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Photo of Ann Miller

Ann Miller

Actor
Born April 12, 1923Died January 22, 2004 (80 years)
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

  • Mulholland Drive
  • You Can't Take It with You
  • On the Town
  • Easter Parade
  • Mulholland Dr.
  • Kiss Me Kate
  • Room Service
  • The Opposite Sex
  • Too Many Girls
  • Small Town Girl
  • Texas Carnival
  • Hit the Deck
  • Watch the Birdie
  • Melody Ranch
  • Carolina Blues
  • Tarnished Angel

Filmography

2003
Broadway's Lost Treasures · as Ann (segment "sugar Babies")
2002
2001
Mulholland Drive · as Coco
1999
Mulholland Dr. · as Coco
1996
1991
Home Improvement (TV Series) · as Mrs. Keeney
1987
Out of This World (1987) (TV Series) · as Elsie Vanderhoff
1985
1977
The Love Boat (TV Series) · as Connie Carruthers
1976
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II · as (archive Footage)
1974
That's Entertainment! · as (archive Footage)
1969
1956
The Great American Pastime · as Doris Patterson
1956
The Opposite Sex · as Gloria Dahl
1955
Hit the Deck · as Ginger
1954
Deep in My Heart · as Performer In Artists And Models
1953
Kiss Me Kate · as Lois Lane, "bianca"
1953
Small Town Girl · as Lisa Bellmount
1952
Lovely to Look At · as Bubbles Cassidy
1951
Two Tickets to Broadway · as Joyce Campbell
1951
Texas Carnival · as Sunshine Jackson
1950
Watch the Birdie · as Miss Lucky Vista
1950
The Lux Video Theatre (TV Series) · as Intermission Guest
1949
On the Town · as Claire Huddesen
1948
The Kissing Bandit · as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
1948
Easter Parade · as Nadine Hale
1946
The Thrill of Brazil · as Linda Lorens
1945
Eve Knew Her Apples · as Eve Porter
1944
Carolina Blues · as Julie Carver
1944
Jam Session · as Terry Baxter
1943
Reveille with Beverly · as Beverly Ross
1941
1941
Time Out for Rhythm · as Kitty Brown
1940
Melody Ranch · as Julie Shelton
1940
Hit Parade of 1941 · as Anabelle Potter
1940
Too Many Girls · as Pepe
1938
Tarnished Angel · as Violet Mcmaster
1938
Room Service · as Hilda Manny
1938
You Can't Take It with You · as Essie Carmichael
1938
Having Wonderful Time · as Vivian (uncredited)
1938
Radio City Revels · as Billie
1937
Stage Door · as Annie
1937
1936
The Devil on Horseback · as Dancer (uncredited)
1935
The Good Fairy · as Girl In Orphanage (uncredited)
1934
Anne of Green Gables · as School Girl

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