Stage Name |
Birth Name |
Ann Miller |
Johnnie Lucille
Collier |
Her father was a succesful
criminal defense attorney who had defended infamous gangsters
Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd. After
her parents marriage dissolved, her mother took her to Hollywood
where she took Tap lessons and started her career as a Professional
child Tap Dancer at age seven
to help support her mother. Later, she made her movie debut in
"Anne of Green Gables" in 1934 at age fifteen, also
appearing in The Good Fairy (1935) and Devil on Horseback (1936)
before signing with RKO in 1937.
Many records show her
birth date as 1919, however this was made up so she would be the
legal age of eighteen to fulfill her movie contract. Miller had
a vigorous tap-dancing style, great legs and a winning personality
which was far better than her actual acting ability, but her talents
made up for it.
Her inventive style of
tap in the MGM musicals offered Miller frequent opportunities
to strut her stuff in flashy, brilliantly choreographed dance
routines. She is said to be the fastest female tap dancer with
500 taps a minute. Ann fancies herself a bit of a psychic and
wrote a book about her "Force." |
Ballrooms
