MOULTRIE — On Friday, old friends and relatives remembered the daughter of a Moultrie native who went on to stardom as “the fastest tap dancer in the country.”

Ann Miller died of lung cancer Thursday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She was the daughter of Moultrie native Johnny Collier.

Moultrie chiropractor Dr. Bill Smith, whose grandmother, Cornelia “Neali” Collier, was Johnny Collier’s sister, said Collier moved from Moultrie to Houston, Texas, and became a lawyer. His daughter was born in Chireno, Texas, and given the name Johnnie Lucille Collier.

According to family stories, Miller showed a talent for dancing as a young girl and her mother took her to Hollywood, where they remained and Lucille, as her family knew her, became Annie Miller. Her father remained in Houston, and later divorced his wife.

“I don’t know much about it after that,” Smith said.

Johnny Collier visited family members in Moultrie, including his first cousin Lattie Smith, after moving away.

Hugh Anthony Martin of Tallahassee remembers playing with Miller as a child.

“We lived at 609 West Central Avenue,” he said. “And her grandparents (Mr. and Mrs. Alison Collier) lived right around the corner.”

Martin recalled games of kick the can, hide and seek, and hopscotch with Miller and her cousins.

One cousin, Carolyn Collier, was the only child with a bicycle. Martin said he and the others took turns riding it, two at a time.

Miller was about 8 years old at the time.

“We were kids,” he said. “She was my sweetheart.”

Both Martin and Smith admit to having seen all of Miller’s movies.

“We always went to the show to see her,” Smith said. “She was famous in her day.”

Smith said, because of Miller, his father learned to buck dance, which is similar to tapping, and taught him as well.

“I guess she inspired that in us,” Smith said.

Miller’s legs, pretty face and fast tapping (she claimed the record of 500 taps a minute) earned her jobs in vaudeville and night clubs when she first arrived in Hollywood. Her early film career included working as a child extra in films and as a chorus girl in a minor musical, “The Devil on Horseback.”

An appearance at the popular Bal Tabarin in San Francisco won a contract at RKO studio, where her name was shortened to Ann.

Her first film at RKO, “New Faces of 1937,” featured her dancing. She next played an acting hopeful in “Stage Door,” with Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers, Lucille Ball and Eve Arden.

When Cyd Charisse broke a leg before starting “Easter Parade” at MGM with Fred Astaire, Miller replaced her. That led to an MGM contract and her most enduring work.

She was teamed with Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra in “On the Town,” Red Skelton in “Watch the Birdie,” and Bob Fosse in “Kiss Me Kate.”

Other MGM films included: “Texas Carnival,” “Lovely to Look At,” “Small Town Girl,” “Deep in My Heart,” “Hit the Deck” and “The Opposite Sex.”

The popularity of musicals declined in the 1950s, and her film career ended in 1956. Miller remained active in television and the theater, dancing and belting songs on Broadway in “Hello, Dolly” and “Mame.”

In later years, she astounded audiences in New York, Las Vegas and on the road with her dynamic tapping in “Sugar Babies.” The show opened on Broadway in 1979 and toured for years. In 1990, she commented that “Sugar Babies” had made her financially independent.



The Associated Press contributed to this report.