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person_profile-Ann Miller

Ann Miller Died at age: 80

Actor | Producer

Fullname:

Ann Miller

Date of Birth:

Apr 12, 1923

Country of birth:

Died:

Jan 22, 2004

Biography of

Ann Miller

    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".

Photos of

Ann Miller

Photos ( 6 Photos

Filmography of

Ann Miller

Found 58 Movies in total

... 2021

... 2009

Rita

Self ( Actor )

... 2003

Broadway's Lost Treasures

Ann (segment "Sugar Babies") ( Actor )

... 2003

... 2003

... 2003

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer

Self (archive footage) ( Actor )

... 2002

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song

Self (archive footage) (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 2002

Mulholland Drive

Coco ( Actor )

... 2001

... 2000

Mulholland Dr.

Coco ( Actor )

... 1999

... 1995

That's Entertainment! III

Self - Co-Host / Narrator ( Actor )

... 1994

... 1993

... 1985

Night of 100 Stars

Self ( Actor )

... 1982

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood

Presidents' Girl 2 ( Actor )

... 1976

That's Entertainment, Part II

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1976

That's Entertainment!

(archive footage) ( Actor )

... 1974

Dames at Sea

Mona ( Actor )

... 1971

The Great American Pastime

Doris Patterson ( Actor )

... 1956

The Opposite Sex

Gloria Dahl ( Actor )

... 1956

Hit the Deck

Ginger ( Actor )

... 1955

Deep in My Heart

Performer in Artists and Models ( Actor )

... 1954

Kiss Me Kate

Lois Lane / Bianca ( Actor )

... 1953

Small Town Girl

Lisa Bellmount ( Actor )

... 1953

Lovely to Look At

Bubbles Cassidy ( Actor )

... 1952

Two Tickets to Broadway

Joyce Campbell ( Actor )

... 1951

Texas Carnival

Sunshine Jackson ( Actor )

... 1951

Watch the Birdie

Miss Lucky Vista ( Actor )

... 1950

On the Town

Claire Huddesen ( Actor )

... 1949

The Kissing Bandit

Fiesta Specialty Dancer ( Actor )

... 1948

Easter Parade

Nadine Hale ( Actor )

... 1948

The Thrill of Brazil

Linda Lorens ( Actor )

... 1946

Eadie Was a Lady

Eadie Allen / Edithea Alden ( Actor )

... 1945

Carolina Blues

Julie Carver ( Actor )

... 1944

Jam Session

Terry Baxter ( Actor )

... 1944

Hey, Rookie

Winnie Clark ( Actor )

... 1944

... 1944

What's Buzzin', Cousin?

Ann Crawford ( Actor )

... 1943

Reveille with Beverly

Beverly Ross ( Actor )

... 1943

Priorities on Parade

Donna D'Arcy ( Actor )

... 1942

True to the Army

Vicki Marlow ( Actor )

... 1942

Go West, Young Lady

Lola ( Actor )

... 1941

Time Out for Rhythm

Kitty Brown ( Actor )

... 1941

Hit Parade of 1941

Anabelle Potter ( Actor )

... 1940

Too Many Girls

Pepe ( Actor )

... 1940

Melody Ranch

Julie Shelton ( Actor )

... 1940

Tarnished Angel

Violet McMaster ( Actor )

... 1938

Room Service

Hilda Manny ( Actor )

... 1938

You Can't Take It with You

Essie Carmichael ( Actor )

... 1938

Having Wonderful Time

Vivian (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1938

Radio City Revels

Billie ( Actor )

... 1938

Stage Door

Annie ( Actor )

... 1937

The Life of the Party

Betty ( Actor )

... 1937

New Faces of 1937

Ann Miller ( Actor )

... 1937

The Devil on Horseback

Dancer (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1936

The Good Fairy

Schoolgirl in Orphanage (uncredited) ( Actor )

... 1935