Actress Ann Miller Offers a Photo to Disappointed Fan

She took up dancing to exercise her legs to help her rickets. She was considered a child dance prodigy. She was given a contract with RKO at 13 (she had told them she was 18), and remained there until 1940. In 1941, she was offered a contract at Columbia Pictures. She hit her stride in the late 1940s in MGM musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate, Easter Parade and On the Town.

Ms. Miller was famous for her speed in tap dancing. She was also known for her distinctive appearance: black bouffant hair, heavy makeup and fashions that emphasized her little figure and dancer’s legs. While her film career effectively ended in 1956 as the studio system lost steam to television, she remained active in the theatre and on television.

In 1979, she toured the U.S. extensively wit fellow MGM veteran Mickey Rooney. In 1983, she won the Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theatre. For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ms. Miller has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6914 Hollywood Blvd. She died at age 80.

Typed letter signed, dated April 22, 1974, on Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) stationary, 8 ½” x 5 ¾” excellent condition with bold signature. “Dear Ronald, Thank you so much for your kind letter. I am sorry to hear that you are unable to attend ‘Anything Goes.’

“Please accept the enclosed photo with my best wishes for a happy successful future.” (Photo not included.)