Miss USA 1956
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.
| Miss USA 1956 | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) 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 |
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 |
|
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Delegates
| State/City | Name | Hometown | Age | Placement | Special Awards | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Arizona |
Maija Bertulson | Tucson | ||||
 Arkansas |
Nancy McCollum | 2nd runner-up | ||||
 California |
Shirlee Witty | Los Angeles | ||||
 Colorado |
Karen Keeler | Top 15 | ||||
 Connecticut |
Dorothy Bailey | Hartford | ||||
 Delaware |
Sandra McCabe | Selbyville | ||||
 District of Columbia |
Joanne Holler | |||||
 Florida |
Kim Meyer | |||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Georgia |
Mary Ruff | |||||
 Illinois |
Muriel Blair | Chicago | 23 | |||
 Indiana |
Beverly Mattox | |||||
| Iowa |
Carol Morris | Ottumwa | 19 | Winner | Previously Miss Iowa 1954 | |
 Louisiana |
Cecile Morris | Baton Rouge | ||||
 Maryland |
Charlene Holt | Annapolis | 28 | Top 15 | ||
 Massachusetts |
Elaine Murphy | Weston | ||||
| Miami Beach, FL | Beverly Rogers | |||||
 Michigan |
Barbara Sias | Top 15 | ||||
 Minnesota |
Marilyn Johnson | Minneapolis | ||||
 Missouri |
Carol Thrower | |||||
 Nebraska |
Shari Lewis | 3rd runner-up | ||||
 Nevada |
Marley Sanderson | Las Vegas | ||||
 New Hampshire |
Rita Leclerc | Berlin | 21 | |||
 New Jersey |
Delores Winfield | Cranford | 21 | Top 15 | ||
 New Mexico |
Jackie Brown | Albuquerque | ||||
 New York |
Kay Douglas | New York City | ||||
 North Carolina |
Shirley Bagwell | Raleigh | 18 | Top 15 | ||
 North Dakota |
Mary Harroun | |||||
 Ohio |
Eleanor Wood | Canton | 18 | Top 15 | ||
 Oregon |
Maralyn Turner | Top 15 | ||||
 Pennsylvania |
Serena Kifer | Philadelphia | ||||
 Philadelphia, PA |
Miriam Uniman | |||||
 Rhode Island |
Sandra Vozella | Point Judith | ||||
 South Carolina |
Betty Cherry | Columbia | 1st runner-up | Later Miss World United States 1956
1st runner-up at Miss World 1956 | ||
 St. Louis, MO |
Diana Stopke | |||||
 Tennessee |
Stella Wilson | Memphis | 22 | Top 15 | ||
 Texas |
Jo Dodson | Houston | 4th runner-up | |||
 Vermont |
Delores Wettack | Westminster | ||||
 Virginia |
Audra Stark | Virginia Beach | ||||
 Washington |
June Svedin | Top 15 | ||||
 West Virginia |
Janet Cardi | |||||
 Wisconsin |
Priscilla Perkins | Milwaukee | 23 | |||
 Wyoming |
Marilyn Scott | Cheyenne |
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.
See also
External links
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