Marilyn Miller
Encyclopedia
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway
musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who lived happily ever after. Miller's enormous popularity and famed image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, frequent illness, and ultimately her sudden death due to complications of nasal surgery at age 37.
, the youngest daughter of Edwin D. Reynolds, a telephone lineman, and his first wife, the former Ada Lynn Thompson. The tiny, delicate-featured blonde beauty was only four years old when, as "Mademoiselle Sugarlump," she debuted at Lakeside Park in Dayton, Ohio
as a member of her family's vaudeville act, the Columbian Trio, which then included Marilyn's step-father, Oscar Caro Miller, and two older sisters, Ruth and Claire. They were re-christened the Five Columbians after Marilyn and her mother joined the routine. From their home base in Findlay, Ohio
, they toured the Midwest and Europe in variety for ten years, skirting the child labor authorities, before Lee Shubert discovered Marilyn at the Lotus Club in London in 1914.
, as well as in The Show of Wonders (1916) and Fancy Free (1918). But it was Florenz Ziegfeld
who made her a star after she performed in his Ziegfeld Follies
of 1918, at the famed New Amsterdam Theatre
on 42nd Street
, with music by Irving Berlin
. Sharing billing with Eddie Cantor
, Will Rogers
and W.C. Fields, she brought the house down with her impersonation of Ziegfeld's wife, Billie Burke
, in a number entitled Mine Was a Marriage of Convenience.
She followed as a headliner in the Follies of 1919, dancing to Berlin's "Mandy"
, and reputedly became Ziegfeld's mistress, though this was never proven. Miller attained legendary status in the Ziegfeld production Sally
(1920) with music by Jerome Kern
, especially for her performance of Kern's "Look for the Silver Lining
". The musical, about a dishwasher who joins the Follies and marries a millionaire, ran 570 performances at the New Amsterdam. In 1921, a still-obscure Dorothy Parker
memorialized her performance in verse:
After a rift with Ziegfeld, she signed with rival producer Charles Dillingham and starred as Peter Pan
in a 1924 Broadway revival, then as a circus queen in Sunny
(1925), with music by Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
. A box-office smash, it featured the classic Who?, and made her the highest paid star on Broadway. In 1928, after reuniting with Ziegfeld, she starred in his production of the successful George Gershwin
musical Rosalie then in Smiles (1930) with Fred Astaire
, a rare Ziegfeld box office failure.
Miller's movie career was short-lived and less successful than her stage career. She made only three films: adaptations of Sally
(1929); and Sunny
(1930); and Her Majesty Love (1931), with W.C. Fields. Her last Broadway show, marking a major comeback, was the innovative 1933-34 Irving Berlin
/Moss Hart
musical, As Thousands Cheer
, in which she appeared in the production number, "Easter Parade".
As it turned out, her appearance in As Thousands Cheer was her last professional outing. Miller quit the show after her boyfriend and future husband Chester O'Brien (a chorus dancer who served as the production's second assistant stage manager) was fired for allowing the Woolworth department store heir Jimmy Donahue to sneak onstage during a scene in which the actress was impersonating Donahue's cousin, the heiress Barbara Hutton
. After Miller's death, this incident gave Irving Berlin the inspiration for a film musical, On the Avenue
, for which he received a script credit in addition to writing the songs.
At the time of her death, Miller was described as having been in retirement.
. In 1932, she announced her intention to marry the movie actor Don Alvarado
, but the wedding did not take place.
Miller was married to:
s following surgery
on her nasal passages
. She was 37. She died in New York City
on the morning of April 7, 1936 and was given a funeral at Saint Bartholomew's church on Park Avenue which drew 2,500 people, including former mayor Jimmy Walker
, Beatrice Lillie
, and Billie Burke
.
The procession led to Woodlawn Cemetery
in The Bronx, where Miller was buried alongside her first husband, Frank Carter, in a mausoleum she had constructed to house his remains.
Census records reveal perhaps a half a dozen "Marilyns" in the United States in 1900; by the 1930s, following Miller's stardom, it was the 16th most common first name among American females.
In the late 1940s, Norma Jeane Baker (nee Mortenson) changed her name to Marilyn Monroe
, at the urging of Ben Lyon
, a one-time actor turned casting director at 20th Century Fox
, who said she reminded him of Marilyn Miller.
Marilyn Monroe would 'become' Marilyn Miller herself when she married the playwright Arthur Miller
in 1956.
, starred June Haver
as Marilyn Miller. Miller was also portrayed by Judy Garland
in MGM's film biography of Jerome Kern
, Till the Clouds Roll By
(1946). Rare film footage of the real Miller can be seen in the 2004 PBS documentary series Broadway, the American Musical.
in Manhattan
.
In the only published biography of Marilyn Miller, author Warren G. Harris called her "Ziegfeld's most dazzling star" and the premier musical comedy star of the Jazz Age
. "She had rivals who may have been better dancers, singers, actresses, or mimics, but no one individual could equal her when it came to combining all those talents."
One of the poems from Patti Smith
's 1972 book Seventh Heaven
is called "Marilyn Miller".
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who lived happily ever after. Miller's enormous popularity and famed image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, frequent illness, and ultimately her sudden death due to complications of nasal surgery at age 37.
Early life
Miller was born Mary Ellen Reynolds in Evansville, IndianaEvansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
, the youngest daughter of Edwin D. Reynolds, a telephone lineman, and his first wife, the former Ada Lynn Thompson. The tiny, delicate-featured blonde beauty was only four years old when, as "Mademoiselle Sugarlump," she debuted at Lakeside Park in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
as a member of her family's vaudeville act, the Columbian Trio, which then included Marilyn's step-father, Oscar Caro Miller, and two older sisters, Ruth and Claire. They were re-christened the Five Columbians after Marilyn and her mother joined the routine. From their home base in Findlay, Ohio
Findlay, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 38,967 people, 15,905 households, and 10,004 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,266.3 people per square mile . There were 17,152 housing units at an average density of 997.6 per square mile...
, they toured the Midwest and Europe in variety for ten years, skirting the child labor authorities, before Lee Shubert discovered Marilyn at the Lotus Club in London in 1914.
Career
Miller appeared for the Shuberts in the 1914 and 1915 editions of The Passing Show, a Broadway revue at the Winter Garden TheatreWinter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
, as well as in The Show of Wonders (1916) and Fancy Free (1918). But it was Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
who made her a star after she performed in his Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
of 1918, at the famed New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
on 42nd Street
42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
, with music by Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
. Sharing billing with Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
, Will Rogers
Will Rogers
William "Will" Penn Adair Rogers was an American cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer, film actor, and one of the world's best-known celebrities in the 1920s and 1930s....
and W.C. Fields, she brought the house down with her impersonation of Ziegfeld's wife, Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
, in a number entitled Mine Was a Marriage of Convenience.
She followed as a headliner in the Follies of 1919, dancing to Berlin's "Mandy"
Mandy (1919 song)
"Mandy" is a popular song by Irving Berlin, published in 1919."Mandy" was originally used for an Army relief show called "Yip Yip Yaphank" during World War I . For the number, soldiers in the show dressed in blackface and in drag...
, and reputedly became Ziegfeld's mistress, though this was never proven. Miller attained legendary status in the Ziegfeld production Sally
Sally (musical)
Sally is a musical comedy with music by Jerome Kern, lyrics by Clifford Grey and book by Guy Bolton , with additional lyrics by Buddy De Sylva, Anne Caldwell and P. G. Wodehouse. It was originally produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, opening on December 21, 1920 at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway...
(1920) with music by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, especially for her performance of Kern's "Look for the Silver Lining
Look for the Silver Lining
"Look for the Silver Lining" is a popular song with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by B.G. DeSylva. It was written in 1919 for the unsuccessful musical Zip, Goes a Million. In 1920 it was published and reused in the musical Sally whence it was popularized by Marilyn Miller...
". The musical, about a dishwasher who joins the Follies and marries a millionaire, ran 570 performances at the New Amsterdam. In 1921, a still-obscure Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker
Dorothy Parker was an American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles....
memorialized her performance in verse:
From the alley's gloom and chill / Up to fame danced Sally. / Which was nice for her, but still / Rough upon the alley. / How it must regret her wiles. / All her ways and glances. / Now the theatre owns her smiles, / Sallies, songs, and dances. ...
After a rift with Ziegfeld, she signed with rival producer Charles Dillingham and starred as Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
in a 1924 Broadway revival, then as a circus queen in Sunny
Sunny (musical)
Sunny is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach. The plot involves Sunny, the star of a circus act, who falls for a rich playboy, but comes in conflict with his snooty family...
(1925), with music by Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
. A box-office smash, it featured the classic Who?, and made her the highest paid star on Broadway. In 1928, after reuniting with Ziegfeld, she starred in his production of the successful George Gershwin
George Gershwin
George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...
musical Rosalie then in Smiles (1930) with Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, a rare Ziegfeld box office failure.
Miller's movie career was short-lived and less successful than her stage career. She made only three films: adaptations of Sally
Sally (film)
Sally is the third all talking-all color movie ever made . The color process of Sally was Technicolor...
(1929); and Sunny
Sunny (1930 film)
Sunny is a 1930 musical comedy film released by Warner Brothers. The movie was based on the Broadway stage hit, Sunny, produced by Charles Dillingham, which played from September 22, 1925 to December 11, 1926. Marilyn Miller, who had played the leading part in the Broadway production, was hired by...
(1930); and Her Majesty Love (1931), with W.C. Fields. Her last Broadway show, marking a major comeback, was the innovative 1933-34 Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
/Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
musical, As Thousands Cheer
As Thousands Cheer
As Thousands Cheer is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including "Heat Wave", "Easter Parade" and "Harlem on my Mind." ...
, in which she appeared in the production number, "Easter Parade".
As it turned out, her appearance in As Thousands Cheer was her last professional outing. Miller quit the show after her boyfriend and future husband Chester O'Brien (a chorus dancer who served as the production's second assistant stage manager) was fired for allowing the Woolworth department store heir Jimmy Donahue to sneak onstage during a scene in which the actress was impersonating Donahue's cousin, the heiress Barbara Hutton
Barbara Hutton
Barbara Woolworth Hutton was an American socialite dubbed by the media as the "Poor Little Rich Girl" because of her troubled life...
. After Miller's death, this incident gave Irving Berlin the inspiration for a film musical, On the Avenue
On the Avenue
On the Avenue is a 1937 American musical film directed by Roy Del Ruth and starring Dick Powell, Madeleine Carroll, and Alice Faye. All of the songs in this film were composed by Irving Berlin.-Plot:...
, for which he received a script credit in addition to writing the songs.
At the time of her death, Miller was described as having been in retirement.
Engagements and marriages
In 1930, Miller was briefly engaged to the actor Michael Farmer, who later became a husband of Gloria SwansonGloria Swanson
Gloria Swanson was an American actress, singer and producer. She was one of the most prominent stars during the silent film era as both an actress and a fashion icon, especially under the direction of Cecil B. DeMille, made dozens of silents and was nominated for the first Academy Award in the...
. In 1932, she announced her intention to marry the movie actor Don Alvarado
Don Alvarado
Don Alvarado was an American actor, assistant film director, and film production manager.-Life and career:Born as José Paige in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, but the wedding did not take place.
Miller was married to:
- Frank Carter, an actor and acrobatic dancer, whom she married on 24 May 1919 at the Church of the AscensionChurch of the Ascension-England:*The Ascension, Lavender Hill*Church of the Ascension, Hall Green*Church of the Ascension, Hulme-Israel:*Chapel of the Ascension , claimed to the early tradition...
in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was killed in a car accident in Cumberland, Maryland, on 9 May 1920. Carter was portrayed by Gordon MacRaeGordon MacRaeGordon MacRae was an American actor and singer, best known for his appearances in the film versions of two Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals, Oklahoma! and Carousel and films with Doris Day like Starlift.-Early life:Born Albert Gordon MacRae in East Orange, New Jersey, MacRae graduated from...
in the Marilyn Miller biopic Look for the Silver LiningLook for the Silver Lining (film)Look for the Silver Lining is a 1949 film directed by David Butler. It stars June Haver and Ray Bolger. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950.-Cast:*June Haver as Marilyn Miller*Ray Bolger as Jack Donahue*Gordon MacRae as Frank Carter...
. - Jack PickfordJack PickfordJack Pickford was a Canadian-born American actor. He was best known for his tabloid lifestyle, marriage to the top starlets of his day, and being of the famous Pickford acting family.-Early life:...
, an actor and the brother of film star Mary PickfordMary PickfordMary Pickford was a Canadian-born motion picture actress, co-founder of the film studio United Artists and one of the original 36 founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
; previously married to the popular movie actress Olive ThomasOlive ThomasOlive Thomas was an American silent film actress and model. She is best remembered for her marriage to Jack Pickford and her death.-Early life:...
, he was a drug and alcohol abuser. They were married in 1922, separated in 1926, and divorced in VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, in November 1927. Miller had attempted to secure a divorce in the Paris courts in the spring of 1927, but her published comments about how easy it would be to end her marriage in France "stirred the ire of the Paris Tribunal with the result that the court would take no action on Miss Miller's petition". The actress filed for divorce the following July in the nearby city of Versailles, whose tribunal eventually ended the marriage. - Chester Lee O'Brien, a chorus dancer, whom she married on 4 October 1934, in Harrison, New YorkHarrison, New YorkHarrison is a village and town in Westchester County, New York, United States, located approximately northeast of Manhattan. The population was 27,472 at the 2010 census.-Establishment:...
. Several years older than her groom, Miller reportedly spent more than $56,000 on O'Brien during their brief time together. O'Brien, who later was known professionally as Chet O'Brien, went on to become a stage manager for such Broadway productions as BrigadoonBrigadoonBrigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as "Almost Like Being in Love" have become standards....
and Finian's RainbowFinian's RainbowFinian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
.
Illnesses, alcoholism, and death
Miller had a long history of sinus infections, and her health was compromised by an increasing dependency on alcohol. According to reports shortly before her death, she entered a New York hospital in early March 1936 in order to recover from a nervous breakdown. Three weeks after she entered the hospital, however, she developed a toxic condition and died from complicationComplication (medicine)
Complication, in medicine, is an unfavorable evolution of a disease, a health condition or a medical treatment. The disease can become worse in its severity or show a higher number of signs, symptoms or new pathological changes, become widespread throughout the body or affect other organ systems. A...
s following surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
on her nasal passages
Nasal cavity
The nasal cavity is a large air filled space above and behind the nose in the middle of the face.- Function :The nasal cavity conditions the air to be received by the other areas of the respiratory tract...
. She was 37. She died in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on the morning of April 7, 1936 and was given a funeral at Saint Bartholomew's church on Park Avenue which drew 2,500 people, including former mayor Jimmy Walker
Jimmy Walker
James John Walker, often known as Jimmy Walker and colloquially as Beau James , was the mayor of New York City from 1926 to 1932...
, Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Lillie
Beatrice Gladys "Bea" Lillie was an actress and comedic performer. Following her 1920 marriage to Sir Robert Peel in England, she was known in private life as Lady Peel.-Early career:...
, and Billie Burke
Billie Burke
Mary William Ethelbert Appleton "Billie" Burke was an American actress. She is primarily known to modern audiences as Glinda the Good Witch of the North in the musical film The Wizard of Oz. She was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance as Emily Kilbourne in Merrily We Live...
.
The procession led to Woodlawn Cemetery
Woodlawn Cemetery, Bronx
Woodlawn Cemetery is one of the largest cemeteries in New York City and is a designated National Historic Landmark.A rural cemetery located in the Bronx, it opened in 1863, in what was then southern Westchester County, in an area that was annexed to New York City in 1874.The cemetery covers more...
in The Bronx, where Miller was buried alongside her first husband, Frank Carter, in a mausoleum she had constructed to house his remains.
Name
Miller's last name was taken from her step-father, Oscar Caro Miller, while her first name was a combination/adaptation of her birth name, Mary, and her mother's middle name, Lynn. Initially calling herself Marilynn, she would drop one of the n's, at the urging of Florenz Ziegfeld.Census records reveal perhaps a half a dozen "Marilyns" in the United States in 1900; by the 1930s, following Miller's stardom, it was the 16th most common first name among American females.
In the late 1940s, Norma Jeane Baker (nee Mortenson) changed her name to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, at the urging of Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon
Ben Lyon was an American film actor and a 20th Century Fox studio executive.-Life:Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Lyon entered films in 1918 after a successful appearance on Broadway opposite Jeanne Eagels. He attracted attention in the highly successful film Flaming Youth , and steadily developed into...
, a one-time actor turned casting director at 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, who said she reminded him of Marilyn Miller.
Marilyn Monroe would 'become' Marilyn Miller herself when she married the playwright Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
in 1956.
Film biography
In 1949, a sanitized biopic, appropriately titled Look for the Silver LiningLook for the Silver Lining (film)
Look for the Silver Lining is a 1949 film directed by David Butler. It stars June Haver and Ray Bolger. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1950.-Cast:*June Haver as Marilyn Miller*Ray Bolger as Jack Donahue*Gordon MacRae as Frank Carter...
, starred June Haver
June Haver
June Haver , was an American film actress. She is most well known as a popular star of 20th Century-Fox musicals in the late 1940s, most notably The Dolly Sisters with Betty Grable and John Payne and also for playing the 1920s Broadway actress Marilyn Miller in Look for the Silver Lining...
as Marilyn Miller. Miller was also portrayed by Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
in MGM's film biography of Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
, Till the Clouds Roll By
Till the Clouds Roll By
Till The Clouds Roll By is a 1946 American musical film made by MGM. The film is a fictionalized biography of composer Jerome Kern, who was originally involved with the production of the film, but died before it was completed...
(1946). Rare film footage of the real Miller can be seen in the 2004 PBS documentary series Broadway, the American Musical.
Statue and legacy
A decaying sculpture of Miller, in the title role of Sunny, can still be seen atop the old I. Miller [no relation] Building on West 46th Street just off BroadwayBroadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
In the only published biography of Marilyn Miller, author Warren G. Harris called her "Ziegfeld's most dazzling star" and the premier musical comedy star of the Jazz Age
Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a movement that took place during the 1920s or the Roaring Twenties from which jazz music and dance emerged. The movement came about with the introduction of mainstream radio and the end of the war. This era ended in the 1930s with the beginning of The Great Depression but has...
. "She had rivals who may have been better dancers, singers, actresses, or mimics, but no one individual could equal her when it came to combining all those talents."
One of the poems from Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
's 1972 book Seventh Heaven
Seventh Heaven (book)
Seventh Heaven is a poetry collection by Patti Smith, published in 1972.- Contents :# "Seventh Heaven"# "Sally"# "Jeanne Darc"# "Renee Falconetti"# "A Fire of Unknown Origin"# "Edie Sedgwick"# "Crystal"# "Marianne Faithfull"# "Girl Trouble"...
is called "Marilyn Miller".
Filmography
- Sally (1929)
- SunnySunny (1930 film)Sunny is a 1930 musical comedy film released by Warner Brothers. The movie was based on the Broadway stage hit, Sunny, produced by Charles Dillingham, which played from September 22, 1925 to December 11, 1926. Marilyn Miller, who had played the leading part in the Broadway production, was hired by...
(1930) - Her Majesty Love (1931)