David Livingston/Getty ImagesMary Ann Mobley died Tuesday at her home in Beverly Hills. She was 77.
The Mississippi native was crowned the state's first Miss America in 1959. She capitalized on her success in the pageantry world by making a name for herself as an actress in Hollywood. Mobley made her TV debut on Burke's Law in 1963. She later appeared in theatrical productions of Guys and Dolls and the King and I. Mobley shared the screen with Elvis Presley twice in 1965, in Girl Happy and Harum Scarum.
Though she was successful on the big screen, Mobley continued to work on the small screen, too. She was a regular on Circus with the Stars, and she appeared in Diff'rent Strokes, Falcon Crest, Fantasy Island and Love Boat. Some of her many stage productions included Brigadoon, Cabaret, Finian's Rainbow, Hello Dolly!, Irene, Love Letters, The Music Man, Nowhere to Go But Up, Oklahoma!, On a Clear Day and The Pajama Game.
The star married actor/talk show host Gary Collins in 1967. They became philanthropists who traveled with relief organizations to end world hunger in places like Cambodia, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan. The couple separated in 2011, but reconciled the following year. Collins died at age 74 on Oct. 13, 2012.
Mobley was a member of the National Board of Trustees for the March of Dimes, The National Crohn's and Colitis Foundation and the National Council on Disability. She worked with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and for Childhelp, and she served on the National Advisory Board of The Eudora Welty Foundation. Thanks to her tireless volunteer efforts and her career in show business, Mobley became the first woman ever to be voted into the University of Mississippi Alumni Hall of Fame.
Mobley had Crohn's disease, and in 2009, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer.
The actress is survived by daughters Clancy Collins White and Melissa Collins; son Guy William Collins; sister Sandra Young; and two grandsons, Garrett Collins and Gaston Collins. Funeral services will be held Dec. 15 at Christ United Methodist Church in Jackson, Miss., with burial at Parkway Funeral Home.
Sam Haskell, chairman of the board and CEO of the Miss America Organization, was friends with Mobley for 40 years. "When I was a little boy growing up in Mississippi, there were two Mississippi stars who I idolized...one was Elvis Presley and the other was Mississippi's first Miss America Mary Ann Mobley!" he said in a statement. "She was at the hospital when my children were born. She performed in many of my charitable concerts to raise money in Mississippi for needed educational funds as well as Hurricane Katrina victims. We shared a love for our Alma Mater Ole Miss, and we shared many mutual friends in our beloved home state of Mississippi. She challenged me, she loved me, and she made me laugh! I shall miss her!"
Other stars, including reigning Miss America Kira Kazantsev, paid their respects online:
So so sad about MaryAnn Mobley. I met her thru @samhaskell & she was always a blast! And a fabulous #MissAmerica! @MissAmericaOrg
? Marilu Henner (@TheRealMarilu) December 10, 2014A Mississippi legend has passed. She was super sweet and one of a kind! http://t.co/ZMHxzCEiai
? Lance Bass (@LanceBass) December 10, 2014