Miss Universe 1956 Tribute: girl next door, an inspiration
Carol Ann Laverne Morris (born 1936), Miss Iowa USA, was the second Miss USA to win the Miss Universe title in the pageant's fifth edition in 1956.
Morris was born in Omaha, Nebraska the only child of a minister. The family first moved to Scott City, Kansas where she attended elementary school. After moving to Ottumwa, Iowa Miss Morris attended Ottumwa High School where she graduated 4th in her class of 300. Morris was a champion swimmer and worked as a lifeguard, sang in the church choir and played the violin.
Morris developed into a 5-foot 7-inch young lady, with blue eyes and dark brown almost black hair, 131 pounds and 36-25-36-inch figure. The first beauty pagent she entered and won was the Miss Ottumwa contest. Morris was in high school and was sponsored by the South Ottumwa Boosters club. [2] While attending Drake University she entered and won the Miss Iowa beauty contest. Morris then represented Iowa in the Miss America contest in 1954. In the talent portion of that competition she played the song Stardust on her violin.
Morris won the 1956 Miss USA contest that had 43 contestants and was held in Long Beach, California. She then competed and won against 71 contestants in the Miss Universe beauty pageant, also held in Long Beach. While reigning as Miss Universe Morris met Presidents Harry Truman and Herbert Hoover, and entertained U.S. troops with Bob Hope. She was also able to return home to the biggest celebration ever held in Ottumwa. A parade was organized in her honor, including Iowa's Governor Leo Hoegh and the 4 foot high Miss Universe trophy.
After completing her reign as Miss Universe she began an acting career. One of the awards for winning the Miss Universe title was a one year movie contract. Her first film was Crazy Love with co-star Jeff Chandler. She acted in many films and TV appearances. Morris last role was in Paradise Alley produced in 1962, not to be confused with the more famous 1978 film with the same name.
Morris married in June 1959, at age 23 she wed 45 year old Ed "Buzz" Burke a wealthy Texas oilman from Houston Texas. In April of 1960 it was reported that the couple had a baby boy. As of 2010 she is still living in Texas with her husband.
As of the year 2010, she was the only Miss Iowa USA to win the Miss USA crown. She is still active in the Miss Iowa USA pageant.
Miss Universe 1956 of Iowa appeared on televison for a documentary programe about former crown winners in 2008 in the United States.
Miss USA Carol Morris
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Miss Universe 1956 (Latest Edition)
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Miss Universe 1956 Carol Morris - As A Guess In 'What's My Line' Show
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The fifth edition of the Miss Universe pageant was held on July 20, 1956, at the Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California, USA. 30 international beauties competed, and Miss USA, 20-year-old Carol Morris, won the 2nd Miss Universe title for her country.
It was the “American dream” victory.
Before landing in California, 10 European candidates + Misses Cuba, Brazil and Israel, flew to New York, where they participated in the famous Macy’s parade, with Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin.
Germany (Europe) X Venezuela (Latin America). In the end, it was the USA who won.
When the contestants arrived in Long Beach, two “teams” were quickly formed, which the press called a “beauty battle between Europe and Latin America”.
From the Latin beauty army, there were a few stunners who didn’t take long to stand out, such as Erna Marta Bauman (Mexico), Lola Sabogal (Peru), and Blanquita Heredia Osío (Venezuela).
From the Old Continent, Miss England, Iris Waller, was the main press favorite for the crown. Ms. Waller was discrete, elegant, and not as sexy as Miss England 1955 (who supposedly lost the title one year earlier for her excess of sex appeal…). Marina Orshel from Germany, and Rossana Galli, Miss Italy, were also among the most commented and clicked by press photographers.
With 100 cm bust size, Miss Germany was by far, the most photographed Miss Universe contestant that year. No wonder she was elected Miss Photogenic!
Mr Vincent Trotta, president of the jury, made it clear once again during a press conference: “Judges shall look for harmony and proportion, instead of sex appeal”. Finding someone with perfect body statistics, the famous 90-60-90, was what judges should do.
Miss Costa Rica, Anabella Granados, was so sincere by reveling that she was not old enough to compete in the pageant, the MUO decided to give her the “Miss Amity” title, and allowed her to stay in the pageant until the end, even though she was not scored by the judges.
Top 15
The top 15 were: USA, Venezuela, Germany, Peru, Sweden, Mexico, England, Israel, Italy, Greece, Argentina, France, Belgium, Cuba and Brazil.
As usual, Miss USA was elected a day before Miss Universe, and Miss Iowa, Carol Morris, was the clear favorite for the American crown. After the open car parade in Long Beach, the public voted and elected her “The Most Popular Girl” in the pageant. Her victory as Miss USA was welcomed by all.
Carol was the daughter of a church minister, a college student, and a talented swimmer. She was also a lifeguard, and saved more than 20 lives in the pool where she worked in Iowa, her home state.
Miss USA was “the girl next door”, who had no sex appeal and would pass unnoticed if not for her unquestionable beauty. Simplicity, a main asset in the early days of Miss Universe, pushed her all the way to the top.
Morris was the “ideal American girl”, and her victory represented the victory of the “American Dream”.
The runner-ups were all Europeans: Germany, Marina Orschel (who didn’t take it well, she expected to win), Sweden, Ingrid Goude, England, Iris Waller (another upset for a British favorite, who also competed as Miss Great Britain in Miss World, but did not place there), and Italy, Rossana Galli.
It is needless to say that the Latins , some of whom were considered huge favorites, were furious! In the backstage they yelled claiming that the pageant had been rigged and that they had been discriminated against. It became talk for the press for weeks, and Latin countries even considered boycotting Miss Universe in the following years.
In a way, all that buzz worked well for the Latin countries: Peru won the title in 1957 with Brazil in 2nd, and Colombia became Miss Universe 1958, again with Brazil in 2nd place.
Since the 1980′s, as we know, Latin America has been the main Miss Universe market and target.
Miss Universe 1956 ended with a “battle of losers”, since neither an European, nor a Latin candidate, emerged as the winner, as expected. Carol’s victory was not contested by the press and she served as a great Miss Universe, who later would become an actress.
Miss Universe 1956 got married in 1959 and remains so, in the state of Texas, where she lives with her family today.