The Other Marilyn: A Biography of Marilyn Miller

by Warren G. Harris

In the roaring, topsy-turvy decades between the First and Second World Wars, the name Marilyn and the initials MM signified only one luminary -- Marilyn Miller. She was Broadway's premiere musical star, the prized creation of the Great Glorifier, Florenz Ziegfeld, the star of Hollywood extravaganzas, and America's adored, delicately beautiful angel. Warren G. Harris's fascinating biography of the first Marilyn re-creates a gaudy and glorious time in the American theater. It is peopled with names now legendary: Sigmund Romberg, Mary Pickford, Billie Burke, Clifton Webb, Eddie Cantor, Jerome Kern, Fred Astaire, Jack Warner, WC Fields, Fannie Brice, Moss Hart, and many others. Revue after dazzling revue was created for her, first by Lee Shubert, who made her a star when she was not yet sixteen, and then by Ziegfeld, who capitalized on her loveliness and her talent as a dancer, singer, and charmer. Her appearances on stage and off, her love life (actual and reputed), her clothes, her style, her marriages, her confrontations with Ziegfeld and others, were the stuff of daily news stories and breathless gossip... She was only thirty-seven when she died. No one who ever saw her, whether on stage in such productions as The Zeigfeld Follies, Sally, Sunny, Rosalie, and As Thousands Cheer, or in her films, ever forgot her ethereal loveliness. And for those who missed her, this biography restores to memory the star of a very special era in America's theatrical history.

Genres: Biography

248 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

Reviews

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure exactly when I first learned about THE OTHER MARILYN but I became fascinated by Marilyn Miller's photographs. Her costumes were incredible. I began scouring the New York Times archives for stories about the shows she was in, searching The Billy Rose Theater Archives and was encouraged by other fans who love her dearly as well. She grew up in a vaudeville family crossing paths with Buster Keaton, W.C. Fields and other performers modern people know because of their later successes in the film business. Warren Harris's writing is so smooth and easy to read and chock full of information that I actually shelved the book because every page had more people, places, composers, choreographers, playwrights and theaters that I wanted to know more about. I stopped because I wanted to take it slow and investigate things that came up in the course of the book. Though Harris' writing style is easy, his biography of Marilyn is as rewarding as taking a semester in early musical history on the Great White Way. As a young child Marilyn's family toured the U.S. mainly in the midwest. Her stepfather was strict, even abusive, and, despite evading authorities who were enforcing child labor laws, they caught up with them and he was fined in Chicago. Miller took the family to tour Europe to avoid trouble. While in England, Marilyn was discovered by the Shuberts, and, after performing in their reviews for a few years, she signed with Florenz Ziegfeld, becoming the biggest star on Broadway. Many songs we know and love were written for shows in which she performed. She worked with Theodore Kosloff, George Gershwin, Sigmund Romburg, Oscar Hammerstein, Irving Berlin, Will Rogers, Eddie Cantor, Bert Williams, Moss Hart, Sam Harris and many others. In New York she started preforming in reviews at a converted horse trading space that became the Winter Garden Theater. She moved to roles at the The Astor, The Casino and The Bijou and found her 'home' at The New Amsterdam on 42nd Street. She was a giant talent, loved by millions. She had a fabulous career and giant success but tragically died at 37 in what would probably today been considered medical malpractice. Her statue is on the I. Miller building on West 46th Street. She made three films with Warner Brothers that we are very lucky to have however they pale in comparison to her live shows.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good biography

I enjoyed this biography of Marilyn Miller. I knew the name because I'm an early-Hollywood fan, but I didn't know anything about her. She packed a lot of entertaining--and husbands and lovers--into her 37 years. It's sad she died young.

The book is well written, backed by lots of research. It's definitely a step up from most Kindle show business biographies.

[Samantha Glasser · Rating 3 out of 5]

My knowledge of Marilyn Miller stems mainly from my interest in Mary Pickford. Miller's second husband was Jack Pickford, Mary's brother. I also saw Sunny when I was in high school and wasn't terribly impressed with it.

The Ziegfeld Theater days are a fascinating ethereal time in entertainment history. All we have to rely on for knowledge of the performances are the contemporary accounts and remembrances from people who are there. I love reading about it and trying to piece together an image in my mind of what it was like from these fragments. Miller was a major part of that era. She began working at the tender age of 5 and trained herself to dance ballet. Her sweetness on stage made her increasingly popular as she aged and soon she was making major money as a solo act.

Harris does his best to piece together a life that ended decades before this book's publication. It is an entertaining read, but I didn't come away from this book feeling that I knew Marilyn well or even really liked her very much.

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Please see my detailed review at Amazon Graceann's "The Other Marilyn" Review"

Please click that the review was helpful to you at Amazon so that my rating continues to climb!

Marilyn Miller was an interesting lady and I'm glad I got to read this book about her - I don't know if it was the author or me, but I don't feel as if I know her any better. I have the facts (as accurate as they are), but I don't have a feel for who she was, really. Still, comprehensive overview and especially interesting information about Ziegfeld and Jack Pickford.

[Susie McCollum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marilyn Miller - an icon of her time and her industry. Very engaging account of her successful, raucous, challenging & rewarding life. Recommend for those in pursuit of some musical theater history as well as reads of women paving the way for other women in the arts.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

If anyone can claim to be Broadway's brightest and most
beloved star it is definitely Marilyn Miller. This book was
one I couldn't put down and Mr. Harris has written a very
readable book on this theatre legend.
Much detail is given to her family - her mother Ada was
determined to put her children on the stage, even at the
expense of her marriage to Edwin Reynolds (he met up with
Marilyn when she was in her mid twenties and they kept up
correspondence for a number of years). While Ada had the
other children on the vaudeville circuit, Marilyn, who was
too young to join the troupe, lived with relatives in Memphis.
The act was strictly second rate but Marilyn, meanwhile, had
taught herself to dance by watching her friends, the coloured
children of the servants, dancing in the street.
By this time her mother had met husband No. 2 - the villain of
the book - the tyrannical Caro Miller. Even though she grew to
hate him, leaving him nothing in her will, it is interesting
to wonder what type of career she would have had without him.
He realised Marilyn was the most talented member of "The Five
Columbians" and later on managed to get her started on her own
in "The Passing Show" of 1914 and 1915 and "Show of Wonders".
After appearing in a couple of editions of the Follies she was
given her chance in "Sally", a monumental hit that ran for 570
performances. The big song hit of the show was "Look for the
Silver Lining". Descriptions of the costumes and sets make you
believe you are there watching her perform and also the huge
celebrity cult she created (Marilyn Miller hats, clothes, shoes
and even hairstyles). She led a charmed theatrical life up until
her death with only one misfire ("Peter Pan" (1924)) and one
flop ("Smiles" (1930)). "Sunny" the follow up to "Sally" had a
circus theme with clowns, acrobats and Marilyn making her
entrance atop a magnificent white horse - this production ran
517 performances and the song hits included "Sunny", "Who" and
"Do You Love Me". "Rosalie" (1927) ran for a very respectable
335 performances and was later remade as an Eleanor Powell film.
"As Thousands Cheer" (1933) was a topical musical revue that
clocked up 400 performances and introduced the songs "Heat Wave"
and "Easter Parade". She also left her mark on movies and was
able to bring "Sally" and "Sunny" to the screen before the early
musical vogue wore out.
Her private life was not so happy. Her first husband was killed
in a car accident, they had been married little more than a year.
Her next husband was Jack Pickford, a drug addict and alcoholic
whose first wife, Olive Thomas, died in mysterious circumstances.
It seemed to me that once she became independent of her step
father's dominance she became the ultimate jazz baby!! Unlike a
lot of stars you read about, she worked tremendously hard and even
though she was plagued by migranes and sinus, she was able to put
it all behind her as "the show must go on". Once she became famous
her family seemed to disappear from the book (which is the only
criticism I have). Her mother didn't attend her wedding to Jack
Pickford (an elaborate affair held at "Pickfair") and also, oddly,
didn't even attend her funeral. She died far too young at 37 from
the sinus that had plagued her most of her life but I don't think
you will find a more loving or detailed tribute to one of
Broadway's greats.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography on an almost obscure Broadway and movie actress, Marilyn Miller (1898-1936), was enjoyable and appealing. Miller was famous in her day, but sadly, she is barely a second thought today, except for the old movie and old Broadway fans. I have heard of her, and as of this date, have not seen her movies (but they are on my list to find). Moreover, I am very well acquainted with the song, “Look for the Silver Lining,” which is greatly associated with her, and from which a 1949 biographical musical movie, albeit a fabrication of her life, derives its name.

It was interesting to find out that she was married to Jack Pickford, brother of Mary Pickford, and husband/widower of movie actress Olive Thomas, whom I have seen in silent movies.

This book on Miller is a good starting point to further research on her life and career.

🟣