Vintage postcard. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Ann Miller (1923-2004) was an American dancer, singer and actress. She was famed for her speed in tap dancing and her style of glamour: massive black bouffant hair, heavy makeup with a splash of crimson lipstick, and fashions that emphasized her lithe figure and long dancer's legs. Miller is best remembered for her work in the classic Hollywood musicals Easter Parade (1948), On the Town (1949) and Kiss Me Kate (1953).

Ann Miller was born Johnnie Lucille Ann Collier in 1923 on her grandparents ranch in Chireno, Texas. Her father wanted a boy, so Ann was named Johnnie, and she later went by Lucille. Her father was a well-known criminal lawyer who had defended famous gangsters Bonnie and Clyde and Baby Face Nelson. Mrs. Collier enrolled her three-year-old little girl in dancing lessons to help strengthen her legs, which had become weakened from a case of rickets. When Miller was ten she met Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson at a local theatre and he gave her a quick tap-dancing lesson. She liked that style of dance very much, and decided to concentrate on it with further lessons. After her parents divorced, she went with her mother to Hollywood, determined to get into show business. The eleven-year-old brunette, pretending to be of legal age, was soon hired to dance for $25 a week at the Sunset Club, a small lounge where gambling went on upstairs. Using the stage name of Ann Miller, she practiced her machine-gun tapping for the thrilled patrons. She also danced at the seedy Black Cat Club, where she scooped up the coins customers threw into her skirt to help pay the bills. Before long, Ann was netting unbilled extra roles in the films Anne of Green Gables (1934) and The Good Fairy (1935), and she got to dance in Devil On Horseback (1936). The next year the thirteen-year-old was dancing for a four-month run in a show at the popular Bal Tabarin nightclub in San Francisco. There, she was discovered by comedian Benny Rubin and future comedian, actress Lucille Ball. Ball introduced Miller to executives at RKO Studios. Pretending she was eighteen with the help of a fake birth certificate supplied by her father, Ann landed a seven-year contract and a role in the film New Faces of 1937 (1937).

Ann Miller's first great part was in Stage Door (1937), in which she danced with Ginger Rogers and acted with Lucille Ball, Katharine Hepburn, and Eve Arden. Other films in which Ann appeared include Radio City Revels (1937), the Oscar winner You Can't Take It With You (1938) with Jean Arthur and James Stewart, and Room Service (1938) with the Marx Brothers. Miller introduced Lucille Ball to Desi Arnaz, and, some years later, the famous couple bought RKO and re-named it DesiLu. Ann's last film at the studio was Too Many Girls (1940), in which she co-starred with friends Lucy and Desi. She then appeared on Broadway in George White's Scandals in 1939 and 1940, for which she won rave reviews. In 1940 Miller moved to Republic Pictures, where she enlivened Melody Ranch (1940) with Gene Autrey in his first musical film, and Hit Parade of 1941 (1941). Other films followed, many aimed at promoting the war effort, which include True To The Army (1942), Priorities On Parade (1942), Reveille With Beverly (1943), What's Buzzin' Cousin? (1943), Hey Rookie (1944), and Jam Session (1944). In 1945, Ann briefly dated powerful MGM boss Louis B. Mayer. When the much older mogul asked Ann to marry him, she turned him down. Moaning and groaning to her on the phone, the dramatic Mayer swallowed sleeping pills, and immediately sent his chauffeur to summon Ann to his death bed. An ambulance arrived first and he recovered. Later, Ann married Reese Milner, a rich steel heir, and they lived on the biggest ranch in California where they raised prized Hereford cattle. The marriage ended quickly after Reese threw Ann down the stairs of their home. Pregnant Miller filed for divorce from her hospital bed, with her broken back in a steel harness. Her baby, Mary, died a few hours after birth. Later, painfully returning to Mayer for a job, he told her, "If you'd married me, none of this would have happened."

Ann Miller was still in a back brace when she danced to Shakin' The Blues Away in Easter Parade (1948), co-starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. She received fantastic reviews, and MGM gave Ann a seven-year contract. Ann then proceeded to make her most spectacular Technicolor musicals that include On The Town (1949), Small Town Girl (1952), Kiss Me Kate (1953) which was extravagantly filmed in 3-D, and Hit The Deck (1955). Her last musical was a remake of the 1939 film The Women, named The Opposite Sex (1956). The glamorous, outgoing and articulate Ann was also hired as MGM's Good Will Ambassador. She travelled the world in gorgeous designer ensembles while representing her studio with personal appearances and speaking engagements. When she flew to Morocco in July of 1957 to appear with Bob Hope on the Timex TV Hour, she entertained five thousand troops in 120 degree weather as she sang 'Too Darn Hot', and soon set a record for the world's fastest tap-dancing at 500 taps a minute. In 1958, Miller married her second millionaire, Texas oil man Bill Moss who, she quipped, "...looked exactly like my first husband. Three months later, he broke my arm." A third marriage to another oilman, Arthur Cameron, was annulled within a year, though they remained friends. From 1966-1970, Ann became a hit on Broadway in 'Mame'. In 1970 she turned to television and starred in a commercial for Heinz's Great American Soups, in which Miller tap-danced on an eight foot can of soup surrounded by dozens of high-kicking chorus girls, 20-foot fountains, and a 24- piece orchestra. Then, tapping her way back into her kitchen, her husband cried, "Why must you make such a big production out of everything?" The song she sang was written by humorist Stan Freberg and choreographed by Danny Daniels. In 1972, in St. Louis, on opening night of the musical show 'Anything Goes', Ann was knocked in the head by the steel beam of a fire curtain. Although as a consequence she was unable to walk for two years and suffered permanant vertigo, her life actually had been saved by her well-known, stiff, enormous, lacquered black wig. In 1979, she made a comeback and a fortune in 'Sugar Babies' with former teenage Hollywood acting schoolmate Mickey Rooney. The popular show ran for two years on Broadway and seven more years on the road. In 1998 she appeared in a successful revival of Stephen Sondheim's 'Follies' at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey. In 1972, Miller published her autobiography, 'Miller's High Life', and more memoirs in 1981 with 'Tops In Taps'. Her last screen appearance was playing Coco in director David Lynch's critically acclaimed Mulholland Drive (2001). Ann Miller died of lung cancer in Los Angeles, California in 2004. She was buried next to her miscarried daughter, which reads "Beloved Baby Daughter Mary Milner November 12, 1946". The Smithsonian Institution displays her favourite pair of tap shoes, which she playfully nicknamed "Moe and Joe".

Sources: Steve Starr (The Entertainment Magazine), Wikipedia, and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

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American postcard by Classico, San Francisco, no. 105-100, 1990. Photo: The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture, 1984. Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.

American character actor and director Robert Englund (1947) achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman and serial killer Freddy Krueger in the hit A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and its seven sequels plus a television series.

Robert Barton Englund was born in 1947 in Glendale, California, to Janis (MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aviation engineer who was involved in the development of the Lockheed U-2. At age 12, Robert began acting classes at California State University - Northridge in a youth program. While still in high school, he took acting classes at Cranbrook Theatre School, an initiative of the Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then studied at California State University, where he received his bachelor's degree in Arts in theatre, and then at Oakland University, where he gained experience at the Meadow Brook Theatre, then a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first major theatre role was in an adaptation of 'Godspell' in 1972. Afterward, Englund had five successful years performing in regional theatre including plays by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He auditioned for a role in the film Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973). He did not get the part but decided to stay in Los Angeles. In 1974, he made his film debut in the film Buster and Billie (Daniel Petrie, 1974), starring Jan-Michael Vincent. Since then, Englund has appeared in over 75 feature films and starred in four TV series. He played smaller parts in such productions as the crime film Hustle (Robert Aldrich, 1975) with Burt Reynolds and Catherine Deneuve, the comedy Stay Hungry (Bob Rafelson, 1976) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges, and the adventure film St. Ives (J. Lee Thompson, 1976) with Charles Bronson. That year he also appeared in the Horror film Eaten Alive (Tobe Hooper, 1976) where Englund played a libidinous maniac. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror (Bruce D. Clark, 1981), produced by Roger Corman. He gained his first fame for his role of Visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the Miniseries V (Kenneth Johnson, 1983) as well as the sequel V: The Final Battle (1984), and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.

In 1984 Robert Englund achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman, Freddy Krueger, in the hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984) opposite Johnny Depp. He also starred in its seven sequels. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for that role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Chuck Russell, 1987) and in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988). He also appeared in the television series Freddy's Nightmares (1988). His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in other Horror films such as The Phantom of the Opera (Dwight H. Little, 1989) as the Phantom, The Mangler (Tobe Hooper, 1995), Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998) starring Jared Leto, and 2001 Maniacs (Tim Sullivan, 2005). Englund has also guest-starred in hundreds of hours of TV most recently Bones, Criminal Minds, and Hawaii 5-0. His memoir, 'Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams,' which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published in 2009. In 2001, he received a Saturn Award for his entire oeuvre. In 1968, Englund married nurse Elizabeth Gardner. They divorced in 1972. He was then married to actress Roxanne Rogers from 1986 till 1988. He met his third wife, set decorator Nancy Booth while working on his feature directorial debut 976-EVIL (1988). They married that same year. In 2008, he directed his second film, Killer Pad, which was released directly on DVD.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Robert Englund Robert Englund Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger Horror Halloween American Actor Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Film Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Classico The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture

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American postcard by Classico, San Francisco, no. 105-94, 1990. Photo: The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture, 1984. Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984).

American character actor and director Robert Englund (1947) achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman and serial killer Freddy Krueger in the hit A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and its seven sequels plus a television series.

Robert Barton Englund was born in 1947 in Glendale, California, to Janis (MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aviation engineer who was involved in the development of the Lockheed U-2. At age 12, Robert began acting classes at California State University - Northridge in a youth program. While still in high school, he took acting classes at Cranbrook Theatre School, an initiative of the Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then studied at California State University, where he received his bachelor's degree in Arts in theatre, and then at Oakland University, where he gained experience at the Meadow Brook Theatre, then a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first major theatre role was in an adaptation of 'Godspell' in 1972. Afterward, Englund had five successful years performing in regional theatre including plays by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He auditioned for a role in the film Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973). He did not get the part but decided to stay in Los Angeles. In 1974, he made his film debut in the film Buster and Billie (Daniel Petrie, 1974), starring Jan-Michael Vincent. Since then, Englund has appeared in over 75 feature films and starred in four TV series. He played smaller parts in such productions as the crime film Hustle (Robert Aldrich, 1975) with Burt Reynolds and Catherine Deneuve, the comedy Stay Hungry (Bob Rafelson, 1976) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges, and the adventure film St. Ives (J. Lee Thompson, 1976) with Charles Bronson. That year he also appeared in the Horror film Eaten Alive (Tobe Hooper, 1976) where Englund played a libidinous maniac. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror (Bruce D. Clark, 1981), produced by Roger Corman. He gained his first fame for his role of Visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the Miniseries V (Kenneth Johnson, 1983) as well as the sequel V: The Final Battle (1984), and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.

In 1984 Robert Englund achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman, Freddy Krueger, in the hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984) opposite Johnny Depp. He also starred in its seven sequels. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for that role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Chuck Russell, 1987) and in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988). He also appeared in the television series Freddy's Nightmares (1988). His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in other Horror films such as The Phantom of the Opera (Dwight H. Little, 1989) as the Phantom, The Mangler (Tobe Hooper, 1995), Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998) starring Jared Leto, and 2001 Maniacs (Tim Sullivan, 2005). Englund has also guest-starred in hundreds of hours of TV most recently Bones, Criminal Minds, and Hawaii 5-0. His memoir, 'Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams,' which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published in 2009. In 2001, he received a Saturn Award for his entire oeuvre. In 1968, Englund married nurse Elizabeth Gardner. They divorced in 1972. He was then married to actress Roxanne Rogers from 1986 till 1988. He met his third wife, set decorator Nancy Booth while working on his feature directorial debut 976-EVIL (1988). They married that same year. In 2008, he directed his second film, Killer Pad, which was released directly on DVD.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Robert Englund Robert Englund Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger Horror Halloween American Actor Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Film Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Classico The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture

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Canadian postcard by Canadian Postcard, no. A-132. Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger and Heather Langenkamp in A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984).

American character actor and director Robert Englund (1947) achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman and serial killer Freddy Krueger in the hit A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and its seven sequels plus a television series.

Robert Barton Englund was born in 1947 in Glendale, California, to Janis (MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aviation engineer who was involved in the development of the Lockheed U-2. At age 12, Robert began acting classes at California State University - Northridge in a youth program. While still in high school, he took acting classes at Cranbrook Theatre School, an initiative of the Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then studied at California State University, where he received his bachelor's degree in Arts in theatre, and then at Oakland University, where he gained experience at the Meadow Brook Theatre, then a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first major theatre role was in an adaptation of 'Godspell' in 1972. Afterward, Englund had five successful years performing in regional theatre including plays by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He auditioned for a role in the film Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973). He did not get the part but decided to stay in Los Angeles. In 1974, he made his film debut in the film Buster and Billie (Daniel Petrie, 1974), starring Jan-Michael Vincent. Since then, Englund has appeared in over 75 feature films and starred in four TV series. He played smaller parts in such productions as the crime film Hustle (Robert Aldrich, 1975) with Burt Reynolds and Catherine Deneuve, the comedy Stay Hungry (Bob Rafelson, 1976) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges, and the adventure film St. Ives (J. Lee Thompson, 1976) with Charles Bronson. That year he also appeared in the Horror film Eaten Alive (Tobe Hooper, 1976) where Englund played a libidinous maniac. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror (Bruce D. Clark, 1981), produced by Roger Corman. He gained his first fame for his role of Visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the Miniseries V (Kenneth Johnson, 1983) as well as the sequel V: The Final Battle (1984), and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.

In 1984 Robert Englund achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman, Freddy Krueger, in the hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984) opposite Johnny Depp. He also starred in its seven sequels. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for that role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Chuck Russell, 1987) and in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988). He also appeared in the television series Freddy's Nightmares (1988). His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in other Horror films such as The Phantom of the Opera (Dwight H. Little, 1989) as the Phantom, The Mangler (Tobe Hooper, 1995), Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998) starring Jared Leto, and 2001 Maniacs (Tim Sullivan, 2005). Englund has also guest-starred in hundreds of hours of TV most recently Bones, Criminal Minds, and Hawaii 5-0. His memoir, 'Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams,' which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published in 2009. In 2001, he received a Saturn Award for his entire oeuvre. In 1968, Englund married nurse Elizabeth Gardner. They divorced in 1972. He was then married to actress Roxanne Rogers from 1986 till 1988. He met his third wife, set decorator Nancy Booth while working on his feature directorial debut 976-EVIL (1988). They married that same year. In 2008, he directed his second film, Killer Pad, which was released directly on DVD.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Robert Englund Robert Englund Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger Heather Langenkamp Heather Langenkamp Actress Actrice A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Horror Halloween American Actor Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Film Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Canadian Postcard

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American postcard by Classico San Francisco, no. 105-093, 1990. Photo: The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture. Robert Englund as Freddy Krueger.

American character actor and director Robert Englund (1947) achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman and serial killer Freddy Krueger in the hit A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and its seven sequels plus a television series.

Robert Barton Englund was born in 1947 in Glendale, California, to Janis (MacDonald) and John Kent Englund, an aviation engineer who was involved in the development of the Lockheed U-2. At age 12, Robert began acting classes at California State University - Northridge in a youth program. While still in high school, he took acting classes at Cranbrook Theatre School, an initiative of the Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He then studied at California State University, where he received his bachelor's degree in Arts in theatre, and then at Oakland University, where he gained experience at the Meadow Brook Theatre, then a branch of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first major theatre role was in an adaptation of 'Godspell' in 1972. Afterward, Englund had five successful years performing in regional theatre including plays by William Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. He auditioned for a role in the film Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973). He did not get the part but decided to stay in Los Angeles. In 1974, he made his film debut in the film Buster and Billie (Daniel Petrie, 1974), starring Jan-Michael Vincent. Since then, Englund has appeared in over 75 feature films and starred in four TV series. He played smaller parts in such productions as the crime film Hustle (Robert Aldrich, 1975) with Burt Reynolds and Catherine Deneuve, the comedy Stay Hungry (Bob Rafelson, 1976) with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jeff Bridges, and the adventure film St. Ives (J. Lee Thompson, 1976) with Charles Bronson. That year he also appeared in the Horror film Eaten Alive (Tobe Hooper, 1976) where Englund played a libidinous maniac. He then played Ranger in Galaxy of Terror (Bruce D. Clark, 1981), produced by Roger Corman. He gained his first fame for his role of Visitor technician and resistance fighter Willie in the Miniseries V (Kenneth Johnson, 1983) as well as the sequel V: The Final Battle (1984), and V: The Series, in which he was a regular cast member.

In 1984 Robert Englund achieved international fame as the iconic boogeyman, Freddy Krueger, in the hit horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street (Wes Craven, 1984) opposite Johnny Depp. He also starred in its seven sequels. He was nominated for a Saturn Award for that role in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (Chuck Russell, 1987) and in A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (Renny Harlin, 1988). He also appeared in the television series Freddy's Nightmares (1988). His association with the genre led him to top-billed roles in other Horror films such as The Phantom of the Opera (Dwight H. Little, 1989) as the Phantom, The Mangler (Tobe Hooper, 1995), Urban Legend (Jamie Blanks, 1998) starring Jared Leto, and 2001 Maniacs (Tim Sullivan, 2005). Englund has also guest-starred in hundreds of hours of TV most recently Bones, Criminal Minds, and Hawaii 5-0. His memoir, 'Hollywood Monster: A Walk Down Elm Street with the Man of Your Dreams,' which Alan Goldsher transcribed from his dictations, was published in 2009. In 2001, he received a Saturn Award for his entire oeuvre. In 1968, Englund married nurse Elizabeth Gardner. They divorced in 1972. He was then married to actress Roxanne Rogers from 1986 till 1988. He met his third wife, set decorator Nancy Booth while working on his feature directorial debut 976-EVIL (1988). They married that same year. In 2008, he directed his second film, Killer Pad, which was released directly on DVD.

Sources: Wikipedia (Dutch, German and English), and IMDb.

And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Tags:   Robert Englund Robert Englund Freddy Krueger Freddy Krueger A Nightmare on Elm Street 1984 Horror Halloween American Actor Hollywood Movie Star Film Star Cinema Film Kino Cine Picture Screen Movie Movies Filmster Star Vintage Postcard Carte Postale Cartolina Postkarte Tarjet Postal Postkaart Briefkarte Briefkaart Ansichtskarte Ansichtkaart Classico The Fourth New Line - Heron Venture

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