Myrna Hansen
Encyclopedia
Education
She graduated from Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, in June 1953. Prior to competing in the
1953 Miss Universe contest, Hansen planned to study animal husbandry
Animal husbandry
Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock.- History :Animal husbandry has been practiced for thousands of years, since the first domestication of animals....
in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. She had already mailed her tuition for admission to college, aspiring to become a veterinarian.
Beauty Contestant
Hansen was chosen Miss Photoflash of 1953 by the Chicago Press Photographers Association. She was entered in the Miss USA contest by virtue of winning this title. Shewas 5'7" tall and weighed 125 pounds. Her measurements included a 37 - inch bust, 25 - inch waist, and 35 - inch hips. By the end of 1955 her bust had increased by an inch. Her measurements read 38 - 25 - 33. She is a blond with brown eyes.
For winning the Miss USA crown Hansen was awarded a Hillman Minx
Hillman Minx
The Hillman Minx was a series of middle-sized family cars produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group between 1932 and 1970...
convertible,
a Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
contract, and a $2,500 diamond wrist watch. She also received an ornate trophy presented by Ruth Hampton, actress,
and 1952 Miss New Jersey
Miss New Jersey
.The Miss New Jersey competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of New Jersey in the Miss America pageant.Two Miss New Jersey winners have gone on to become Miss America titleholders: Bette Cooper and Suzette Charles...
. Hansen was presented with a solid silver
and gold replica of the crown on the Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
. A gigantic loving cup was also among the prizes she won.
Miss Universe SNAFU
After winning the Miss Illinois USAMiss Illinois USA
The Miss Illinois USA pageant is a competition that selects the representative for the state Illinois in the Miss USA pageant.Illinois is one of the most successful states in the competition. It is one of only four states to have won four or more Miss USA titles and one of only three states to...
crown, Hansen, from Chicago, went on to become Illinois's first representative to capture the Miss USA title. She was chosen a runner-up
Runner-up
Runner-up is a term used to denote a participant which finishes in second place in any of a variety of competitive endeavors, most notably sporting events and beauty pageants; in the latter instance, the term is applied to more than one of the highest-ranked non-winning contestants, the...
in the Miss Universe contest of 1953. Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
reported in March 1954 that Hansen should have been awarded the Miss Universe title. The winner, Christiane Martel
Christiane Martel
Christiane Martel, born Christiane Magnani, won the 1953 Miss Universe pageant representing France. However, she was not a titleholder from the "official" Miss France pageant....
of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, was exposed as having been only seventeen when she won. Her minor status was disclosed when Martel
applied for a marriage license to wed Ronnie Marengo.
In January 1954 Hansen accompanied Martel in the sixty-fifth annual Tournament of Roses Parade
Tournament of Roses Parade
The Tournament of Roses Parade, better known as the Rose Parade, is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day , produced by the non-profit Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association.The annual...
. They were aboard the float
Float (parade)
A float is a decorated platform, either built on a vehicle or towed behind one, which is a component of many festive parades, such as those of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, the Carnival of Viareggio, the Maltese Carnival, the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Key West Fantasy Fest parade, the...
entitled American Heritage. It was an entry of the city of Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
. Adorned by cupids and thousands of white orchids and chrysanthemums, the float captured the sweepstakes prize.
Movie actress
Hansen negotiated a new seven-year contract with Universal in August 1954.The agreement stipulated that her salary would start at $200 weekly, with
options to $900 a week. As a minor she was required to purchase a $25 U.S. savings bond on a weekly basis. When she turned twenty-one, in August 1955, Hansen claimed $2,400 in bonds, which had been held for her at the Los Angeles County clerk's office.
Soon after her contract was negotiated, Hansen filmed The Purple Mask (1955). Her
character, Constance de Voulois, was one of three female spies in the
film. The setting was France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
after the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
. Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
and Colleen Miller also played women who secretly observed Napoleon Bonaparte. Hansen followed this project with a role as the fiancee of Jack Kelly
Jack Kelly (actor)
Jack Kelly was an American film and television actor most noted for the role of "Bart Maverick" in the TV series Maverick, which ran on ABC from 1957 to 1962...
in Cult of the Cobra
Cult of the Cobra
Cult of the Cobra is a horror film, released by Universal Pictures and starring Faith Domergue, Richard Long, Jack Kelly, William Reynolds and David Janssen. In it, the discoverers of a secret cult of women who can transform into cobras begin to die one by one...
(1955).
She was cast in the MGM motion picture Raintree County
Raintree County (film)
Raintree County is a 1957 Technicolor film drama about the American Civil War. It was directed by Edward Dmytryk. The film stars Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Eva Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin....
(1957).
She had an uncredited role as Lydia Grey. At the Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
premiere, Hansen was cheered by a crowd of 5,000 people. Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Eve Marie Saint, and Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
were among the other stars who came to the October 2, 1957
event.
Hansen played a showgirl in Party Girl
Party Girl (1958 film)
Party Girl is a film noir filmed in Metrocolor and CinemaScope. The film was directed by Nicholas Ray and starred Robert Taylor, Cyd Charisse, and Lee J. Cobb. Charisse performs two dance routines in the gangster film...
(1958), a film which featured Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse
Cyd Charisse was an American actress and dancer.After recovering from polio as a child, and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s...
. Her fellow showgirls were Barbara Lang and Betty Utey. Her final parts in movies were roles
in Goodbye Charlie (1964) and Black Caesar (1973).
MGM Signee
Hansen asked MGM for some time away from filming in 1957. She changed her name and cut her hair. She toured the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on a bus. She worked as a dental
receptonist in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and was employed as a waitress and a clerk in various cities. She roomed with other waitresses. Her objective was to learn more "because I knew so little about people and life and I couldn't give sincerity to a role." Her plan worked and
she was awarded an MGM contract. Hansen believed her work ethic was responsible for her success as an actress, when compared to contemporary beauty queens.
Television
In December 1955 Hansen made her television debut on the The Burns and Allen Show show, whichstarred George Burns
George Burns
George Burns , born Nathan Birnbaum, was an American comedian, actor, and writer.He was one of the few entertainers whose career successfully spanned vaudeville, film, radio, television and movies, with and without his wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became...
and Gracie Allen
Gracie Allen
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen , known as Gracie Allen, was an American comedian who became internationally famous as the zany partner and comic foil of husband George Burns...
. She appeared on the screen for eight minutes of the CBS-TV show. This was longer than her total time on screen in the fifteen movies she had made. Hansen was featured in two additional appearances as the love interest of Ronnie Burns (actor)
Ronnie Burns (actor)
Ronald Jon "Ronnie" Burns worked briefly as a television actor, but is primarily remembered as the adopted son of comedians George Burns and Gracie Allen.-Early life:...
.
She performed in episodes of The Thin Man
The Thin Man (TV series)
The Thin Man is a half-hour weekly television series based on the mystery novel The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett. The 72 episodes were produced by MGM Television and shown on NBC for two seasons from 1957–1959 on Friday evening.-Overview:...
(1957), Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye
Hawaiian Eye is an American television series that ran from October 1959 to September 1963 on the American Broadcasting Company television network.-Premise:...
(1960), 77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip
77 Sunset Strip is an hour-length American television private detective series created by Roy Huggins and starring Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., Roger Smith, and Edd Byrnes....
(1960), Westinghouse Playhouse
Westinghouse playhouse
Westinghouse Playhouse is an American sitcom that aired from January to July 1961 on NBC. Starring Nanette Fabray, the series was also known as The Nanette Fabray Show, Westinghouse Playhouse Starring Nanette Fabray and Wendell Corey, and ran under the title Yes, Yes Nanette in...
(1960), and Green Acres
Green Acres
Green Acres is an American television series starring Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor as a couple who move from New York City to a country farm...
(1971).
In 1959 Hansen did advertising for Coppertone sun tan lotion as a
Model (person)
Model (person)
A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....
.
Personal life
Hansen is an officially qualified figure skater. She enjoys swimming and is a skilled horsewoman. She began riding at the age of eight, whileher mother thought she was at the library.
She was married several times. Hansen divorced her second husband, realtor Lee D. Hyatt, in June 1965. They had been married on Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day
Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...
in 1961. Hansen and Hyatt met in 1959 at a film colony dinner. In May 1968 her residence was in
Hollywood, where she lived with her two sons.