Caniff, Milton Arthur, 1907-1988.

Winter, J. B.

Miss Mizzou Collection.

1951-2015.

1.04 linear feet.

Biographical note

New York cartoonist Milton Caniff was inspired to create the character of Miss Mizzou, a blond bombshell wearing only a trenchcoat, as a result of a visit he had to attend a journalism conference at the University of Missouri, Columbia, in 1949. While at the conference, he heard someone refer to the school as “Mizzou” and liked the term. The character of Miss Mizzou was originally inspired by Marilyn Monroe, a popular actress at the time. Later, a chorus girl named Bek Stiner became the face of Miss Mizzou. Miss Mizzou became a hit on the University of Missouri campus in the 1950s. A month after her character’s debut, Stiner came to Columbia and received a key to the city. Miss Mizzou’s popularity continued into the middle of the 1950s, leading to the first Miss Mizzou competition. These contests continued until dwindling interest led to its ending in 1971. The character of Miss Mizzou, and her creator, were often the subject of much controversy, such as the one-time intention of naming the now Providence Road in Columbia, Caniff Blvd. The character of Miss Mizzou played a recurring role in Caniff’s Steve Canyon comic strip about an Air Force Pilot serving in the Korean War. Fleeing her employer, Miss Mizzou boards a plane with Canyon and four others. The plane goes down in Canada, and the story unfolds.

Source: "The Adventures of Columbia’s Comics-Illuminating the City’s Inky Character," by Max Havey, Vox Magazine, July 9, 2015. 

Scope and Content Note

Newspapers, magazines, calendars, bookmarks, comics, photographs of material focusing on Miss Mizzou, a character created by cartoonist Milton Caniff and used in his popular Steve Canyon comic strip. Also included is The Complete Steve Canyon live action DVDs, 1958/1959, Volumes 1 and 2, and the Steve Canyon Special Edition DVD original 1958 live action TV series. Also references to cartoonist and author J.B. Winter’s book Miss Mizzou: A Life Beyond Comics, published August 13, 2014. Material covers roughly the years 1951-2015.

Finding aid: Miss Mizzou Collection.

Partial contents:

Series one. Newspapers -- Series two. Magazines -- Series three. Calendar, bookmarks, newsletter -- Series four. Comics -- Series five. Photographs -- Series six. DVDs.

Inventory by file/folder found in the finding aid.

Call number: MANUSCRIPTS Shelfmark D04 (Box 01).

OCLC/WorldCat number: 1264147918

Miss Mizzou (Fictitious character)
Caniff, Milton Arthur, 1907-1988 -- Characters
Caniff, Milton Arthur, 1907-1988

The Miss Mizzou Collection was donated to the University of Missouri Libraries, Special Collections and Rare Books by J. B. Winter on October 17, 2019.

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Mixed materials.