Ann Miller

Ann Miller

Birthdate
April 12, 1923 (101 years old)
Place of Birth
Houston, Texas, USA
Date of Death
January 22, 2004
Known For
Acting

Details

Birthdate
April 12, 1923 (101 years old)
Place of Birth
Houston, Texas, USA
Date of Death
January 22, 2004
Known For
Acting

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".

Ann Miller's LGBTQ+ Titles

Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive
Coco

Acting (80)

Private Screenings as Self (1 episode)
2021
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age as Self
2009
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's as Self
2005
Easter Parade: On the Avenue as Self
2004
Judy Garland: By Myself as Self - Actor (voice)
2003
Rita as Self
2003
Broadway's Lost Treasures as Ann (segment "Sugar Babies")
2003
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot as Self
2003
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There as Self
2003
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003
Inside the Marx Brothers as Self
2002
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer as Self (archive footage)
2002
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2001
2000
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's as Self (archive footage)
2000
Frank Sinatra Memorial as Self
1999
Mulholland Dr. as Coco
1996
E! True Hollywood Story (1 episode)
1995
Inside the Dream Factory as Self
1994
That's Entertainment! III as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
1993
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie as Self
1991
Home Improvement as Mrs. Keeney (1 episode)
1985
That's Dancing!
1982
Night of 100 Stars as Self
1977
The Love Boat as Connie Carruthers (2 episodes)
1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood as Presidents' Girl 2
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II as (archive footage)
1974
That's Entertainment! as (archive footage)
1971
Dames at Sea as Mona
1968
The Dick Cavett Show as Self - Guest (2 episodes)
1967
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In as Self (2 episodes)
1964
The Hollywood Palace as Self - Dancer (1 episode)
1964
The Hollywood Palace as Self - Singer / Dancer (1 episode)
1961
The Mike Douglas Show as Self (1 episode)
1956
The Great American Pastime as Doris Patterson
1956
The Opposite Sex as Gloria Dahl
1956
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show as Self (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Performer (1 episode)
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
What's My Line? as Self - Mystery Guest (1 episode)
1949
On the Town as Claire Huddesen
1949
Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City as Self
1948
The Kissing Bandit as Fiesta Specialty Dancer
1948
Easter Parade as Nadine Hale
1948
The Ed Sullivan Show as Self (2 episodes)
1946
The Thrill of Brazil as Linda Lorens
1945
Eve Knew Her Apples as Eve Porter
1945
Eadie Was a Lady as Eadie Allen / Edithea Alden
1944
Carolina Blues as Julie Carver
1944
Jam Session as Terry Baxter
1944
Hey, Rookie as Winnie Clark
1944
Sailor's Holiday
1943
What's Buzzin', Cousin? as Ann Crawford
1943
Reveille with Beverly as Beverly Ross
1942
Priorities on Parade as Donna D'Arcy
1942
True to the Army as Vicki Marlow
1941
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941
Go West, Young Lady as Lola
1941
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1 as Self
1941
Time Out for Rhythm as Kitty Brown
1940
Hit Parade of 1941 as Anabelle Potter
1940
Too Many Girls as Pepe
1940
Melody Ranch as Julie Shelton
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
The Life of the Party as Betty
1937
New Faces of 1937 as Ann Miller
1936
The Devil on Horseback as Dancer (uncredited)
1935
The Good Fairy as Schoolgirl in Orphanage (uncredited)