Carol Ann Laverne Morris (born April 8, 1936) is an American actress, model and beauty queen who was the second

Miss USA Miss USA is an American beauty pageant that has been held annually since 1952 to select the entrant from United States in the Miss Universe pageant. The Miss Universe Organization operated both pageants, as well as Miss Teen USA, until 2020, ...

to win the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Str ...

title in the pageant's fifth edition in 1956. She was crowned by

Hillevi Rombin Hillevi Rombin Schine (September 14, 1933 – June 19, 1996) was a Swedish actress and beauty queen who was crowned as Miss Sweden and is the fourth winner of Miss Universe in 1955. She was crowned Miss Sweden Universe 1955 by Miss Sweden Un ...

, Miss Universe 1955, of Sweden.

Early life

Morris was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County, Nebraska, Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. List of ...

, as the only child of a minister. The family first moved to

Scott City, Kansas Scott City is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,113. History Early history For millennia, the Great Plains of North America were inhabited by nom ...

, where she attended elementary school. After moving to

Ottumwa, Iowa Ottumwa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wapello County, Iowa, United States. The population was 25,529 at the time of the 2020 U.S. Census. Located in the state's southeastern section, the city is split into northern and southern halves ...

, Miss Morris attended Ottumwa High School where she graduated fourth in her class of 300. Morris was a champion swimmer and worked as a

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

, sang in the church choir, and played the violin. She attended

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. Hi ...

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moine ...

, where she was a member of the Beta Kappa chapter of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...

and a decorated swim team member.

Career

Morris developed into a 5-foot 7-inch young woman weighing 131 pounds, with blue eyes and dark brown, almost black, hair, and a 36-25-36-inch figure. The first beauty pageant she entered and won was the Miss Ottumwa contest. Morris was in high school and was sponsored by the South Ottumwa Boosters club. While attending

she entered and won the

Miss Iowa The Miss Iowa competition is the official preliminary for the state of Iowa in the Miss America Scholarship Competition. Bailey Hodson of Des Moines was crowned Miss Iowa 2022 on June 11, 2022 at Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa. She compet ...

1954 beauty contest. Morris then represented Iowa in the

Miss America 1955 Miss America 1955, the 28th Miss America pageant, was held at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey on September 11, 1954, and marked the first live nationally televised broadcast of the competition on ABC. Crowned the winner was Lee ...

contest. In the talent portion of that competition she played the song ''

Stardust Stardust may refer to: * A type of cosmic dust, composed of particles in space Entertainment Songs * “Stardust” (1927 song), by Hoagy Carmichael * “Stardust” (David Essex song), 1974 * “Stardust” (Lena Meyer-Landrut song), 2012 * ...

'' on her violin. Morris won the 1956 Miss USA contest that had 43 contestants and was held in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. She then competed and won against 29 contestants in the 1956 Miss Universe beauty pageant, also held in Long Beach. While reigning as Miss Universe Morris met Presidents

Harry Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Frankli ...

and

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, holding o ...

, and entertained U.S. troops with

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

. She was also able to return home to the biggest celebration ever held in Ottumwa. A parade was organized in her honor, including Iowa's Governor Leo Hoegh and the four foot high Miss Universe trophy. In 1956 and 1957, she appeared as a mystery guest on ''

What's My Line ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panel ...

'' and ''To Tell the Truth'', respectively. After completing her reign as Miss Universe she began an acting career. One of the awards for winning the Miss Universe title was a one-year movie contract. Her first film was ''Crazy Love'' with co-star

Jeff Chandler Jeff Chandler (born Ira Grossel; yi, יראַ גראָססעל; December 15, 1918 – June 17, 1961) was an American actor, film producer, and singer, best remembered for playing Cochise in '' Broken Arrow'' (1950), for which he was nom ...

. She acted in many films and TV shows. Morris's last role was in ''Paradise Alley'' produced in 1962, not to be confused with the more famous 1978 film with the same name On 30 June 1959, in Chicago, she wed 45-year-old Edward G. "Buzz" Burke, an "investor in oil wells" from Houston, Texas; they had become engaged the preceding Easter. A son, Christopher, was born in Houston on 18 April 1960."Miss Universe '57 Greets New Son." Valley Times, 19 April 1960. The couple then had two more children. Her husband died, and she then remarried and had one more child. She currently has one granddaughter. As of 2010 she was still living in Texas with her husband. As of 2015, she was the only Miss Iowa USA to win the Miss USA crown. She is still active in the Miss Iowa USA pageant.

References

External links

Miss 2011 - Carol Morris Miss Universe 1956
A Universal International News movie clip. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Carol 1936 births Living people Miss America 1950s delegates Miss Universe 1956 contestants Miss Universe winners Miss USA winners People from Ottumwa, Iowa People from Scott County, Kansas 20th-century American people