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A photo of Ann Miller

Ann Miller 1923 - 2004

Ann Miller of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States was born on April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Nacogdoches County, TX, and died at age 80 years old on January 22, 2004 in Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, CA. Ann Miller was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.
Ann Miller
Johnnie Lucille Collier, Ann Miller
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
April 12, 1923
Chireno, Nacogdoches County, Texas, 75937, United States
January 22, 2004
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, United States
Female
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Ann Miller's History: 1923 - 2004

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  • Introduction

    Ann Miller Born April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Texas, USA Died January 22, 2004 in Los Angeles, California, USA (lung cancer) Birth Name Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier Nickname Annie Height 5' 7" Ann Miller was born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier on April 12, 1923 in Chireno, Texas. She lived there until she was nine, when her mother left her philandering father and moved with Ann to Los Angeles, California. Even at that young age, she had to support her mother, who was hearing-impaired and unable to hold a job. After taking tap-dancing lessons, she got jobs dancing in various Hollywood nightclubs while being home-schooled. Then, in 1937, RKO asked her to sign on as a contract player, but only if she could prove she was 18. Though she was really barely 14, she managed to get hold of a fake birth certificate, and so was signed on, playing dancers and ingénues in such films as Stage Door (1937), You Can't Take It with You (1938), Room Service (1938) and Too Many Girls (1940). In 1939, she appeared on Broadway in "George White's Scandals" and was a smash, staying on for two years. Eventually, RKO released her from her contract, but Columbia Pictures snapped her up to appear in such World War II morale boosters as True to the Army (1942) and Reveille with Beverly (1943). When she decided to get married, Columbia released her from her contract. The marriage was sadly unhappy and she was divorced in two years. This time, MGM picked her up, showcasing her in such films as Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). In the mid-1950's, she asked to leave to marry again, and her request was granted. This marriage didn't last long, either, nor did a third. Ann then threw herself into work, appearing on television, in nightclubs and on the stage. She was a smash as the last actress to headline the Broadway production of "Mame" in 1969 and 1970, and an even bigger smash in "Sugar Babies" in 1979, which she played for nine years, on Broadway and on tour. She also appeared in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" in 1998, in which she sang the song "I'm Still Here", a perfect way to sum up the life and career of Ann Miller. On January 22, 2004, Ann Miller died at age 80 of lung cancer and was buried at the Holy Cross Cemetary in Culver City, California. Spouse (3) Arthur Cameron (25 May 1961 - 10 May 1962) ( annulled) William Moss (22 August 1958 - 11 May 1961) ( divorced) Reese Llewellyn Milner (16 February 1946 - 28 January 1948) ( divorced) ( 1 child) She made herself four years older, when she began working in Hollywood. She became an excellent tap dancer after her mother told her while watching Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) starring Eleanor Powell if she would practice a little with that same quality. When she was in her early teens, she was advised to pretend she was 18 in order to get a job in the movies. Her father wanted a boy, so Ann was named Johnnie Lucille Collier, and she later went by Lucille. In 1937, in order to keep her contract with RKO Pictures, she got a fake birth certificate, which said she was Lucille Ann Collier, born on April 12, 1919 in Chireno, Texas. Famous for her big hair in the later years of her career. Discovered by Lucille Ball while doing a show at a nightclub in San Francisco, California. Lucille Ball helped her career immensely. Refusing to do movies for years because she disliked nudity and sex, she finally relented and returned to films after nearly four decades with David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001), which contained nudity and explicit sex. At the end of her MGM contract, she flew overseas to Morocco to entertain on the Timex TV Hour for Bob Hope. She sang and danced "Too Darn Hot" in 120-degree heat, entertaining 5000 soldiers. In her tap shoes, she claimed to be able to dance at 500 taps per minute. Her tap shoes were called Moe and Joe and were exhibited in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. On an interview on Turner Classic Movies, she told a story about how each time she needed to dress for a dance on screen, the tops of her stockings needed to be sewn to the costume she was wearing. This was a tedious process and needed to be repeated each time there was a run, etc. One day, she suggested to the man supplying the stockings that he add a top to the stockings so they could be worn as one piece... and that's how pantyhose was born. Inducted into the International Tap Dance Hall of Fame in 2004. On her tax returns, she listed her occupation as "Star Lady". She donated a pair of her gold colored tap shoes to the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian Institute. Nominated for the 1980 Tony Award (New York City) for Best Actress in a Musical for "Sugar Babies". During an interview with Robert Osborne for Turner Classic Movies, Ann Miller said that when she was 9 months pregnant with Reese Milner's child, he got drunk one night, beat Ann up and threw her down a flight of stairs. Ann broke her back and had to give birth with a broken back. Had to audition for Easter Parade (1948) in a steel back brace after breaking her back. Was very good friends with: Linda Darnell, Rita Hayworth, Lucille Ball, Ginger Rogers, Kathryn Grayson, Marie MacDonald and Linda Cristal. At just 15-years-old, she played the wife of Dub Taylor - who was 16 years her senior - in You Can't Take It with You (1938). She was buried next to her miscarried daughter, which reads "Beloved Baby Daughter Mary Milner November 12, 1946". She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on February 8, 1960. She was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on January 10, 1998. Personal Quotes " I have worked like a dog all my life, honey. Dancing, as Fred Astaire said, is next to ditch-digging. You sweat and you slave and the audience doesn't think you have a brain in your head." [Fred Astaire] was a perfectionist. At rehearsal when you thought you'd got it perfect he would say, "Go on, Annie, just one more time!" What I wouldn't give to do it just one more time. At MGM, I always played the second feminine lead. I was never the star in films. I was the brassy, goodhearted showgirl. I never really had my big moment on the screen. Broadway gave me the stardom that my soul kind of yearned for.
  • 04/12
    1923

    Birthday

    April 12, 1923
    Birthdate
    Chireno, Nacogdoches County, Texas 75937, United States
    Birthplace
  • Ethnicity & Family History

    Texas. Cherokee Grandmother.
  • Early Life & Education

    Los Angeles. Began working at 14.
  • Religious Beliefs

    Christian.
  • Professional Career

    In 1951 and 1952 she appeared in ''Two Tickets to Broadway'' and ''Lovely to Look At,'' a remake of Jerome Kern's ''Roberta.'' Later that decade she was in ''Deep in My Heart,'' a tribute to Sigmund Romberg; ''Hit the Deck,'' set to Vincent Youmans's music; and ''The Opposite Sex,'' a musical version of Clare Boothe Luce's play, ''The Women.'' By the late 50's she had moved from movies to nightclubs and also appeared frequently on television programs like ''The Ed Sullivan Show,'' ''The Hollywood Palace'' and ''Laugh-In.'' In 1969 she scored a Broadway triumph when she took on the title role of ''Mame,'' which had been originated by Angela Lansbury. The critics felt she rivaled Ms. Lansbury, and Clive Barnes said in The New York Times that she gave the show ''a real shot in the arm.'' Jobs were scarce after that, though in 1972 she made a memorable commercial for Heinz's ''Great American Soups'' commercial, in which she danced atop an eight-foot soup can. She went on the road with touring companies of ''Can-Can,'' ''Panama Hattie,'' ''Hello, Dolly!'' and ''Blithe Spirit.'' Her biggest comeback of all came in 1979, with ''Sugar Babies.''
  • Personal Life & Family

    Film Year Title Role Notes 1934 Anne of Green Gables School Girl Uncredited 1935 The Good Fairy Schoolgirl in Orphanage Uncredited 1936 The Devil on Horseback Dancer Uncredited 1937 New Faces of 1937 Herself, Dance Specialty 1937 The Life of the Party Betty 1937 Stage Door Annie 1938 Radio City Revels Billie Shaw 1938 Having Wonderful Time Camp Guest Uncredited 1938 You Can't Take It with You Essie Carmichael 1938 Room Service Hilda Manny 1938 Tarnished Angel Violet 'Vi' McMaster 1940 Too Many Girls Pepe 1940 Hit Parade of 1941 Anabelle Potter 1940 Melody Ranch Julie Shelton 1941 Time Out for Rhythm Kitty Brown 1941 Go West, Young Lady Lola 1942 True to the Army Vicki Marlow 1942 Priorities on Parade Donna D'Arcy 1943 Reveille with Beverly Beverly Ross 1943 What's Buzzin', Cousin? Ann Crawford 1944 Hey, Rookie Winnie Clark 1944 Sailor's Holiday Herself 1944 Jam Session Terry Baxter 1944 Carolina Blues Julie Carver 1945 Eadie Was a Lady Eadie Allen and Edithea Alden 1945 Eve Knew Her Apples Eve Porter 1946 The Thrill of Brazil Linda Lorens Alternative title: Dancing Down to Rio 1948 Easter Parade Nadine Hale 1948 The Kissing Bandit Fiesta Specialty Dancer 1949 On the Town Claire Huddesen 1950 Watch the Birdie Miss Lucky Vista 1951 Texas Carnival Sunshine Jackson 1951 Two Tickets to Broadway Joyce Campbell 1952 Lovely to Look At Bubbles Cassidy 1953 Small Town Girl Lisa Bellmount 1953 Kiss Me Kate Lois Lane 'Bianca' 1954 Deep in My Heart Performer in 'Artists and Models' 1955 Hit the Deck Ginger 1956 The Opposite Sex Gloria 1956 The Great American Pastime Mrs. Doris Patterson 1976 Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood President's Girl 2 2001 Mulholland Drive Catherine 'Coco' Lenoix Final film role
  • 01/22
    2004

    Death

    January 22, 2004
    Death date
    Lung Cancer
    Cause of death
    Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California United States
    Death location
  • Gravesite & Burial

    mm/dd/yyyy
    Funeral date
    Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, CA
    Burial location
  • Obituary

    Ann Miller, Tap-Dancer Starring in Musicals, Dies By RICHARD SEVERO JAN. 23, 2004 Ann Miller, the long-legged tap-dancer with the lacquered raven hair and Nefertiti eye makeup whose athleticism made her a staple of big-screen musicals in the 1940's and 50's, died on Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital. She was believed to be about 80. The cause was lung cancer, Esme Chandlee, her friend and former publicist, told The Associated Press. She was, in her heyday, America's female tap star, inheriting the mantle of Ginger Rogers and Eleanor Powell. She always took a vigorous approach to dancing, and her agent said she could produce 500 taps a minute. Nobody ever disputed him. As a young actress, she consistently won praise for her roles in movies like ''Easter Parade'' (1948), in which she danced most gracefully with Fred Astaire as she tried to woo him away from Judy Garland; ''Kiss Me Kate'' (1953), in which she portrayed Lois Lane, the nightclub hoofer who became Bianca in Cole Porter's version of ''Taming of the Shrew''; and ''On the Town'' (1949), which paired her with Jules Munshin, the sidekick of Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, sailors desperately looking for girls on their 24-hour leave in New York. These, she said, were her favorite movies, and most fans and critics would agree. She first attracted attention in 1938, when she played the fudge-making, ballet-dancing daughter in Frank Capra's ''You Can't Take It With You.'' And in 1979, after a long hiatus, she made a tremendous comeback, starring with Mickey Rooney in ''Sugar Babies,'' a musical salute to vaudeville that ran for nearly three years on Broadway. She enjoyed the stardom that she felt she had been denied earlier. ''At MGM I always played the second feminine lead,'' she told the writer Bob Thomas in 1990. ''I was never the star in films. I was the brassy, good-hearted showgirl. I never really had my big moment on the screen. 'Sugar Babies' gave me the stardom that my soul kind of yearned for.'' Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier was born in Chireno, Tex. Her father, John Alfred Collier, was a successful criminal lawyer who counted among his clients Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker and Baby Face Nelson. He dreamed of having a son he could call John Jr.; instead, he named his daughter Johnnie. Her mother was the former Clara Birdwell, whose mother was a Cherokee. The Colliers soon moved to Houston, where her mother saw to it that she studied piano and violin but mostly dancing, partly to build up legs affected by rickets, a condition caused by a vitamin D deficiency that can lead to softening of the bones and deformity. When Ms. Miller was about 10 her parents' marriage fell apart and her mother took her to California. There she developed a dance routine and performed at meetings of local civic organization. She earned $5 a night, plus tips. A few years later she was seen by Benny Rubin, a comic and talent scout, who happened to be escorting Lucille Ball. They arranged a movie audition, which led to her first film, a nonspeaking part in ''New Faces of 1937'' for RKO. Other light films followed, and while she aspired to the romantic roles that were being enjoyed by other dancing stars, like Ginger Rogers and Eleanor Powell, she was offered none. In the 1940's she appeared in a string of forgettable films. Among them were ''Melody Ranch'' (1940), which is recalled now only because it was the first time Gene Autry kissed a woman for the cameras; ''Time Out for Rhythm'' (1941), a vehicle for Rudy Vallee; ''Priorities on Parade'' (1942), a feel-good movie for soldiers starring Jerry Colonna; ''Reveille With Beverly'' (1943); ''What's Buzzin' Cousin?'' (1943); ''Jam Session'' (1944) and ''Eadie Was a Lady'' (1945). In 1946 she married a millionaire, Reese Llewellyn Milner. The marriage failed within a year, and she went back to work, winning a big part in perhaps her most memorable film, MGM's ''Easter Parade.'' She got the part only when Cyd Charisse, the first choice for the role, broke a leg, and she had to dance in flats because Fred Astaire was barely taller than she was. In 1951 and 1952 she appeared in ''Two Tickets to Broadway'' and ''Lovely to Look At,'' a remake of Jerome Kern's ''Roberta.'' Later that decade she was in ''Deep in My Heart,'' a tribute to Sigmund Romberg; ''Hit the Deck,'' set to Vincent Youmans's music; and ''The Opposite Sex,'' a musical version of Clare Boothe Luce's play, ''The Women.'' By the late 50's she had moved from movies to nightclubs and also appeared frequently on television programs like ''The Ed Sullivan Show,'' ''The Hollywood Palace'' and ''Laugh-In.'' In 1969 she scored a Broadway triumph when she took on the title role of ''Mame,'' which had been originated by Angela Lansbury. The critics felt she rivaled Ms. Lansbury, and Clive Barnes said in The New York Times that she gave the show ''a real shot in the arm.'' Jobs were scarce after that, though in 1972 she made a memorable commercial for Heinz's ''Great American Soups'' commercial, in which she danced atop an eight-foot soup can. She went on the road with touring companies of ''Can-Can,'' ''Panama Hattie,'' ''Hello, Dolly!'' and ''Blithe Spirit.'' Her biggest comeback of all came in 1979, with ''Sugar Babies.'' Two more marriages, to William Moss in 1958 and to Arthur Cameron in 1961, ended in divorce. In between marriages she dated Conrad Hilton, Howard Hughes and Louis B. Mayer, among others. There are no immediate survivors. In her prime, Ms. Miller's flamboyantly glamorous appearance, especially her hair, which was often a bouffant, lacquered wig, sometimes made her the butt of jokes about falling down and breaking her hair. In later years, she seemed to revel in making television appearances in her wig and Egyptian-style makeup. In her 1972 autobiography, ''Miller's High Life,'' and in other writings about her serious spiritual interests, she even laid claim to having been Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt in an earlier life. But she said that throughout her life she wondered ''whatever happened to Lucille Collier from Texas.'' ''There's a part of me that will always be Lucille Collier, and she's just waiting for this long-winded Hollywood love affair to end with the Ann Miller creature.''
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17 Memories, Stories & Photos about Ann

Harry Rigby
Harry Rigby
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Harry Rigby
Harry Rigby
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Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller
Mickey Rooney and Ann Miller
A photo of Joseph "Mickey Rooney" Yule, Jr and Ann Miller in SUGAR BABIES
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Ann Miller, Mame
Ann Miller, Mame
A photo of Ann Miller as MAME in New York.
She wanted a version of Mame in a gown as a lion because she was a Leo. She asked me to do it and was so happy with it and gave me a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek. Actually, this was the best thing I'd ever seen her in! Her own personality was delightful and shining bright and it was a great night.
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Ann Miller movie and theater star
Ann Miller movie and theater star
A photo of Ann Miller
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Ann Miller
Ann Miller
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Ann Miller
Ann Miller
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Ann Miller
Ann Miller
A photo of Ann Miller
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Ann Miller
Ann Miller
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Ann Miller
Ann Miller
A photo of Ann Miller
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Ann Miller's Family Tree & Friends

Ann Miller's Family Tree

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