1923-04-12 ( 101 years old ) in Houston, Texas, USA
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".
Movies
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
2021-08-14
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
2005-03-15
Judy Garland: By Myself
2004-02-25
Rita
2003-09-09
Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003-08-10
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot
2003-04-22
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
2003-01-02
Inside the Marx Brothers
2003-01-01
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002-09-24
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
2002-03-21
Mulholland Drive
2001-06-06
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
2000-09-01
Frank Sinatra Memorial
2000-05-16
Mulholland Dr.
1999-01-01
Inside the Dream Factory
1995-11-01
That's Entertainment! III
1994-07-01
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
1993-02-14
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987-05-18
That's Dancing!
1985-01-18
Night of 100 Stars
1982-03-08
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976-07-26
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
That's Entertainment!
1974-06-21
Dames at Sea
1971-11-15
The Great American Pastime
1956-11-28
The Opposite Sex
1956-11-15
Hit the Deck
1955-02-24
Deep in My Heart
1954-12-09
Kiss Me Kate
1953-11-26
Small Town Girl
1953-04-10
Lovely to Look At
1952-05-29
Two Tickets to Broadway
1951-11-20
Texas Carnival
1951-10-05
Watch the Birdie
1950-12-11
On the Town
1949-12-08
Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City
1949-07-30
The Kissing Bandit
1948-11-14
Easter Parade
1948-07-08
The Thrill of Brazil
1946-09-06
Eve Knew Her Apples
1945-04-12
Eadie Was a Lady
1945-01-24
Carolina Blues
1944-12-20
Jam Session
1944-04-13
Hey, Rookie
1944-04-06
Sailor's Holiday
1944-02-24
What's Buzzin', Cousin?
1943-07-08
Reveille with Beverly
1943-02-04
Priorities on Parade
1942-07-23
True to the Army
1942-03-21
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941-12-05
Go West, Young Lady
1941-11-27
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
1941-08-15
Time Out for Rhythm
1941-06-05
Hit Parade of 1941
1940-10-14
Too Many Girls
1940-10-08
Melody Ranch
1940-09-15
Tarnished Angel
1938-10-28
Room Service
1938-09-21
You Can't Take It with You
1938-09-01
Having Wonderful Time
1938-07-01
Radio City Revels
1938-02-11
Stage Door
1937-10-08
The Life of the Party
1937-09-03
New Faces of 1937
1937-07-02
The Devil on Horseback
1936-10-11
The Good Fairy
1935-02-18
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