Mary Ann Mobley

Girl Happy, 1965

Harum Scarum, 1965

Born: February 17th, 1939, in Brandon, Mississippi.
Died: December 9th, 2014, in Beverly Hills, California.
Husband: Gary Collins (1967-his death)

She's probably most famous as Miss America 1959, but Mary Ann Mobley has represented Mississippi proudly in a few other venues, not the least of which were her two appearances with Elvis! Both films were released in 1965.

In Girl Happy, she played Deena, the girl who Elvis chases around before settling on Shelley Fabares. This, of course, allows for some extra Elvis musical scenes, like "Do Not Disturb" and "Cross My Heart Hope To Die". "Wolf Call" probably sums up the whole relationship, and possibly the whole movie!

Compared to Harum Scarum, Girl Happy was an epic. I mean, Elvis movies are all basically fantasies, but... c'mon! It was originally intended to be a spoof on the "lost kingdom" -type adventure flicks, but apparently the jokes got lost instead! (Anyway, I still insist it's not as bad as Paradise, Hawaiian Style). In Harum Scarum, Mary Ann plays the damsel-in-distress, Princess Shalimar, and she's not required to do much more than look good in harem outfits. It goes without saying that she excels at that!

Before the two Elvis flicks, Mary Ann made her debut in Hollywood with another film, Get Yourself A College Girl (1964, with Nancy Sinatra, Joan O'Brien, and Chris Noel).

Mary Ann met Gary Collins while filming Three On A Couch with Jerry Lewis, and they were married soon after. She continued appearing in films and guesting on TV shows throughout the '70s. In the 1985/86 season, she joined the cast of Diff'rent Strokes. When not making TV appearances, Mary Ann and Gary were actively involved in charity work, supporting the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, the March of Dimes, National Council on Disability, and The National Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Sadly, Mary Ann lost her battle with breast cancer on December 9th, 2014.

Mary Ann Links

Mary with Jimmy Clanton, picture sleeve for "No Longer Blue" single (1961)

Mary Ann Mobley - IMDB
Mary Ann Mobley - Wikipedia
Mary Ann Mobley Pictures - FanPix
Mary Ann Mobley - from the official Miss America site.
Girl Happy Photo Shoot Session - from the EPSS site.
Harum Scarum Photo Shoot Session - from the EPSS site.
Diff'rent Strokes Online - Mary Ann played Maggie on the popular TV series during the '85/'86 season.
Mary Ann Mobley - from the excellent Glamour Girls of the Silver Screen site
Mary Ann Mobley Remembers Elvis Presley - from Elvis Australia http://fanpix.famousfix.com/gallery/mary-ann-mobley