Ann Miller in The Golden Girls and Murder, She Wrote

Such a Datalounge thread. A total relief from politics.🍿

[quote] Can’t believe she never guest starred on either show.

She didn't need to

On MURDER, SHE WROTE she’d play a retired stewardess returned to the workforce - and accused of smuggling drugs into the country in her bouffant hairdo.

Shame on you OP for not posting a photo of Ann and her million dollar legs.

Which she spread for LB Mayer at every opportunity.

On Golden Girls, she would have given Rose a run for the money in the dance marathon.

She would play the neighbor nemesis of the girls. She would be as dumb as Rose but slutty as Blanche.

I could imagine her as one of the recurring beauty salon hens in Murder, She Wrote. Or an aging dancer working on a musical revival stage production where someone is murdered. They did a plot like that with a regular stage play.

On either show, she would have brought both GLAMOUR and MYSTIQUE.

On MSW, Ann would’ve played “Sally Carmichael”, a legendary director choreographer of a Vegas spectacular who knew Jessica from HS.

Synopsis from TV Guide, March 1986:

“Jessica travels to NV to attend the opening of HS friend Sally Collins’ (Miss Ann Miller) latest show at the Desert Inn when the leading lady Wanda Cole is killed by a falling sandbag during the Finale. All eyes turn to Sally, who can’t stop tapping (even during interrogation) and pleads with her old pal Jess to clear her name.

J.B. finally reveals the murderess as wardrobe assistant “Hattie Plummer” (Janis Paige), who was snubbed by both “Sal” and “Jess” while they were all members of the Cabot Cove Thespians 40 years earlier.

After Hattie is hauled away in handcuffs, Sally and Jess recreate their HS variety show showstopper “Friendship”. “

Cast:

Jessica Fletcher…………….Angela Lansbury

Sally Collins………………….Miss Ann Miller

Hattie Plummer…….………Janis Paige

Wanda Cole…………………..Gretchen Wyler

Pops……………………………..Max Showalter

Jimmy……………………………Carleton Carpenter

On Golden Girls, Ann would've been the dance instructor assigned to choreograph Dorothy, Blanche, and Rose in the Miami Community Players production of "Les Girls."

I'm a bad eldergay because I mostly know her from the SNL sketches where Molly Shannon would imitate her and Mulholland Drive.

[quote]She didn't need to

What’s that supposed to mean?

R12, get on YouTube this instant and search Ann Miller interviews. She’s a hoot and a half!

Tappa tappa tappa.

R13 Most of the "old Hollywood" guest stars on Murder, She wrote were people like Julie Adams and Ruth Roman. They weren't exactly still in demand, unlike AM who was still working, starring on stage. And I don't see why she would have any need to go on The Golden Girls.

R16 is a fun ruiner.

R16 Haha, I'm sorry. But someone questioned why I said what I said in R2.

R10 wins. That response is fantastic.

I can already hear Ann’s Texas twang up against Blanche’s A Streetcar Name Desire accent.

She could have made a good murderess on Columbo as well if we tweak r10's brilliance

A woman whose late-in-life refusal to wear control garments led to her murder by an obsessive door-to-door shapewear salesman.

A one of Cabot Cove's mist beloved residents, the glamorous former showgirl is ultimately unmasked by Jessica as a serial killer responsible for a string of unsolved and seemingly unrelated, motiveless murders -- all to hide the fact that she was a filthy, compulsive hoarder.

The Carn Cahb Holder Murders was especially compelling

R10 bravo. All synapses still firing. Keep on trucking.

She would have turned out the most pee-your-pants-laughing slapstick performance as Rose’s blind sister on Golden Girls.

“{Tappa tappa} Geez holy fuck that’s hot, what did I just touch?!”

When Dorothy organizes a charity talent show at the community center, she convinces legendary tap dancer Ann Miller to make a special guest appearance to boost ticket sales. Ann, playing herself, arrives in Miami with her trademark pizzazz, but her demanding personality and insistence on perfection during rehearsals ruffle feathers, particularly with Rose, who’s nervous about her own tap routine. Blanche sees an opportunity to flirt with Ann’s dashing choreographer, while Sophia tries to steal the spotlight with an impromptu comedy act inspired by Ann’s classic Hollywood stories. As tensions rise, Ann shares a heartfelt moment with Dorothy, revealing the challenges of staying relevant in showbiz. The episode culminates in a dazzling tap performance, with Ann joining the girls for a show-stopping finale that brings the house down.

She should have been in the 1960s Batman show as a villainess. Almost all of Old Hollywood did that show. It was Tullulah’s final performance.