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".
Known For | Acting |
---|---|
Most Rating | 11.234 |
Birthday | 1923-04-12 |
Place of Birth | Houston, Texas, USA |
Also Known As | Johnnie Lucille Collier, Lucille Collier, Lucy Ann Collier, |
2001
Mulholland Drive
7.8/6112
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two s...
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Mulholland Drive
1949
On the Town
7/238
Three sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
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On the Town
1938
You Can't Take It with You
7.482/383
Alice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish m...
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You Can't Take It with You
1953
Kiss Me, Kate
6.5/81
A pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a gre...
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Kiss Me, Kate
1948
Easter Parade
6.9/132
On the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract...
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Easter Parade
1976
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
4.1/15
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
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Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1956
The Opposite Sex
5.2/20
Former radio singer Kay learns from her gossipy friends that her husband, Steve, has had an affair with chorus girl Crystal. Devastated, Kay tries to...
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The Opposite Sex
1952
Lovely to Look At
5.3/6
Three broke Broadway producers are desperately looking for backers for a new show. When they are about to give up, one of them discovers that they are...
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Lovely to Look At
1951
Texas Carnival
4.4/5
A Texas carnival showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister.
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Texas Carnival
1937
Stage Door
6.9/106
The ups and downs in the lives and careers of a group of ambitious young actresses and show girls from disparate backgrounds brought together in a the...
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Stage Door
1938
Room Service
6.5/70
Broke Gordon Miller tries to land a backer for his new play while he has to deal with with the hotel manager trying to evict him and his cast.
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Room Service
1938
Having Wonderful Time
4.9/13
Teddy Shaw, a bored New York office girl, goes to a camp in the Catskill Mountains for rest and finds Chick Kirkland.
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Having Wonderful Time
1940
Too Many Girls
5.7/11
Mr. Casey's daughter, Connie, wants to go to Pottawatomie College and without her knowledge, he sends four football players as her bodyguards. The col...
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Too Many Girls
1941
Time Out for Rhythm
6.2/6
A producer and his partner clash over two women in show business.
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Time Out for Rhythm
2003
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
7/6
Broadway: The Golden Age is the most important, ambitious and comprehensive film ever made about America's most celebrated indigenous art form. Award...
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Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
1943
Reveille with Beverly
7/5
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Reveille with Beverly
1956
The Great American Pastime
0/0
Bruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son in the team causes problem...
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The Great American Pastime
1953
Small Town Girl
5.65/9
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Small Town Girl
1951
Two Tickets to Broadway
4.3/10
A young woman (Janet Leigh) leaves her small hometown in Vermont and travels to New York City with hopes of becoming a Broadway star.
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Two Tickets to Broadway
1955
Hit the Deck
4.8/13
Sailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business.
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Hit the Deck
1948
The Kissing Bandit
3/2
Ricardo, the milquetoast son of a Mexican bandit, would rather lead a quiet life in Boston. But the family would rather that he follow in his father's...
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The Kissing Bandit
1941
Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
0/0
This edition of Screen Snapshots has more of a vaudeville flavor as opposed to Ralph Staub's usual candid-camera at home with the stars offerings. Ken...
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Screen Snapshots Series 21 No. 1
1944
Jam Session
6/3
A young woman from Kansas (Ann Miller) arrives in Hollywood with hopes of a movie career.
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Jam Session
1937
The Life of the Party
5.2/4
A singer finds another heir (Gene Raymond) to marry, to avoid the one (Joe Penner) her mother found.
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The Life of the Party
1944
Carolina Blues
5.3/3
When he loses his lead singer, bandleader Kay Kyser can't find a replacement he likes.
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Carolina Blues
1940
Melody Ranch
5.5/3
His Arizona hometown of Torpedo invites Gene back to be the honorary sheriff of the Frontier Days Celebration.
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Melody Ranch
1938
Tarnished Angel
5.3/3
A showgirl with a dubious reputation flees the cops and transforms herself into a phony evangelist offering "cures" to the sick and disabled.
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Tarnished Angel
1938
Radio City Revels
8/2
A down-on-his-luck songwriter attempts to peddle musical compositions of a naive Arkansas hillbilly under his own name. Comedy.
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Radio City Revels
1941
Go West, Young Lady
6.9/4
A young woman arrives in the western town of Headstone and helps the locals outsmart a gang of outlaws.
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Go West, Young Lady
1950
Watch the Birdie
5.3/7
A photographer falls for a rich girl and gets mixed up with crooks.
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Watch the Birdie
1940
Hit Parade of 1941
5.3/3
In this musical, the second entry in a five-film series, a thrift shop owner sells his business and buys a small time radio station. He begins looking...
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Hit Parade of 1941
1946
The Thrill of Brazil
6/3
Steve, revue producer in Rio de Janeiro, is still in love with his ex-wife Vicki, his star Linda is in love with Steve and Tito is in love with Linda....
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The Thrill of Brazil
1935
The Good Fairy
6.852/27
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The Good Fairy
1945
Eve Knew Her Apples
5.2/4
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Eve Knew Her Apples
2005
Easter Parade: On the Avenue
0/0
This documentary tells the story of the making of Irving Berlin's Easter Parade.
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Easter Parade: On the Avenue
2003
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Begin the Beguine
0/0
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1937
New Faces of 1937
4/2
A crooked producer makes money from Broadway flops by selling more than 100% interest to multiple parties. He only fails if it makes a profit.
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New Faces of 1937
1974
That's Entertainment!
7.246/59
Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
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That's Entertainment!
2003
Cole Porter in Hollywood: Too Darn Hot
0/0
Ann Miller hosts this documentary short on the making of the MGM-Cole Porter hot musical "Kiss Me Kate".
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1944
Sailor's Holiday
0/0
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Sailor's Holiday
1954
Deep in My Heart
6.813/16
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1999
Mulholland Dr.
7.843/472
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Mulholland Dr.
2003
Inside the Marx Brothers
4/1
Documentary - Take an in-depth look at the personal lives and careers of the famous Marx Brothers: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo. Pioneers on...
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Inside the Marx Brothers
2002
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
7.7/6
American Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he formed a style (first "blue collar dancer") and develop...
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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
1994
That's Entertainment! III
6.9/34
Some of MGM'S musical stars review the studios history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to G...
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That's Entertainment! III
1993
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
8.2/5
Emmy Award-Winning Special Desi and Lucy's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, hosts this emotional and honest glimpse at the extraordinary lives of her world-fam...
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Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
2000
Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
0/0
Highlights from the great musicals of the 1940s. Stars featured include Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, Fred Astaire, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby, Doris Day,...
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Hollywood Musicals of the 40's
1945
Eadie Was a Lady
4/3
In this amiable Columbia B musical, society girl Ann Miller escapes her Back Bay family by performing in the chorus line in a burlesque house. But tro...
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Eadie Was a Lady
1944
Hey, Rookie
0/0
Musical comedy star Jimmy Leighter wants to get away from show biz and his leading lady Winnie Clark, so he joins the Army. There he gets the order to...
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Hey, Rookie
1971
Dames at Sea
6/1
Dames at Sea is a musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 19...
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Dames at Sea
1943
What's Buzzin', Cousin?
0/0
Musicians help a woman (Ann Miller) and her friends make some money with a ghost-town hotel.
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What's Buzzin', Cousin?
1936
The Devil on Horseback
0/0
This musical tells the story of Campo wooing Damita from Keating with songs "So Divine," "Out of the Hills," "The Love Fiesta," "Oh Bella Mia."
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The Devil on Horseback
1942
True to the Army
0/0
A wire-walker, on the run from gangsters, masquerades as a soldier at her boyfriend's Army base.
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True to the Army
1942
Priorities on Parade
0/0
Band leader Johnny Draper auditions his band, the Dixie Pixies, at the Eagle Aircraft Co., hoping to be hired to play for the workers in the plant. Ho...
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Priorities on Parade
2004
Judy Garland: By Myself
7.5/2
As Hollywood biographies go, Judy Garland's story is one of the saddest success stories you'll ever hear. The sanitized studio version of her life pre...
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Judy Garland: By Myself
2003
Rita
8.5/2
Biography of 1940's sex goddess Rita Hayworth.
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Rita
1976
That's Entertainment, Part II
6.8/34
Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical num...
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That's Entertainment, Part II
2002
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
6.4/8
The films, affairs and struggles of the iconic star of The Blue Angel as told by Rosemary Clooney, Roger Corman, Deanna Durbin and many more.
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Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
1941
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
6/1
Hedda Hopper plays hostess at a party for her (grown) son William (DeWolfe Jr.). Hopper, attends the dedication of the Motion Picture Relief Fund's co...
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
2003
Broadway's Lost Treasures
5.6/4
The golden age of the annual Tony Awards ceremony lasted from 1967 to 1986 — the period during which Alexander H. Cohen and his wife, Hildy Parks, wer...
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Broadway's Lost Treasures
1985
That's Dancing!
7/18
A documentary film about dancing on the screen, from it's orgins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30...
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That's Dancing!
1949
Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City
6/1
This film visits many of the neighborhoods and landmarks on Manhattan Island and occasionally includes a history lesson. The neighborhoods include the...
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Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City
1995
Inside the Dream Factory
6/1
Faye Dunaway hosts a behind-the-scenes look at the Hollywood star-making machine.
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Inside the Dream Factory
2000
Frank Sinatra Memorial
0/0
Frank Sinatra, the greatest entertainer of the 20th century, is remembered by some of the brightest stars in Hollywood in this television memorial whi...
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Frank Sinatra Memorial
1982
Night of 100 Stars
6/1
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City...
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Night of 100 Stars
2021
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
0/0
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age explores the world of Broadway from 1959 through the early 1980s as recounted by a diverse cast of Broadway stars who...
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Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
2009
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's
8/1
Narrated by the legendary Shirley Jones, this installment of the Hollywood Singing and Dancing series shines a light on the musicals of the 1970s, a t...
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