Hela Yungst
Encyclopedia
Hela Yungst also known as Hela Young, was an American television entertainer and beauty pageant winner. She was a promoter of Holocaust
awareness and a former president of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education
.
Yungst was born in Israel
to parents who were survivors of The Holocaust. The family moved to the United States in 1956. She was raised in Hillside
, New Jersey
and graduated from Hillside High School
in 1967. She was a member of the National Honor Society
and was awarded the title of Miss New Jersey
, representing the state in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City
in 1971. Around the same time she graduated Newark State College (now Kean University
) with a B.A. in music education and theatre.
Yungst was a performer on stage and in films, television commercials and soap operas, appearing in Guiding Light
and All My Children
. She changed her name to Hela Young and became the New Jersey Lottery
hostess on television, picking the nightly winning numbers for some 24 years. She left television in November 2001 due to illness.
She resided with her husband and daughter in Mountainside
, New Jersey
and died in 2002 due to cancer.
The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education presents "The Hela Young Award" each year "to honor a person in recognition of outstanding work in the community for the improvement of human relations among diverse peoples and for the improvement of the human condition."
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
awareness and a former president of the New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education
New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education
The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education is a government agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its core mission is to promote Holocaust education throughout the state by surveying, designing, encouraging and promoting Holocaust and genocide education and awareness...
.
Yungst was born in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
to parents who were survivors of The Holocaust. The family moved to the United States in 1956. She was raised in Hillside
Hillside, New Jersey
Hillside is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 21,404.Hillside was incorporated as a township on April 3, 1913, from portions of Union Township, based on the results of a referendum held on April 29, 1913.The town...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and graduated from Hillside High School
Hillside High School (New Jersey)
Hillside High School is a comprehensive community four-year public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Hillside, in Union County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Hillside Public Schools....
in 1967. She was a member of the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...
and was awarded the title of Miss New Jersey
Miss New Jersey
.The Miss New Jersey competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to become Miss America titleholders: Bette Cooper and Suzette Charles...
, representing the state in the Miss America Pageant in Atlantic City
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
in 1971. Around the same time she graduated Newark State College (now Kean University
Kean University
Kean University is a coeducational, public research university located in Union and Hillside, New Jersey, United States. Kean University serves its students in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions with a dedication to intellectual and cultural growth and is best known for its...
) with a B.A. in music education and theatre.
Yungst was a performer on stage and in films, television commercials and soap operas, appearing in Guiding Light
Guiding Light
Guiding Light is an American daytime television drama that is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest running drama in television and radio history, running from 1937 until 2009...
and All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. She changed her name to Hela Young and became the New Jersey Lottery
New Jersey Lottery
The New Jersey Lottery is run by the government of New Jersey. Its games consist of Powerball, Mega Millions, Pick-6, Jersey Cash 5, Pick-4, Pick-3, and scratch tickets. The Lottery is headquartered in the One Lawrence Park Complex in Lawrence Township, Mercer County.New Jersey Lottery players must...
hostess on television, picking the nightly winning numbers for some 24 years. She left television in November 2001 due to illness.
She resided with her husband and daughter in Mountainside
Mountainside, New Jersey
If you are looking for the community in Ontario, see Mountainside, Ontario.Mountainside is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and died in 2002 due to cancer.
The New Jersey Commission on Holocaust Education presents "The Hela Young Award" each year "to honor a person in recognition of outstanding work in the community for the improvement of human relations among diverse peoples and for the improvement of the human condition."
External links
- A Tribute to Hela Young - NJN Behind the Scenes, March, 2002
- Archived copy of obituary, NewsdayNewsdayNewsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
, dated February 27, 2002