Career
There had been comparisons between Bartel and popular blond actress Carole Lombard. Bartel initially entered the pageant after learning one of the judges was Broadway actor and producer West. Horace Schmidlapp. As talent counted for 50% of the score, she thought it was a way to launch her career on Broadway.
This tactic worked.
In 1946 she appeared on stage in "The Desert Song" at the New York City Center for Music and Drama. She sold more Series East bonds in 1943 than any other United States Citizen, amounting to over $2.5 million. Eighty percent of those bonds were sold to women.
The Mission America Organization is now the world"s largest provider of scholarships for women in the world.
She was born Jean Bartlemeh. Later her name was shortened to Bartel.
Bartel was from Los Angeles, California, worked for many years on Broadway and in television, including starring in her own travel series, lieutenant"s a Woman"s World, as well as performing for seven months in South America. Bartel died on March 6, 2011, aged 87, of undisclosed causes.
The Mission America Organization issued a statement calling her "one of our most beloved Mission Americas.".