Ann Fowler (born March 16, 1948) is an American

beauty pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

titleholder from

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, who was named

Miss Alabama The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition. Alabama has won four Miss America titles: Abbie Stockard in 2025, Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather White ...

1969. She would later marry and divorce American television executive

Roone Arledge Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise ...

Career

Leatherneck Magazine December 1970 cover

Fowler was chosen as Alabama's

Junior Miss ''Junior Miss'' is a collection of semi-autobiographical stories by Sally Benson first published in ''The New Yorker''. Between 1939 and the end of 1941, the prolific Benson published 99 stories in ''The New Yorker'', some under her pseudonym o ...

for 1966. In 1967, she was named first runner-up to Miss Alabama 1967, Becky Alford. Entering the 1969

pageant as one of 50 contestants and 24 finalists, Fowler's preliminary competition talent for Miss Alabama was singing " Promises, Promises" and " I'll Never Fall in Love Again". The final round talent portion of the program was dropped due to the length of ''Ahead to the Stars'', a musical drama honoring Alabama's

sesquicentennial An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the date of independence of the nation or the adoption o ...

and presented as part of the evening's entertainment. Fowler won the competition on Saturday, July 5, 1969, when she received her crown from outgoing Miss Alabama titleholder Dellynne Catching. After winning, Fowler resigned from her job in the office of Congressman

John Hall Buchanan, Jr. John Hall Buchanan Jr. (March 19, 1928 – March 5, 2018) was an American military veteran, clergyman, and politician who served as a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1965 to 1981, representing Alabama's 6th congressiona ...

( Republican, Alabama's 6th) to focus on her role as Miss Alabama and prepare for the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

pageant. As Miss Alabama, her activities included public appearances across the state of Alabama, riding the Alabama float in the

inaugural parade In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

for President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

, and an August 1970

USO tour The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

visiting the troops in

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

. The

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

commemorated her Vietnam trip by putting her on the December 1970 cover of ''

Leatherneck Leatherneck is a military slang term in the U.S. for a member of the United States Marine Corps. It is generally believed to originate in the wearing of a "leather stock" that went around the neck. Its original purpose was to protect the neck fr ...

'', "Magazine of the Marines". Fowler was Alabama's representative at the

Miss America 1970 Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

pageant in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

. Her competition talent was signing "

Matchmaker, Matchmaker "Matchmaker, Matchmaker" is a song from the 1964 musical ''Fiddler on the Roof'', with music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. The play was later made into a film in 1971. The story revolves around a poor Jewish milkman, Tevye, and his ...

" from the musical ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

''. Fowler was not one of the finalists for the title. Her reign as Miss Alabama continued until Suzanne Dennie was crowned on June 27, 1970.

Personal life

Fowler is a 1966 graduate of Banks High School in

, and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in music from

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) was a private liberal arts college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college was affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SA ...

. Her mother is Mrs. N.W. Fowler of Birmingham, an

interior designer Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

. In 1975, she married

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

television executive

. She was his second wife. The couple divorced in 1985.

References

External links

Miss Alabama official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fowler, Ann 1948 births Living people American beauty pageant winners Birmingham–Southern College alumni Miss Alabama winners Miss America 1970 delegates People from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American people