Clara Emma Birdwell, Miller: Strong McLemore Ancestry

Generation: 1

Clara Emma Birdwell, Miller was born on 4 Apr 1892 in Texas; died on 11 Jul 1981 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles County, California; was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.

Notes:

She changed her last name to Miller, due to the professional name change of her daughter, actress Anne Miller.

(Research):

Census Listings:

1930 Census
Texas, Harris County, JP 1, Houston City, Block 900
Enumerated 21 April 1930
ED 101-71 SD 26 Sheet 2A Stamped 67
Main Street
86
Collier John A Head $50 R M W 42 M 26 Ga Ga Ga Lawyer General Practice
Collier, Clara Wf F W 38 M 16 Tx Tx Tx
Collier, Lucille Dtr F W 7 S Tx Ga Tx
Birdwell, Christine Sister F W 22 S Tx Tx Tx Stenographer Law Office

Family/Spouse: John Alfred Collier. John was born on 18 Mar 1888 in Moultrie, Colquitt County, Georgia; died on 15 Apr 1960 in Houston, Harris County, Texas; was buried in Forest Park (Forest Park Lawndale) Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Children:

2. Johnnie Lucille Ann "Ann Miller" Collier was born on 12 Apr 1923 in Chireno, Nacogdoches County, Texas; died on 22 Jan 2004 in Los Angeles County, California; was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.

Generation: 2

Johnnie Lucille Ann "Ann Miller" Collier

(1.Clara¹) was born on 12 Apr 1923 in Chireno, Nacogdoches County, Texas; died on 22 Jan 2004 in Los Angeles County, California; was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.

Notes:

American musical star Miller dies

US musical actress Ann Miller, famed for her impressive tap dancing, has died of lung cancer at the age of 81.

Miller starred in more than 40 Hollywood films during her long career, notably Kiss Me Kate and Easter Parade, with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland.

Working for MGM studios during the heyday of the Hollywood musical of the 40s and 50s, she continued dancing into her 60s alongside Mickey Rooney.

She died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday.

Miller began her showbusiness career at the age of 11, having taken up dancing to help straighten her legs after suffering rickets as a child.

She eventually claimed the record of 500 taps a minute.

At just 13 she was given a seven-year contract with RKO studios, although she had said she was 18.

Big break

Her movie debut was in New Faces of 1937, going on to appear in a number of low-budget musicals and comedies.

After eventually being signed to MGM, Miller replaced Cyd Charisse in Easter Parade after the actress broke her leg before filming.

But by the mid-1950s the popularity of the big screen musical waned and she moved into television and theatre.

One of her most successful projects was the touring show Sugar Babies with Mickey Rooney, a tribute to the burlesque era.

'Brassy showgirl'

"At MGM, I always played the second feminine lead; I was never the star in films," Miller once said.

"I was the brassy, good-hearted showgirl. I never really had my big moment on the screen.

"Sugar Babies gave me the stardom that my soul kind of yearned for."

Speaking after her death, Rooney called Miller "a great talent".

"She told me the last time I spoke to her she wasn't feeling too well, and I said, 'Keep your head up, kid.' I'm just very sad," he added.

Miller married three times but all ended in divorce.

Her last film role was in David Lynch's Oscar-nominated film Mulholland Drive in 2001.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/entertainment/3422589.stm