Bess Meyerson, Dies at 90, Worked For John Lindsay, Ed Koch, US Senate Candidate, Obituary

 
Cover of her book


[From article]
Bess Myerson, a New York favorite daughter who basked in the public eye for decades — as Miss America 1945, as a television personality, as a force in public affairs and finally, under a harsher light, as a player in a shattering municipal scandal — died on Dec. 14 at her home in Santa Monica, Calif., her death occurring in the relative obscurity in which she had lived her last years. She was 90.

 
As Miss America

[. . .]
Her coronation, on Sept. 8, 1945, just days after Japan’s surrender had ended World War II, came at a time when a beauty queen could still capture the nation’s attention and even emerge a heroine — in Ms. Myerson’s case as the first (and, so far, only) Jewish Miss America.
[. . .]

 
Being Sworn By NYC Mayor John V. Lindsay

Mayor John V. Lindsay named her as the city’s first commissioner of consumer affairs. She seized on the job, succeeding in gaining passage of some of the nation’s toughest consumer-protection laws.
[. . .]
Few sponsors, it turned out, wanted a Jewish Miss America to endorse their products. Certain country clubs and hotels barred her as she toured the country after the pageant. Appearances were canceled.



Walking in New York With Ed Koch, Jackie Kennedy

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/06/nyregion/bess-myerson-miss-america-and-new-york-official-tarnished-in-scandal-dies.html?_r=0

Bess Myerson, 90, Dies; Famed for Beauty, Public Service and Scandal
By ENID NEMY and WILLIAM McDONALD
JAN. 5, 2015