Ann Miller
Ann Miller was born on April 12, 1923 (some sources still indicate 1919) and died on January 22, 2004. She was an American dancer, singer and actress, who was christened Johnnie Lucille Collier in Chireno, Texas (some sources cite Houston, Texas).
She was considered a child dance prodigy. She was given a contract with RKO allegedly at the tender age of thirteen (she had told them she was eighteen). She became famous for her roles in films such as Kiss Me, Kate, Easter Parade and On the Town. Miller was famed for her speed in tap dancing; she claimed to be able to tap 500 times per minute.
Her father (from whom she would become estranged due to his infidelities to her mother) insisted on the name Johnnie because he had wanted a boy, but she was often called Annie. She took up dancing to help exercise her legs to help her rickets. Her film career effectively ended in 1956, but she remained active in the theatre. In 1979 she astounded audiences in the Broadway show Sugar Babies. In 1983 she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. In 2001 she took her last role as "Coco" in auteur director David Lynch's movie Mulholland Drive (film).
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ann Miller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Blvd.
She died at the age of 80 (or 84) from cancer that had spread to her lungs and was interred in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, California.
Filmography
- Anne of Green Gables (1934)
- The Good Fairy (1935)
- The Devil on Horseback (1936)
- New Faces of 1937 (1937)
- The Life of the Party (1937)
- Stage Door (1937)
- Radio City Revels (1938)
- Having Wonderful Time (1938)
- You Can't Take It with You (1938)
- Room Service (1938)
- Tarnished Angel (1938)
- Too Many Girls (1940)
- Hit Parade of 1941 (1940)
- Melody Ranch (1940)
- Time Out for Rhythm (1941)
- Meet the Stars: Stars Past and Present (1941) (short subject)
- Screen Snapshots: Series 21, No. 1 (1941) (short subject)
- Go West, Young Lady (1941)
- True to the Army (1942)
- Priorities on Parade (1942)
- Reveille with Beverly (1943)
- What's Buzzin', Cousin? (1943)
- Hey, Rookie (1944)
- Jam Session (1944)
- Carolina Blues (1944)
- Eadie Was a Lady (1945)
- Eve Knew Her Apples (1945)
- The Thrill of Brazil (1946)
- Easter Parade (1948)
- The Kissing Bandit (1948)
- Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City (1949) (short subject)
- On the Town (1949)
- Watch the Birdie (1950)
- Texas Carnival (1951)
- Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
- Lovely to Look At (1952)
- Small Town Girl (1953)
- Calamity Jane (1953) (bit part)
- Kiss Me, Kate (1953)
- Deep in My Heart (1954)
- Hit the Deck (1955)
- The Opposite Sex (1956)
- The Great American Pastime (1956)
- Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood (1976)
- A Century of Cinema (1994) (documentary)
- That's Entertainment! III (1994)
- Mulholland Dr. (2001)