Mary Ann Mobley

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Mary Ann Mobley (born February 17, 1939) is a former Miss America, actress, and television personality.

She married actor Gary Collins in 1967. Their daughter, Mary Clancy Collins, is a Senior Vice President with MGM Television.

Career

After serving her reign as Miss America 1959, Mobley embarked on what has been a long career in both film and television. She has been active in many charitable causes and was awarded the Outstanding Young Woman of the Year Award in 1966 by Mrs. Lyndon B. Johnson.

Mobley appeared in several movies, including two with Elvis Presley in 1965, Girl Happy and Harum Scarum; and on such television shows as Fantasy Island, Custer, Mission: Impossible and The Love Boat. She landed a recurring role on the show Falcon Crest and played Maggie McKinney/Drummond in Diff'rent Strokes during the series' final season, replacing Dixie Carter. Mobley was an occasional panelist on Match Game in the 1970s and appeared on Super Password with Collins during the 1980s. Coincidentally, Mobley once appeared as a guest star on Designing Women, which starred Dixie Carter. The former beauty queen joined her husband, Gary Collins, as co-host of the 1989 Miss America pageant.

In an interview with a scuba diving magazine, Mobley described herself as an "avid diver" and holds certification as a scuba diver.

Miss America

Mobley was crowned Miss America 1959—the first Mississippian to achieve this honor—winning the national talent award along the way. She was a member of Chi Omega sorority at the University of Mississippi. and in 1981 was inducted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame. Remarkably, another sorority sister from Chi Omega at the University of Mississippi, Lynda Mead Shea would follow her as the 1960 Miss America.

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