Mary Ann Mobley | |
|---|---|
 Mobley in 1958 | |
| Born | February 17, 1937 Biloxi, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 2014 (aged 77) |
| Alma mater | University of Mississippi |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960–2003 |
| Title | Miss Mississippi 1958 Miss America 1959 |
| Predecessor | Marilyn Van Derbur |
| Successor | Lynda Lee Mead |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 3 [1] |
Mary Ann Mobley (February 17, 1937 – December 9, 2014) was an American actress, television personality, and Miss America 1959.
Mobley was born in 1937 in Biloxi, Mississippi. [2] After her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on a career in both film and television. She signed a five-year contract with MGM. [3] She made her first television appearances on Be Our Guest in 1960, followed by five appearances on Burke's Law from 1963 to 1965. In 1966 she was the female guest star on the first two-part episode of Mission: Impossible , in the episode “Old Man Out.” She went on to make multiple appearances on Perry Mason, Love, American Style, and Fantasy Island. She played a recurring role as Maggie McKinney Drummond on Diff'rent Strokes in the final season of the series, having taken over the role from Dixie Carter. She also played Arnold’s teacher on Diff'rent Strokes in season 2, episode 24. In Carter's later series, Designing Women , Mobley guest-starred as Karen Delaporte, the snide head of a historical society, who crosses swords with Carter's character, Julia Sugarbaker. [4] She made two films with Elvis Presley in 1965, Girl Happy and Harum Scarum.
She was given the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress in 1965. She was active in many charitable causes and was awarded the Outstanding Young Woman of the Year Award in 1966 by Lady Bird Johnson. [5]
Mobley also made occasional appearances on Match Game as one of the celebrity panelists from 1973 to 1977. From 1984 to 1988, Mobley joined husband Gary Collins in co-hosting the Pillsbury Bake-Off on CBS. [6]
She appeared in the documentary film Miss America , which PBS aired as the January 27, 2002, episode of American Experience . [7]
Mobley is briefly depicted in the third season of the Amazon Prime series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , played by Amanda Dela Cruz. [8] [9]
Mobley was crowned Miss America 1959, the first Mississippian to achieve this honor, winning the national talent award. [10] [11] [12]
Mobley joined husband Gary Collins as co-host of the 1989 Miss America pageant in September 1988, the 30th anniversary year of her own Miss America victory. [13]
Mobley grew up in Brandon, Mississippi, and graduated from Brandon High School. [14] She was a member of Chi Omega sorority at the University of Mississippi, [15] [16] and in 1981 was inducted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame. [17]
She married actor and television host Gary Collins in 1967 [18] at Brandon United Methodist Church.
The couple separated in 2010 but reconciled and were living in Biloxi when Collins died on October 13, 2012. [19] Collins and Mobley had one daughter together, Mary Clancy Collins. Mobley was also stepmother to Melissa Collins and Guy William Collins, children from his first marriage. [20]
Mobley had Crohn's disease and had at times been an activist for improvements in treatment. [21]
She was treated in 2009 for Stage III breast cancer. [22] Mobley died at her home in Beverly Hills, California, on December 9, 2014, aged 77, from breast cancer. [2] [20]
Pauline Collins is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1973) and its spin-off, Thomas & Sarah (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography, titled Letter to Louise.
Dixie Virginia Carter was an American actress. She starred as Julia Sugarbaker on the sitcom Designing Women (1986–1993) and as Randi King on the drama series Family Law (1999–2002). She was nominated for the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Gloria Hodge on Desperate Housewives (2006–2007).
Lee Ann Meriwether is an American actress, former model, and the winner of the Miss America 1955 pageant. She has appeared in many films and television shows including as Betty Jones, Buddy Ebsen's secretary and daughter-in-law in the 1970s crime drama Barnaby Jones. The role earned her two Golden Globe Award nominations in 1975 and 1976, and an Emmy Award nomination in 1977. She is also known for her portrayal of Catwoman, replacing Julie Newmar in the film version of Batman (1966), and for a co-starring role on the science fiction series The Time Tunnel. Meriwether had a recurring role as Ruth Martin on the daytime soap opera All My Children until the end of the series in September 2011.
Stella Stevens is an American former actress. She began her acting career in 1959, and starred in such popular films as Girls! Girls! Girls! (1962), The Nutty Professor (1963), The Courtship of Eddie's Father (1963), The Silencers (1966), Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968), The Ballad of Cable Hogue (1970), and The Poseidon Adventure (1972).
Harum Scarum is a 1965 American musical comedy film starring Elvis Presley, which was shot on the original Cecil B. DeMille set from the film The King of Kings, with additional footage shot on location at the Iverson Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, Los Angeles. Some of the film was based on Rudolph Valentino's The Sheik released in 1921. The film reached #11 on the Variety national weekly box office chart, earned $2 million at the box office, and finished #40 on the year end list of the top-grossing films of 1965. The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.
Gary Ennis Collins was an American actor and television host. Throughout his career, he won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1984 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1985.
Gene Nelson was an American actor, dancer, screenwriter, and director.
Anjanette Comer is an American actress.
Miss Mississippi is a scholarship pageant and a preliminary of Miss America. The contest began in 1934, has been held in Vicksburg since 1958, and provides more money than any other scholarship pageant in the Miss America Organization.
Lynda Lee Shea is an American businesswoman and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss Mississippi 1959 and Miss America 1960. Shea attended Natchez High School and the University of Mississippi, where she was a member of Chi Omega sorority. Her immediate predecessor as Miss America, Mary Ann Mobley, was Mead's sorority sister at Chi Omega.
Jean Marie "Jeff" Donnell was an American film and television actress.
Lester Tremayne was an English actor.
Rosemary Forsyth is a Canadian-born American actress and model most notable for her role as Bronwyn opposite Charlton Heston in The War Lord in 1965.
Theodore Carroll Marcuse was an American character actor who appeared frequently on television in the 1950s and 1960s, often portraying villains.
Phillip Reed was an American actor. He played Steve Wilson in a series of four films (1947–1948) based on the Big Town radio series.
Barbara May Theresa Werle was an American actress, dancer and singer, best known for her role in Seconds (1966).
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as Miriam "Midge" Maisel, a New York housewife who discovers she has a knack for stand-up comedy and pursues a career in it. It also stars Alex Borstein, Michael Zegen, Marin Hinkle, Tony Shalhoub, Kevin Pollak, Caroline Aaron, Jane Lynch and Luke Kirby. The pilot episode received critical acclaim and the series was picked up by Amazon Studios. On February 17, 2022, Amazon renewed the series for a fifth and final season.
Miss USA World 1966 was the 5th edition of the Miss USA World pageant and it was held at the Ohio State Fairgrounds in Columbus, Ohio and was won by Denice Estelle Blair of Utah. She was crowned by outgoing titleholder, Dianna Lynn Batts of the District of Columbia. Blair went on to represent the United States at the Miss World 1966 Pageant in London later that year. She finished as 6th Runner-Up at Miss World.
She was 77. ... Ms. Mobley was born in Biloxi, Miss., in 1937. (Most biographical sources incorrectly give her birth year as 1939.) ... An earlier version of this obituary misstated the year Ms. Mobley was born. It was 1937, not 1939. (Most biographical sources give the later year.)
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