Mornington Crescent (game) and Ann Miller: Difference between pages

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'''Ann Miller''' was born on [[April 12]], [[1923]] (some sources still indicate [[1919]]) and died on [[January 22]], [[2004]]. She was an American dancer, singer and actress, who was christened '''Johnnie Lucille Collier''' in [[Chireno, Texas]] (some sources cite [[Houston, Texas]]).

'''Mornington Crescent''' is a street in north [[London]], which gives its name to a nearby station on the [[London Underground]]'s Northern Line. This was closed for most of the 1990s for essential rebuilding work, and was reopened in 1998 by [[Humphrey Lyttelton]].

She was considered a child dance prodigy. She was given a contract with [[RKO]] allegedly at the tender age of thirteen (she had told them she was eighteen). She became famous for her roles in films such as [[Kiss Me, Kate]], [[Easter Parade]] and [[On the Town]]. Miller was famed for her speed in [[tap dancing]]; she claimed to be able to tap 500 times per minute.

A memorial plaque to the late [[Willie Rushton]], a founder player of the game of the same name (see below), was installed at the station in [[2002]]. The street also features in the music hall song:

Her father (from whom she would become estranged due to his infidelities to her mother) insisted on the name Johnnie because he had wanted a boy, but she was often called Annie. She took up dancing to help exercise her legs to help her [[rickets]]. Her film career effectively ended in [[1956]], but she remained active in the theatre. In [[1979]] she astounded audiences in the [[Broadway]] show [[Sugar Babies]]. In 1983 she won the [[Sarah Siddons Award]] for her work in [[Chicago]] theatre. In 2001 she took her last role as "Coco" in auteur director [[David Lynch]]'s movie [[Mulholland Drive (film)]].

:"They made me a present of Mornington Crescent, and they threw it a brick at a time."

For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Ann Miller has a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]] at 6914 Hollywood Blvd.

'''Mornington Crescent''' is also the name of a deliberately obscure game introduced by the [[BBC Radio 4]] programme ''[[I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue]]'', in part as a [[parody]] of chess commentary.

She died at the age of 80 (or 84) from cancer that had spread to her lungs and was interred in the [[Holy Cross Cemetery]] in [[Culver City, California]].

Players successively name streets in Greater London or railway stations on the [[London Underground]] network. No player is disqualified and the first player to say "Mornington Crescent" wins. Although no player is disqualified, repeatly saying the same station is disallowed, and players cannot move if they are in 'knip'.

During play, the panelists often invoke obscure but authoritative-sounding rules and names of gambits. It's generally assumed that these "rules" are randomly conceived, the more ludicrous sounding, the better. For example "we're stuck in a Dollis Hill loop", or "once Tooting Bec has been declared, this move is not allowed unless two or more players are in Knip."

== Filmography ==

The chair [[Humphrey Lyttelton]] often introduces variants and alternative rules, for example the French version ("Chateau d'Eau"), or the King Edward Rules. For a list see here: http://www.isihac.co.uk/games/mcvariations.html

* ''[[Anne of Green Gables]]'' (1934)

* ''[[The Good Fairy]]'' (1935)

* ''[[The Devil on Horseback]]'' (1936)

* ''[[New Faces of 1937]]'' (1937)

* ''[[The Life of the Party]]'' (1937)

* ''[[Stage Door]]'' (1937)

* ''[[Radio City Revels]]'' (1938)

* ''[[Having Wonderful Time]]'' (1938)

* ''[[You Can't Take It with You]]'' (1938)

* ''[[Room Service]]'' (1938)

* ''[[Tarnished Angel]]'' (1938)

* ''[[Too Many Girls]]'' (1940)

* ''[[Hit Parade of 1941]]'' (1940)

* ''[[Melody Ranch]]'' (1940)

* ''[[Time Out for Rhythm]]'' (1941)

* ''[[Meet the Stars: Stars Past and Present]]'' (1941) (short subject)

* ''[[Screen Snapshots: Series 21, No. 1]]'' (1941) (short subject)

* ''[[Go West, Young Lady]]'' (1941)

* ''[[True to the Army]]'' (1942)

* ''[[Priorities on Parade]]'' (1942)

* ''[[Reveille with Beverly]]'' (1943)

* ''[[What's Buzzin', Cousin?]]'' (1943)

* ''[[Hey, Rookie]]'' (1944)

* ''[[Jam Session]]'' (1944)

* ''[[Carolina Blues]]'' (1944)

* ''[[Eadie Was a Lady]]'' (1945)

* ''[[Eve Knew Her Apples]]'' (1945)

* ''[[The Thrill of Brazil]]'' (1946)

* ''[[Easter Parade]]'' (1948)

* ''[[The Kissing Bandit]]'' (1948)

* ''[[Mighty Manhattan, New York's Wonder City]]'' (1949) (short subject)

* ''[[On the Town]]'' (1949)

* ''[[Watch the Birdie]]'' (1950)

* ''[[Texas Carnival]]'' (1951)

* ''[[Two Tickets to Broadway]]'' (1951)

* ''[[Lovely to Look At]]'' (1952)

* ''[[Small Town Girl]]'' (1953)

* ''[[Calamity Jane]]'' (1953) (bit part)

* ''[[Kiss Me, Kate]]'' (1953)

* ''[[Deep in My Heart]]'' (1954)

* ''[[Hit the Deck]]'' (1955)

* ''[[The Opposite Sex]]'' (1956)

* ''[[The Great American Pastime]]'' (1956)

* ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976)

* ''[[A Century of Cinema]]'' (1994) (documentary)

* ''[[That's Entertainment! III]]'' (1994)

* ''[[Mulholland Dr.]]'' (2001)

== External links ==

Another part of the culture surrounding the game is the correspondence it generates from listeners: letters from Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, who is presumably fictional, and writes to express her bafflement by the game, are read out on the show.

* {{imdb name|id=0587900|name=Ann Miller}}

* [http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3422589.stm BBC obituary]

[[Category:1923 births|Miller, Ann]]

For those who want to play the game of Mornington Crescent themselves, see [http://madeira.physiol.ucl.ac.uk/cgi-bin/crescent/mornington.pl the game of Mornington Crescent at York]

[[Category:2004 deaths|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:American actors|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:U.S. stage actors|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:American film actors|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:Hollywood Walk of Fame|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:Female singers|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:Tap dancers|Miller, Ann]]

[[Category:People from Texas|Miller, Ann]]

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