Ann Miller

Also Known As: Johnnie Lucille Collier, Lucille Collier, Lucy Ann Collier

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".

Department: Acting

Place of Birth: Houston, Texas, USA

Birthday: April 12, 1923

Deathday: January 22, 2004

Adult: No

Gender: Female

Popularity:

4.76%

Known For:

Mulholland Drive
On the Town
You Can't Take It with You
Kiss Me Kate
Easter Parade
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
The Opposite Sex
Lovely to Look At
Texas Carnival
Stage Door
Room Service
Having Wonderful Time
Too Many Girls
Time Out for Rhythm
Reveille with Beverly
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
The Great American Pastime
Small Town Girl
Two Tickets to Broadway
Hit the Deck
The Kissing Bandit
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
Jam Session
The Life of the Party
Carolina Blues
Melody Ranch
Tarnished Angel
Radio City Revels
Go West, Young Lady
Watch the Birdie
Hit Parade of 1941
The Thrill of Brazil
The Good Fairy
Eve Knew Her Apples
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
New Faces of 1937
That's Entertainment!
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot
Sailor's Holiday
Deep in My Heart
Mulholland Dr.
Inside the Marx Brothers
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
That's Entertainment! III
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
Eadie Was a Lady
True to the Army
Priorities on Parade
The Devil on Horseback
What's Buzzin', Cousin?
Dames at Sea
Hey, Rookie
Judy Garland: By Myself
Rita
That's Entertainment, Part II
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
Broadway's Lost Treasures
That's Dancing!
Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City
Inside the Dream Factory
Frank Sinatra Memorial
Night of 100 Stars
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's