Miss USA 1956
| 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 5th Miss USA pageant, held on July 18, 1956, at Long Beach Municipal Auditorium, Long Beach, California. From the 43 contestants Miss Iowa USA, Carol Morris, won the competition and later became Miss Universe. She became the first contestant from Iowa to win the Miss USA competition. She was crowned by Miss USA 1955, Carlene King Johnson of Vermont.
One of the runners-up, Charlene Holt of Maryland, became an actress, appearing on television series and in films including El Dorado with John Wayne.
Placements
| Final results | Contestant |
|---|---|
| Miss USA 1956 | |
| 1st Runner-Up |
|
| 2nd Runner-Up |
|
| 3rd Runner-Up |
|
| 4th Runner-Up |
|
| Top 15 |
|
Historical significance
- Iowa wins competition for the first time. Also becoming in the 5th state who does it for the first time. Incidentally, Morris went on to become the second woman from the USA to win the Miss Universe title in 1956.
- South Carolina earns the 1st runner-up position for the second time. The last time it placed this was in 1953. Also this reaches the highest placement since Miriam Stevenson won in 1954. Incidentally, Stevenson went on to become the first woman from the USA to win the Miss Universe title in 1954.
- Arkansas earns the 2nd runner-up position for the first time.
- Nebraska earns the 3rd runner-up position for the first time.
- Texas earns the 4th runner-up position for the first time.
- States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Arkansas, Colorado, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.
- Nebraska, South Carolina and Texas placed for the fourth consecutive year.
- Arkansas placed for the third consecutive year.
- Colorado and Washington made their second consecutive placement.
- Iowa, Maryland, New Jersey and Ohio last placed in 1954.
- Utah last placed in 1953.
- Michigan and Tennessee last placed in 1952.
- North Carolina and Oregon placed for the first time.
- New York City, and Wisconsin break an ongoing streak of placements since 1954.
- California and Illinois break an ongoing streak of placements since 1953.
- New York breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1952.
Delegates
The Miss USA 1956 delegates were:
Arizona – Maija Bertulson
Arkansas – Nancy McCollum
California – Shirlee Witty
Colorado – Karen Keeler
Connecticut – Dorothy Bailey
Delaware – Sandra McCabe
District of Columbia – Joanne Holler
Florida – Kim Meyer
Georgia – Mary Ruff
Illinois – Muriel Blair
Indiana – Beverly Mattox
Iowa – Carol Morris
Louisiana – Cecile Morris
Maryland – Charlene Holt
Massachusetts – Elaine Murphy
Miami Beach – Beverly Rogers
Michigan – Barbara Sias
Minnesota – Marilyn Johnson
Missouri – Carol Thrower
Nebraska – Shari Lewis
Nevada – Marley Sanderson
New Hampshire – Rita Leclerc
New Jersey – Dolores Winfield
New Mexico – Jackie Brown
New York – Kay Douglas
North Carolina – Shirley Bagwell
North Dakota – Mary Harroun
Ohio – Eleanor Wood
Oregon – Maralyn Turner
Pennsylvania – Serena Kifer
Philadelphia – Miriam Uniman
Rhode Island – Sandra Vozella
South Carolina – Betty Cherry
St. Louis – Diana Stopke
Tennessee – Stella Wilson
Texas – Jo Dobson
Utah – Cheryl Brown
Vermont – Dolores Wettack
Virginia – Audra Stark
Washington – June Svedin
West Virginia – Janet Cardi
Wisconsin – Priscilla Perkins
Wyoming – Marilyn Scott
See also
External links
Categories:
- Miss USA
- 1956 in the United States
- 1956 beauty pageants
- 1956 in California
- Miss World America