
Ann Miller
Actor · 1923 – 2004 · Houston, Texas, USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Johnnie Lucille Collier (April 12, 1923 – January 22, 2004), known professionally as Ann Miller, was an American dancer, singer and actress. She is best remembered for her work in the Classical Hollywood musical films of the 1940s and 1950s. At age 13 in 1936, Miller became a showgirl at the Bal Tabarin. She was hired as a dancer in the "Black Cat Club" in San Francisco (she reportedly told them she was 18). It was there that she was discovered by Lucille Ball and talent scout/comic Benny Rubin (although some sources say this occurred at Bal Tabarin). This led Miller to be given a contract with RKO in 1936 at the age of 13 (she had also told them she was 18, and apparently provided a fake birth certificate, procured by her father - with the name "Lucy Ann Collier") and she remained there until 1940. In 1941, she signed with Columbia Pictures, where, starting with Time Out for Rhythm, she starred in 11 B movie musicals from 1941 to 1945. In July 1945, with World War II still raging in the Pacific, she posed in a bathing suit as a Yank magazine pin-up girl. She ended her contract in 1946 with one "A" film, The Thrill of Brazil. The ad in Life magazine featured Miller's leg in a large, red, bow-tied stocking as the "T" in "Thrill". She finally hit her mark in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals such as Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953). Miller was famed for her speed in tap dance. Studio publicists concocted press releases claiming she could tap 500 times per minute, but in truth, the sound of ultra-fast "500" taps was looped in later. Because the stage floors were waxed and too slick for regular tap shoes, she had to dance in shoes with rubber treads on the sole. Later she would loop the sound of the taps while watching the film and actually dancing on a "tap board" to match her steps in the film. Her film career effectively ended in 1956 as the studio system lost steam to television, but she remained active in the theater and on television. She starred on Broadway in the musical Mame in 1969, in which she wowed the audience in a tap number created just for her. In 1979 she astounded audiences in the Broadway show Sugar Babies with fellow MGM veteran Mickey Rooney, which toured the United States extensively after its Broadway run. In 1983, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. She appeared in a special 1982 episode of The Love Boat, joined by fellow showbiz legends Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Della Reese, Van Johnson and Cab Calloway in a storyline that cast them as older relatives of the show's regular characters. Her last stage performance was a 1998 production of Stephen Sondheim's Follies, in which she played hardboiled Carlotta Campion and received rave reviews for her rendition of the song "I'm Still Here". For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Miller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Blvd. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars was dedicated to her. To honor Miller's contribution to dance, the Smithsonian Institution displays her favorite pair of tap shoes, which she playfully nicknamed "Moe and Joe".
Movies24
Movie7.8ThrillerDramaBlonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous trouble while casting his latest project.
Mulholland Drive
2001 · 7.3K votes
Movie7.5ComedyRomanceAlice, the only relatively normal member of the eccentric Sycamore family, falls in love with Tony Kirby, but his wealthy banker father and snobbish mother strongly disapprove of the match. When the Kirbys are invited to dinner to become better acquainted with their future in-laws, things don't turn out the way Alice had hoped.
You Can't Take It with You
1938 · 465 votes
Movie7.0MusicDocumentaryBroadway: The Golden Age is the most important, ambitious and comprehensive film ever made about America's most celebrated indigenous art form. Award-winning filmmaker Rick McKay filmed over 100 of the greatest stars ever to work on Broadway or in Hollywood. He soon learned that great films can be restored, fine literature can be kept in print - but historic Broadway performances of the past are the most endangered. They leave only memories that, while more vivid, are more difficult to preserve. In their own words — and not a moment too soon — Broadway: The Golden Age tells the stories of our theatrical legends, how they came to New York, and how they created this legendary century in American theatre. This is the largest cast of legends ever in one film.
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There
2003 · 7 votes
Movie7.4DocumentaryFamilyVarious MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50 year history.
That's Entertainment!
1974 · 71 votes
Movie7.0RomanceMusicOn the day before Easter in 1911, Don Hewes is crushed when his dancing partner (and object of affection) Nadine Hale refuses to start a new contract with him. To prove Nadine's not important to him, Don acquires innocent new protege Hannah Brown, vowing to make her a star in time for next year's Easter parade.
Easter Parade
1948 · 157 votes
Movie7.0ComedyRomanceThree sailors wreak havoc as they search for love during a whirlwind 24-hour leave in New York City.
On the Town
1949 · 301 votes
Movie6.0FamilyDocumentaryA TV special on the 100th anniversary of the birth of film.
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987 · 7 votes
Movie5.8ComedyMusicThe most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
Night of 100 Stars
1982 · 5 votes
Movie7.1ComedyDramaA spirited heiress wishing to break into theatre on her own merit arrives at a boardinghouse where aspiring young actresses and showgirls are brought together through their cynicism and disappointments.
Stage Door
1937 · 143 votes
Movie5.0ComedyMusicSailors on leave in San Francisco get mixed up in love and show business.
Hit the Deck
1955 · 17 votes
Movie6.5MusicComedyA pair of divorced actors are brought together to participate in a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew. Of course, the couple seem to act a great deal like the characters they play, and they must work together when mistaken identities get them mixed up with the mafia.
Kiss Me Kate
1953 · 102 votes
Movie7.1DocumentaryMusicSome of MGM's musical stars review the studio's history of musicals. From The Hollywood Revue of 1929 to Brigadoon, from the first musical talkies to Gene Kelly in Singin' in the Rain.
That's Entertainment! III
1994 · 42 votes
Movie7.0DocumentaryMusicGene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976 · 44 votes
Movie6.7ComedyBiographic movie about the American composer Sigmund Romberg.
Deep in My Heart
1954 · 20 votes
MovieDocumentaryBroadway: Beyond the Golden Age explores the world of Broadway from 1959 through the early 1980s as recounted by a diverse cast of Broadway stars who lived through it, creating a first-hand archive of personal backstage stories and memories. The new documentary is the long-awaited sequel to late filmmaker Rick McKay’s award-winning 2003 film Broadway: The Golden Age, continuing the saga into the '60s and '70s and spotlighting beloved classic Broadway shows including Once Upon a Mattress, Bye Bye Birdie, Barefoot in the Park, Pippin, A Chorus Line, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Chicago, and 42nd Street. Featuring a galaxy of stars including Alec Baldwin, Carol Burnett, Glenn Close, André De Shields, Jane Fonda, Robert Goulet, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Dick Van Dyke, Ben Vereen, and many more, the film also includes rare archival photos and never-before-seen footage both onstage and off.
Movie4.4ComedyA would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976 · 17 votes
Movie6.5ComedyBroke Gordon Miller tries to land a backer for his new play while he has to deal with with the hotel manager trying to evict him and his cast.
Room Service
1938 · 83 votes
Movie6.4MusicDocumentaryThe golden age of the annual Tony Awards ceremony lasted from 1967 to 1986 — the period during which Alexander H. Cohen and his wife, Hildy Parks, were the producers of the show. This film offers a compilation of performances from Tony Award broadcasts during those years. They are presented with color-corrected footage and digitally re-mastered sound.
Broadway's Lost Treasures
2003 · 6 votes
Movie6.9DocumentaryMusicA documentary film about dancing on the screen, from its origins after the invention of the movie camera, over the movie musical from the late 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s, up to the break dance and music videos from the 80s.
That's Dancing!
1985 · 22 votes
Movie5.4ComedyMusicFormer radio singer Kay learns from her gossipy friends that her husband, Steve, has had an affair with chorus girl Crystal. Devastated, Kay tries to ignore the information, but when Crystal performs one of her musical numbers at a charity benefit, she breaks down and goes to Reno to file for divorce. However, when she hears that gold-digging Crystal is making Steve unhappy, Kay resolves to get her husband back. The Opposite Sex is a remake of the 1939 comedy The Women.
The Opposite Sex
1956 · 21 votes
Movie4.6MusicRomanceA young woman (Janet Leigh) leaves her small hometown in Vermont and travels to New York City with hopes of becoming a Broadway star.
Two Tickets to Broadway
1951 · 12 votes
Movie6.5DocumentaryThe films, affairs and struggles of the iconic star of The Blue Angel as told by Rosemary Clooney, Roger Corman, Deanna Durbin and many more.
Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song
2002 · 10 votes
Movie7.8DocumentaryAmerican Masters Series. Documentary on Gene Kelly that gives insight into his dancing, how he formed a style (first "blue collar dancer") and developed different cinematique techniques, such as brilliantly shot dancing sequences.
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002 · 8 votes
Movie7.0ComedyBruce Hallerton becomes coach of the Panthers, a little league baseball team. The fact that an attractive widow has her son on the team causes problems with his wife.
The Great American Pastime
1956 · 2 votes
Series15
TV7.0FamilyComedyFour panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
What's My Line?
1950 · 29 votes
TV5.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Mike Douglas Show is an American daytime television talk show hosted by Mike Douglas that originally aired only in the Cleveland area during much of its first two years on the air. It then went into syndication in 1963 and remained on television until 1982. It was distributed by Westinghouse Broadcasting and for much of its run, originated from studios of two of the company's TV stations in Cleveland and Philadelphia.
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · 11 votes
TV6.3DramaComedyPassengers who search for romantic nights aboard a beautiful ship travelling to tropical or mysterious countries, decide to pass their vacation aboard the "Love Boat", where Gopher, Dr. Bricker, Isaac, Julie, and Captain Stubing try their best to please them, and sometimes help them fall in love. Things are not always so easy, but in the end, love wins.
The Love Boat
1977 · 199 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Merv Griffin Show
1962 · 12 votes
TV6.8Talk ShowThe Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · 22 votes
TV6.2ComedyAn anthology comedy series featuring a line up of different celebrity guest stars appearing in anywhere from one, two, three, and four short stories or vignettes within an hour about versions of love and romance.
Love, American Style
1969 · 21 votes
TVTalk ShowThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre.
Tony Awards
1956
TV7.4ComedyThe daily trials and tribulations of handyman Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three boys with help from his loyal co-host, domineering wife, and unseen neighbor.
Home Improvement
1991 · 746 votes
TV6.8ComedyTalk ShowThe Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
The Ed Sullivan Show
1948 · 23 votes
TV6.4RealityThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show is an American variety series hosted by Dinah Shore, and broadcast on NBC from October 1956 to June 1963. The series was sponsored by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors and its theme song, sung by Shore, was "See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet", which continued to be used in Chevrolet advertising for several more years after the cancellation of the show.
The Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956 · 5 votes
TV6.8ComedyAn American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968 · 36 votes
TV7.5The original concept of the show was to allow the viewer to see the inner workings of a movie studio and featured interviews with MGM stars and explanations of how movies were made. Later, the format changed to show edited versions of MGM films.
MGM Parade
1955 · 2 votes
TV5.0ComedyThe Hollywood Palace is an hour-long American television variety show that was broadcast weekly on ABC from January 4, 1964 to February 7, 1970. Originally titled The Saturday Night Hollywood Palace, it began as a mid-season replacement for The Jerry Lewis Show, another variety show which had lasted only three months. It was staged in Hollywood at the former Hollywood Playhouse on Vine Street, which was renamed The Hollywood Palace during the show's duration and is today known as Avalon Hollywood. A little-known starlet named Raquel Welch was cast during the first season as the "Billboard Girl", who placed the names of the acts on a placard.
The Hollywood Palace
1964 · 5 votes
TV8.1DocumentaryE! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.
E! True Hollywood Story
1996 · 81 votes
TV8.5Talk ShowTurner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne interviews noted personalities from the Golden Age of Hollywood.
Private Screenings
1996 · 4 votes