that can come later," Cooper says, smiling.
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.
