Miss USA 1956

Miss USA 1956
Carol Morris
Date	July 18, 1956
Presenters	Bob Russell
Venue	Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California
Entrants	43
Winner	Carol Morris Iowa

Miss USA 1956 was the fifth Miss USA pageant, held at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California on 18 July 1956.

At the end of the event, Carlene King Johnson of Vermont crowned Carol Morris as Miss USA 1956.^[1] It is the first victory of Iowa in the pageant's history. Morris later competed at Miss Universe and won.^[2]

Contestants from forty-three states and cities competed in the pageant. The competition was hosted by Bob Russell.

Background

Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, the venue of Miss USA 1956

Selection of participants

Contestants from forty-three states and cities were selected to compete in the pageant. The age requirement in this edition is still from 18 to 28, where women who are married and have children can also participate.^[3] This was the final edition where women who are married and have children can participate until the rule was lifted in 2023.^[4]

Replacements

Nola Flowers, who originally won Miss Utah USA, relinquished her title after she intends to get married before the Miss Universe contest. She was replaced by her first runner-up, Cheryl Brown, as Miss Utah USA.^[5]

Results

Placements

Placement	Contestant
Miss USA 1956	Iowa – Carol Morris[6]
1st runner-up	South Carolina – Betty Cherry[6]
2nd runner-up	Arkansas – Nancy McCollum[6]
3rd runner-up	Nebraska – Shari Lewis[6]
4th runner-up	Texas – Jo Dobson[6]
Top 15	Colorado – Karen Keeler[6] Maryland – Charlene Holt[6] Michigan – Barbara Sias[6] New Jersey – Dolores Winfield[6] North Carolina – Shirley Bagwell[6] Ohio – Eleanor Wood[6] Oregon – Maralyn Turner[6] Tennessee – Stella Wilson[6] Utah – Cheryl Brown[6] Washington – June Svedin[6]

Contestants

Forty-three contestants competed for the title.^[7]

State/City	Contestant	Age[a]	Hometown	Notes
Arizona	Maija Bertulson	18	Tucson
Arkansas	Nancy McCollum	19	Stuttgart
California	Shirlee Witty	20	Wilmington
Colorado	Karen Keeler	21	Denver
Connecticut	Dorothy Bailey[8]	19	Bridgeport
Delaware	Sandra McCabe[9]	18	Selbyville
District of Columbia	Joanne Holler	21	Washington
Florida	Kim Meyer[10]	26	Oceanway
Georgia	Mary Ruff	19	Gainesville
Illinois	Muriel Blair	23	Chicago
Indiana	Beverly Mattox[11]	19	Milroy
Iowa	Carol Ann Laverne Morris	19	Ottumwa	Previously Miss Iowa 1954 Late won Miss Universe 1956[12]
Louisiana	Cecile Morris	19	Greenwell Springs
Maryland	Charlene Holt[13]	28	Annapolis
Massachusetts	Elaine Murphy[14]	21	Weston
Miami Beach, Florida	Beverly Rogers	20	Miami
Michigan	Barbara Sias[15]	19	Detroit
Minnesota	Marilyn Johnson[16]	18	Minneapolis
Missouri	Carol Rhea Thrower[17]	18	Kemmett
Nebraska	Shari Lewis[18]	19	Lincoln
Nevada	Marley Sanderson	21	Las Vegas
New Hampshire	Rita Leclerc	21	Berlin
New Jersey	Delores Winfield	21	Cranford
New Mexico	Jackie Brown[19]	21	Albuquerque
New York	Kay Douglas[20]	18	New York City
North Carolina	Shirley Bagwell	18	Raleigh
North Dakota	Mary Harroun	19	Bismarck
Ohio	Eleanor Wood[21]	18	Canton
Oregon	Maralyn Turner[22]	19	Portland
Pennsylvania	Serena Kifer	20	Monaca
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Miriam Uniman	18	Philadelphia
Rhode Island	Sandra Vozella	18	Point Judith
South Carolina	Betty Lane Cherry[23]	20	Orangeburg	Later Miss World United States 1956 1st runner-up at Miss World 1956[24]
St. Louis, Missouri	Diana Stopke	18	St. Louis
Tennessee	Stella Wilson[25]	19	Covington
Texas	Jo Dodson[26]	18	Houston
Utah	Cheryl Brown	18	Spanish Fork	Replaced Nola Flowers as Miss Utah USA
Vermont	Delores Wettack	21	Westminster
Virginia	Audra Stark[27]	21	Virginia Beach
Washington	June Svedin	20	Seattle
West Virginia	Janet Cardi	24	Belle
Wisconsin	Priscilla Perkins[28]	20	Milwaukee
Wyoming	Marilyn Scott	19	Cheyenne

Notes

1. Ages at the time of the pageant

References

1. "Iowa beauty wins title of Miss U.S.A." Toledo Blade. Toledo, Ohio. Associated Press. 19 July 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2023 – via Google News Archive.
2. "Carol Morris, Iowa entry, wins Miss Universe title". Youngstown Vindicator. Warren, Ohio. 21 July 1956. p. 2. Retrieved 15 May 2023 – via Google News Archive.
3. Williams, Vera (23 March 1952). "Pageant of Pulchritude". Long Beach Press-Telegram. p. 50. Retrieved 7 July 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Miss USA turns out to be a Mrs". Park City Daily News. 19 July 1957. p. 1. Archived from the original on 19 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023 – via Google News Archive.
5. "Will two pretty heads fit in same 'Universe' crown?". The Salt Lake Tribune. June 12, 1956. p. 25. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Minister's daughter is U.S. representative". The Altus Times-Democrat. 19 July 1956. p. 8. Retrieved 10 October 2023 – via Google News Archive.
7. "Globe's Most Beautiful Girls". Long Beach Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. 15 July 1956. p. 8. Retrieved 15 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Flabbergasted". Dayton Daily News. May 21, 1956. p. 6. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Roxana girl wins Miss Delaware at Chicken Festival". Delmarva News. Selbyville, Delaware. June 28, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Sosin, Milt (June 26, 1956). "Winsome Kim, 'Miss Florida', is a 'chick' among chickens". The Miami News. p. 20. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Miss Mattox ready for Miss Universe pageant". Rushville Republican. Rushville, Indiana. July 3, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Iowa preacher's daughter wins "Miss Universe"". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Florida. 22 July 1956. p. 10-A. Retrieved 15 May 2023 – via Google News Archive.
13. "Charlene Holt awarded Miss Maryland crown". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. July 13, 1956. p. 8. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Welcome to the fold". Springfield Reporter. Springfield, Vermont. June 27, 1956. p. 6. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Miss Michigan is Miss Universe contest". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. July 2, 1956. p. 10. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "First choice on first ballot". The Minneapolis Star. Minneapolis, Minnesota. July 2, 1956. p. 7. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Miss Missouri of 1956". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. September 24, 1955. p. 2. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Shari Lewis is 'Nebraska Miss Universe'". The Fairbury Journal-News. July 5, 1956. p. 1. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Latest Miss Universe entry is well-scaled New Mexican". Independent. Long Beach, California. June 18, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "New York's finest named at Palisades Park". The Record. Hackensack, New Jersey. July 6, 1956. p. 32. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Beauty contest finalists". The Capital-Journal. Salem, Oregon. July 9, 1956. p. 2. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "Fake 'Miss Universe' promotion assailed". Independent. Long Beach, California. June 21, 1956. p. 6. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
23. Jameson, Dot (July 7, 1956). "Orangeburg's Miss Universe off to international contest". The Times and Democrat. p. 8. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
24. Dale Linder-Altman, " It's happened before: Orangeburg queen also incorrectly labeled winner", The Times and Democrat, 22 December 2015.
25. "Miss Tennessee selecting her wardrobe". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. Memphis, Tennessee. June 29, 1956. p. 27. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
26. "Miss Texas". San Angelo Evening Standard. San Angelo, Texas. June 28, 1956. p. 28. Retrieved January 9, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
27. "Audra Stark is Miss Universe Entry". The Virginian-Pilot. Norfolk, Virginia. 18 June 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
28. "Wisconsin's Miss Universe". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. 18 June 1956. p. 6. Retrieved 17 May 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

External links

• Official website