A True Miss America
Today's Miss Americas serve their term and then they're never heard from again. Or so it seems.
There's no prerequisite, of course, that the winner of arguably the most famous beauty contest of all time needs to stay in the limelight when she hands the crown over to her successor.
But there was a time when Miss America was often the springboard to bigger and better (or, at least, more profitable) things.
Mary Ann Mobley was one of those Miss Americas who stuck around in our consciousness long after she sashayed down the runway.
Mobley, 77, passed away the other day after a battle with breast cancer.
She was the first Mississippian to win the legendary contest, and she parlayed that distinction into a pretty decent stage and film career as an actress.
Like so many other women of her era, Mobley was able to star opposite Elvis Presley on screen, and like her brethren, she out-acted him.
Mobley had a smile that went from ear-to-ear and her dark beauty was a stark contrast to the blond, lighter handsomeness of Gary Collins, an actor and game show host (and fellow Mississippian) who she married in 1967.
Mobley captured the Miss America crown in 1959 and six years later she was a winner again---this time with a New Star of the Year Golden Globe.
But despite all her credits on stage and screen (big and small), it was in charitable causes where Mary Ann Mobley was a true Miss America.
She served on several councils and contributed to many charities and her work was exemplified by the naming of a pediatric wing after her, at a hospital in her hometown of Brandon, Mississippi.
Mobley and Collins formed one of television's most well-known couples, particularly in the 1980s. For many years they were both in our living rooms in some way, shape or fashion, with Mobley doing turns on shows like "Falcon's Crest" and Collins chatting up folks on talk shows and helping them win money on game shows.
Mobley was the first woman to be inducted into the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame.
But Mobley's sweet-as-pie good looks and her Mississippian, southern belle demeanor shouldn't have fooled you, because she was also a very competent filmmaker.
You heard me.
For years, Mobley documented the "young victims of war and starvation in places like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan," according to a release from Warner Brothers.
That probably doesn't sound like the Mary Ann Mobley with whom you're familiar.
The Chairman of Miss America, Sam Haskell, sang Mobley's praises after word of her death reached him.
"She challenged me, she loved me, and she made me laugh! I shall miss her!"
Mobley once spoke of her ever active life, when she was knee-deep in acting, fundraisers and volunteer work.
"I'm home about two days a month, and on those I have to pack."
There's no prerequisite, of course, that the winner of arguably the most famous beauty contest of all time needs to stay in the limelight when she hands the crown over to her successor.
But there was a time when Miss America was often the springboard to bigger and better (or, at least, more profitable) things.
Mary Ann Mobley was one of those Miss Americas who stuck around in our consciousness long after she sashayed down the runway.
Mobley, 77, passed away the other day after a battle with breast cancer.
She was the first Mississippian to win the legendary contest, and she parlayed that distinction into a pretty decent stage and film career as an actress.
Like so many other women of her era, Mobley was able to star opposite Elvis Presley on screen, and like her brethren, she out-acted him.
Mobley had a smile that went from ear-to-ear and her dark beauty was a stark contrast to the blond, lighter handsomeness of Gary Collins, an actor and game show host (and fellow Mississippian) who she married in 1967.
Mobley captured the Miss America crown in 1959 and six years later she was a winner again---this time with a New Star of the Year Golden Globe.
But despite all her credits on stage and screen (big and small), it was in charitable causes where Mary Ann Mobley was a true Miss America.
She served on several councils and contributed to many charities and her work was exemplified by the naming of a pediatric wing after her, at a hospital in her hometown of Brandon, Mississippi.
Mobley and Collins formed one of television's most well-known couples, particularly in the 1980s. For many years they were both in our living rooms in some way, shape or fashion, with Mobley doing turns on shows like "Falcon's Crest" and Collins chatting up folks on talk shows and helping them win money on game shows.
Mobley was the first woman to be inducted into the University of Mississippi Hall of Fame.
But Mobley's sweet-as-pie good looks and her Mississippian, southern belle demeanor shouldn't have fooled you, because she was also a very competent filmmaker.
You heard me.
For years, Mobley documented the "young victims of war and starvation in places like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan," according to a release from Warner Brothers.
That probably doesn't sound like the Mary Ann Mobley with whom you're familiar.
The Chairman of Miss America, Sam Haskell, sang Mobley's praises after word of her death reached him.
"She challenged me, she loved me, and she made me laugh! I shall miss her!"
Mobley once spoke of her ever active life, when she was knee-deep in acting, fundraisers and volunteer work.
"I'm home about two days a month, and on those I have to pack."
Comments
Post a Comment
As you will...