Stage Name |
Birth Name |
Ann Miller |
Johnnie Lucille Collier |
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". |
