Ann Miller

Biography

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Johnnie Lucille Collier (April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004), known professionally as Ann Miller, was an American dancer, singer and actress. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood musical films of the 1940s and 1950s. At age 13 in 1936, Miller became a showgirl at the Bal Tabarin. She was hired as a dancer in the "Black Cat Club" in San Francisco (she reportedly told them she was 18). It was there that she was discovered by Lucille Ball and talent scout/comic Benny Rubin (although some sources say this occurred at Bal Tabarin). This led Miller to be given a contract with RKO in 1936 at the age of 13 (she had also told them she was 18, and apparently provided a fake birth certificate, procured by her father - with the name "Lucy Ann Collier") and she remained there until 1940. In 1941, she signed with Columbia Pictures, where, starting with Time Out for Rhythm, she starred in 11 B movie musicals from 1941 to 1945. In July 1945, with World War II still raging in the Pacific, she posed in a bathing suit as a Yank magazine pin-up girl. She ended her contract in 1946 with one "A" film, The Thrill of Brazil. The ad in Life magazine featured Miller's leg in a large, red, bow-tied stocking as the "T" in "Thrill". She finally hit her mark in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals such as Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). Miller was famed for her speed in tap dance. Studio publicists concocted press releases claiming she could tap 500 times per minute, but in truth, the sound of ultra-fast "500" taps was looped in later. Because the stage floors were waxed and too slick for regular tap shoes, she had to dance in shoes with rubber treads on the sole. Later she would loop the sound of the taps while watching the film and actually dancing on a "tap board" to match her steps in the film. Her film career effectively ended in 1956 as the studio system lost steam to television, but she remained active in the theater and on television. She starred on Broadway in the musical Mame in 1969, in which she wowed the audience in a tap number created just for her. In 1979 she astounded audiences in the Broadway show Sugar Babies with fellow MGM veteran Mickey Rooney, which toured the United States extensively after its Broadway run. In 1983, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. She appeared in a special 1982 episode of The Love Boat, joined by fellow showbiz legends Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Della Reese, Van Johnson and Cab Calloway in a storyline that cast them as older relatives of the show's regular characters. Her last stage performance was a 1998 production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, in which she played hardboiled Carlotta Campion and received rave reviews for her rendition of the song "I'm Still Here". For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Miller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Blvd. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. To honor Miller's contribution to dance, the Smithsonian Institution displays her favorite pair of tap shoes, which she playfully nicknamed "Moe and Joe".

Known For

Coco

Mulholland Drive

Claire Huddesen

On the Town

Essie Carmichael

You Can't Take It with You

Lois Lane, "Bianca"

Kiss Me Kate

Nadine Hale

Easter Parade

Presidents' Girl 2

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Gloria Dahl

The Opposite Sex

Bubbles Cassidy

Lovely to Look At

Sunshine Jackson

Texas Carnival

Annie

Stage Door

Hilda Manny

Room Service

Vivian (uncredited)

Having Wonderful Time

Pepe

Too Many Girls

Kitty Brown

Time Out for Rhythm

Self

Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There

Beverly Ross

Reveille with Beverly

Doris Patterson

The Great American Pastime

Lisa Bellmount

Small Town Girl

Joyce Campbell

Two Tickets to Broadway

Ginger

Hit the Deck

Fiesta Specialty Dancer

The Kissing Bandit

Self

Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1

Terry Baxter

Jam Session

Betty

The Life of the Party

Julie Carver

Carolina Blues

Julie Shelton

Melody Ranch

Violet McMaster

Tarnished Angel

Billie

Radio City Revels

Lola

Go West, Young Lady

Miss Lucky Vista

Watch the Birdie

Anabelle Potter

Hit Parade of 1941

Linda Lorens

The Thrill of Brazil

Girl in Orphanage (uncredited)

The Good Fairy

Eve Porter

Eve Knew Her Apples

Self

Easter Parade: On the Avenue

Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine

Ann Miller

New Faces of 1937

(archive footage)

That's Entertainment!

Self

Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot

Sailor's Holiday

Performer in Artists and Models

Deep in My Heart

Self

Inside the Marx Brothers

Self (archive footage)

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

Self - Co-Host / Narrator

That's Entertainment! III

Self

Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie

Self (archive footage)

Hollywood Musicals of the 40's

Eadie Allen / Edithea Alden

Eadie Was a Lady

Winnie Clark

Hey, Rookie

Mona

Dames at Sea

Ann Crawford

What's Buzzin', Cousin?

Dancer (uncredited)

The Devil on Horseback

Vicki Marlow

True to the Army

Donna D'Arcy

Priorities on Parade

Self - Actor (voice)

Judy Garland: By Myself

Self

Rita

(archive footage)

That's Entertainment, Part II

Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2

Ann (segment "Sugar Babies")

Broadway's Lost Treasures

That's Dancing!

Self

Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City

Self

Inside the Dream Factory

Self

Frank Sinatra Memorial

Self

Night of 100 Stars

Self

Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age

Self

Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's

Self

Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood