This Day in Tap History - Ann Miller-Born April 12, 1923, Ann Miller was one of the few female dancers - and few Native Americans (she was one-quarter Cherokee) - of her generation to break out of the chorus line and become a headliner. Known for her rapid-fire taps (she claimed to be able to hit 500 sounds a minute) and her excellence in turning, Miller spent her life in the lights of Hollywood and Broadway, building a career that most could only dream of.
Born in eastern Texas to a criminal lawyer and his wife, Miller was given the name "Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier" because her father had wanted a boy. It wasn't until her parents' divorce that she took the name "Annie." As a child, she developed rickets, a vitamin deficiency that softens the bones and can lead to deformities, and was put into dance lessons to help strengthen her legs. Her talent quickly became apparent, and she modeled herself on Eleanor Powell, another stand-out female dancer who was known for her turning ability. However, Miller's own style was somewhat brasher than Powell's, taking on a machine-gun rapidity and clarity that would become her hallmark.
Miller moved with her mother to Hollywood when Miller was ten so that she could pursue a career in show business. Success in bit parts came quickly, and in 1936, when Miller was thirteen, she won a long term contract with RKO after telling them that she was eighteen. After a mediocre career at RKO, she moved to Columbia Pictures, where she unseated her friend Lucille Ball as "Queen of the B Movies," a term given to low-budget films that were made to help develop a film company's stable of budding performers into A-list stars. However, Miller also played small roles in legitimate hits, including as Ginger Roger's dance partner in "Stage Door" (at the age of fourteen) and as a budding ballet dancer in "You Can't Take It With You," the Academy Award winning Best Picture of 1938 with Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur. Nevertheless, it wasn't until the mid-1940s that Miller really made a name for herself in the big-budget MGM musicals "Easter Parade" (with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire), "On the Town" (with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra), and "Kiss Me, Kate," the 3-D musical version of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" (which also featured a young Bob Fosse). Though Miller had fabulous talent and made over forty films, her movie roles were typically limited to supporting characters, often playing big, brassy show girls rather than leading ladies, as these three films showed.
In 1956, the studio system closed down and Miller moved into theatre and television. At the age of 56, she finally got the recognition and role she felt she deserved when she starred with Debbie Reynolds and Mickey Rooney in 1979's smash hit, "Sugar Babies." That show stayed on Broadway for three years and then toured the U.S. for another four and a half years. Miller said during the run that she rehearsed for an hour before each show, and although she was grateful for the opportunity and loved every minute of it, it was "a very, very lonely life. When you work the way I work - that means hard - there's no time for play." After "Sugar Babies" closed, she continued to perform, receiving excellent reviews for her role in Stephen Sondheim's "Follies" in 1998 and appearing in David Lynch's "Mullholland Falls" in 2001.
Miller was given many awards during her lifetime, including a Flo-Bert Award in 1994 from the Tap Dancers of America. She died in 2004, leaving a legacy of beautiful dance, overpowering stage presence and astounding star quality.
This Day in Tap History - Ann Miller
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