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Miller Brothers and Lois [biography]
Miller Brothers and Lois, one of the most renown tap dance class act teams from the 1920s through the 1940s, comprised Danny and George Miller and Lois Bright, the tall and gracious female dancer who distinguished the trio. Born and raised in Chicago and skilled in rhythm tap, flash, and acrobatics, Bright married Danny Miller, of the famed Miller Brothers (Danny and George), an act that had been performed by brothers George and Danny from 1927 and initially composed of the brothers and Charles Honi Coles. While the date of the premier of Miller Brothers and Lois is not known, when they performed at the Apollo Theater with Jimmie Lunceford on December 27, 1939, they one-upped the other acts by performing a high-speed rhythm tap dance on four-foot-high pedestals, each one shaped to spell their name: M I L L E R. They began with a rhythm-style soft shoe, followed by Danny and Lois performing precision tap and acrobatics, then climaxed with the trio dancing on and across pedestals, executing wings, barrel turns, and trenches. The team wore high-hats and tuxedoes in a high-speed virtuosic dance act that became known for dancing on three-and-four-foot high pedestals.
A May 15,1940 article published in Variety about the group's performance at the State-Lake Theater in Chicago wrote: "Topping the turns are Miller Bros. & Lois, a dancing trio with some sockeroo acrobatics that make them apart from the general run of hoofing acts. They make a fine appearance in tails and then use elevated platforms for a whirlwind finish. Especially effective is heir acrobatic hoofing on a narrow high platform, a circus stunt giving the act both novelty and flash." A quintessential replication of their routine is seen in the 1947 film Hi-De-Ho, starring Cab Calloway. When the act was dissolved, the Pittsburgh Courier (21 August 1948) wrote that the team "gave up the profession for a safe life," referencing the tremendous physical risk taken each time for performing the routine, and the perilous risks of continuing a career in show business.
Tap dancer Ludie Jones remembers that Miller Brothers and Lois used to perform spins and jumps off of large drums into splits. Tap dancer Edwina Evelyn commented that while the team of brothers in the act received much attention, Lois Miller "never seemed to get the recognition she deserved for performing the same dance as the men." Honi Coles always confirmed that Miller Brothers and Lois, performing in top hats, white ties and tails, were the epitome of class-act tap dancing.
[Sources: Cheryl Willis, Tap Dance: Memories and Issues of African-American Women Who Performed Between 1930 and 1950, PhD. Diss. (1991), Honi Coles, interview with Constance Valis Hill (29 March 1991)]