Marilyn Miller

For other people named Marilyn Miller, seeMarilyn Miller (disambiguation).

Marilyn Miller
Miller inc. 1925
Born	Mary Ellen Reynolds (1898-09-01)September 1, 1898 Evansville, Indiana,U.S.
Died	April 7, 1936(1936-04-07)(aged 37) New York City,U.S.
Resting place	Woodlawn Cemetery
Occupations	Actress singer dancer
Years active	1902–1936
Spouses	Frank Carter ​ ​ (m.1919; died 1920)​ Jack Pickford ​ ​ (m.1922;div.1927)​ Jack Donohue ​ ​ (m.1928, divorced)​ Chet O'Brien ​ (m.1934)​

Marilyn Miller(bornMary Ellen Reynolds;September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplishedtap dancer,singerandactress,and the combination of these talents endeared her to audiences. On stage, she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who lived happily ever after. She died suddenly from complications ofnasal surgeryat age 37.

Early life

Marilyn Miller was born in 1898 in Evansville, Indiana, the youngest daughter of Edwin D. Reynolds, a telephone lineman, and his first wife, the former Ada Lynn Thompson.The tiny, delicately featured blonde was only four years old when she debuted in the role of Mademoiselle Sugarlump at Lakeside Park in Dayton, Ohio, performing as a member of her family'svaudevilleact, named The Columbian Trio. That act, which included her stepfather Oscar Caro Miller and her older sisters Ruth and Claire, was renamed the Five Columbians after she and her mother joined the routine. From their home base in Findlay, Ohio, the five toured the Midwest and Europe for ten years and managed to skirt the child labor authorities untilLee Shubertdiscovered Miller at the Lotus Club in London in 1914.

Career

Poster for the 1929 film version ofSally

Miller appeared in New York City for theShubertsin the 1914 and 1915 editions ofThe Passing Show,a Broadway revue at theWinter Garden Theatre,as well as inThe Show of Wonders(1916) andFancy Free(1918). It was, however,Florenz Ziegfeldwho made her a star after she performed in hisZiegfeld Folliesof 1918 in Manhattan at theNew Amsterdam Theatreon 42nd Street, with music byIrving Berlin.Sharing billing withEddie Cantor,Will RogersandW. C. Fields,she brought the house down with her impersonation ofBillie Burke,Ziegfeld's wife, in a number titled "Mine Was a Marriage of Convenience."

Miller followed as a headliner in theFollies of 1919,dancing to Berlin's"Mandy"and reputedly became Ziegfeld's mistress, though this was never proven. She attained legendary status in the Ziegfeld productionSally(1920) with music byJerome 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, the still-obscureDorothy Parkermemorialized her performance in verse:

From the alley's gloom and chill / Up to fame dancedSally./ 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....

Miller, on the cover of the June 24, 1922Movie Weekly

After a rift with Ziegfeld, Miller signed with rival producerCharles Dillinghamand starred asPeter Panin a 1924 Broadway revival, then as a circus queen inSunny(1925), with music by Kern and lyrics byOscar 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 successfulGeorge GershwinmusicalRosalie,then inSmiles(1930) withFred Astaire,one of Ziegfeld's rare box-office failures.

Miller's movie career was short-lived and less successful than her stage career. She made only three films: adaptations ofSally(1929),Sunny(1930), andHer Majesty, Love(1931), with W. C. Fields. Her last Broadway show, marking a major comeback, was the innovative 1933-1934Irving Berlin/Moss HartmusicalAs Thousands Cheer,in which she appeared in the production number "Easter Parade."

Miller's last professional outing was her appearance inAs Thousands Cheer.In 1936, she 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 heirJimmy Donahueto sneak onstage during a scene in which Miller was impersonating his cousin, the heiressBarbara Hutton.After her death, this incident gave Irving Berlin the inspiration for a film musicalOn 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 being in retirement.

Origin of stage name

Miller's last name was adopted from her stepfather's surname, Oscar Caro Miller. In contrast, her first name was formed by combining her birth name, Mary, with her mother's middle name, Lynn.Initially calling herself Marilynn, she would drop one "n" at the urging of Florenz Ziegfeld.

In the late 1940s, Norma Jeane Baker (née Mortenson) changed her name toMarilyn Monroeat the urging ofBen Lyon,a one-time actor turned casting director at20th Century Fox,who said she reminded him of Miller – he had played Miller's love interest inHer Majesty, Love.Monroe was named Marilyn Miller when she married the playwrightArthur Millerin 1956.

Personal life

Engagements and marriages

Jack Pickfordand Marilyn Miller

Miller was married to:

• Frank Carter, an actor and acrobatic dancer, whom she married on May 24, 1919, at theChurch of the Ascensionin New York City.He was killed in a car accident in Cumberland, Maryland on May 9, 1920. He was portrayed byGordon MacRaein the Miller biopicLook for the Silver Liningand byWalter WillisoninZiegfeld: The Man and His Women.
• Jack Pickford,an actor and the brother of film starMary Pickford.They were married in 1922, separated in 1926, and divorced in Versailles, France, in November 1927. By all accounts, it was an abusive marriage due to Pickford's substance abuse (both alcohol and hard drugs).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". She filed for divorce the following July in the nearby city of Versailles, whose tribunal eventually ended the marriage.
• Jack Donohue,a dancer who went on to become a successful director and choreographer in theater, films, and television. He should not be confused withJack Donahue,who appeared with Miller inSunnyandRosalie.
• Chester O'Brien,a chorus dancer, whom Miller married on October 4, 1934, in Harrison, New York.Several years older than him, she reportedly spent more than $56,000 on him during their brief time together. He, who later was known professionally as Chet O'Brien, became a stage manager for Broadway productions, includingBrigadoonandFinian's Rainbow.He also was the stage manager and an actor onSesame Streetfrom the premiere of the show in 1969 until 1992.

In 1930, Miller briefly was engaged to Michael Farmer,who later became a husband ofGloria Swanson.In 1932, she announced her intention to marryDon Alvarado,but the wedding did not occur.

Illnesses, alcoholism, and death

The mausoleum of Marilyn Miller inWoodlawn Cemetery

Miller had a long history ofsinus infections,and her health was compromised by an increasing dependence on alcohol. According to reports, shortly before her death, she entered a New York hospital in early March 1936 to recover from a nervous breakdown.Three weeks later, however, she developed a toxic condition and died from complications following surgery on hernasal passagesat age 37 in New York City on the morning of April 7, 1936.

Miller's funeral was held atSaint Bartholomew Churchon Park Avenue, which drew 2,500 people, including former mayorJimmy Walker,Beatrice Lillie,andBillie Burke.The procession led toWoodlawn Cemeteryin the Bronx, where Miller was buried.

Memorials

A statue of Miller, in the title role ofSunny,can still be seen atop the former I. Miller (no relation) Shoe Company Building at1552 Broadway,in Times Square, Manhattan. It is one of four sculpted byAlexander Stirling Calderbetween 1927 and 1929 for the building's facade, representing famous theatrical professionals of the time. In 2013, after years of neglect, the building and statues were restored.

One of the poems inPatti Smith's 1972 bookSeventh Heavenis titled "Marilyn Miller."

Biographies (film and print)

In 1949, a sanitized biopic, appropriately titledLook for the Silver Lining,starredJune Haveras Miller. She was portrayed byJudy GarlandinTill the Clouds Roll By,MGM's biopic ofJerome Kern.In 1978, the story of her turbulent relationship with Ziegfeld was portrayed in theEmmy-winning made-for-TV biopicZiegfeld: The Man and His Women,starring Pamela Peadin as Miller,Paul Shenaras Ziegfeld, andWalter Willisonas Frank Carter. Rare film footage of Miller in the 1929 film version ofSallycan also be seen in the 2004 PBS documentary seriesBroadway, the American Musical.

In the only published biography of Miller,The Other Marilyn(1985), author Warren G. Harris describes her as "Ziegfeld's most dazzling star" and the premier musical comedy star of theJazz Age.He adds, "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."

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1929	Sally	Sally/Noskerova	Filmed entirely in two-color Technicolor, now exists only in black-and-white, except for one fragment – most of the "Wild Rose" musical number – that has survived from an original Technicolor print.
1930	Sunny	Sunny Peters
1931	Her Majesty, Love	Lia Toerrek

See also

• Vaudeville

External links

• Marilyn MilleratIMDb
• Marilyn Millerat theInternet Broadway Database
• Marilyn Miller scrapbooks, 1891-1918,Houghton Library, Harvard University
• Britannica Online: Marilyn Miller
• Profile of Miller
• Photographs and literature