Her father was a violent attorneys, and her mother, Clara Birdwell, an effective Cherokee
On many years three, if Colliers transferred to Houston, Tx, she are enrolled their within the moving school, partially in order to develop their particular ft, that was affected by rickets. Ballet was not their unique forte, and you will just after enjoying Bill Robinson when you look at the a personal physical appearance within the Houston on age 7, she put their unique sights with the tap dance. Robinson offered their particular a first tap training, and you can she in the future was carrying out within the clubs and you may local theaters. At the age 9, she gone along with her mommy to Los angeles, in which she subscribed to the fresh new Fanchon and you can Marco dancing college. Contacting by herself Annie and you check that can pursuing the phase identity away from Ann Miller, she did dancing behavior at conferences away from local civic groups, getting $5 every night, plus information. Once enjoying Eleanor Powell from inside the Broadway Tune of 1936 she turned into their particular attention to honing their tap-dance skills. Looks inside vaudeville theaters contributed to pub bookings and you will a sixteen-week engagement on Bal Tabarin in San francisco bay area, where she is actually noticed by an RKO ability lookout. The guy build a film audition, which led to their unique earliest flick, a low-speaking region within the The fresh new Face of 1937. With her brilliant character, high base, and you will spectacular sort of tap dancing, RKO issued their particular an excellent 7-season contract when she was only 13 (she claimed to-be to get); and create later on insure her foot for 1 billion bucks.
Miller are a remarkable, self-powered more youthful talent. On age fourteen, she played Ginger Rogers’s dancing lover regarding the movie Phase Door (1937). A year later, she is borrowed of the Columbia Photos to look just like the Essie Carmichael, the fresh fudge-and make dancing-dance daughter, regarding the Academy Award-effective You simply can’t Bring it Along with you (1938), led because of the Honest Capra. Right back within RKO, she starred Hilda throughout the Marx Brothers’ Space Provider (1938). When you look at the 1939, she generated a crushing Broadway debut in George White’s Scandals, doing a sensation dance “This new Mexiconga.” She up coming finalized a unique seven-year contract having Columbia and are starred in a series of wartime B-ranked musicals, particularly Genuine into Army (1944), where their solo practices was the latest highpoint. Their individual rodent-a-tat, mile-a-second, faucet concept rationalized that she choreograph all the her own solo habits.
Ann Miller, the newest raven-haired, long-legged, sexy dancer to your server-firearm taps, was born Johnnie Lucille Collier when you look at the Chireno, Colorado, in the 1923
Their unique notoriety because “Queen of the B’s” came from their own musical flexibility in working with loads of Big Band, Swing and you may Latin orchestras. It incorporated Rudy Vallee and Edwardo Durant eventually Aside to have Beat (1941); Freddie Martin and you can Orchestra for the What is Buzzin’ Relative? (1943); the orchestras out-of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Alvin Rey, Charlie Barnet, Glen Gray, and you will Teddy Powell inside the Jam Session (1944); the new Kay Kaiser Orchestra when you look at the Carolina Blues (1944); plus the latest audio Reveille Which have Beverly, followed closely by this new orchestras out-of Duke Ellington, Amount Basie, Bob Crosby, and you can Freddie Pile, having singing because of the Honest Sinatra together with Mills Brothers.
Inside 1948 Miller left Columbia and are finalized of the MGM in order to star for the Easter Procession (1948), to play the fresh new role out-of Nadine Hale-the former moving mate and another just who enjoys Don Hewes, played from the Fred Astaire, who enjoys Judy Garland, whom wants Peter Lawford, whom likes Judy Garland
She danced having a good dreamlike elegance that have Astaire inside “They Merely Is when We Dancing along with you,” in spite of the 5′ 7″ dancer being required to wear ballet slippers. Nevertheless was as an excellent soloist in a single scene-on flick, featuring Nadine Hale from the “Ziegfeld Follies regarding 1912” number-she sang “Moving the latest Blues Away,” providing new snazziest tune-and-dance inside the 1940s musical movie.