F. E. Miller
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Flournoy Eakin Miller (14 April 1885 – 6 June 1971), sometimes credited as F. E. Miller, was an American entertainer, actor, lyricist, producer and playwright. Between about 1905 and 1932 he formed a popular comic duo, Miller and Lyles, with
Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...
. Described as "an innovator who advanced
black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
and entertainment significantly," and as "one of the seminal figures in the development of
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
musical theater on Broadway", Jon C. Hopwood, "F. E. Miller", ''IMDb.com''
Retrieved 11 July 2014
he wrote many successful
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
and
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
shows, including the influential ''
Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Amer ...
'' (1921), as well as working on several all-black movies between the 1930s and 1950s.


Biography

He was born in
Columbia, Tennessee Columbia is a city in and the county seat of Maury County, Tennessee. The population was 41,690 as of the 2020 United States census. Columbia is included in the Nashville metropolitan area. The self-proclaimed "mule capital of the world," Colu ...
, the second son of the editor of a black newspaper; his older brother
Irvin C. Miller Irvin Colloden Miller (February 19, 1884 – February 27, 1975) was an American actor, playwright, and vaudeville show writer and producer. He was responsible for successful theater shows including ''Broadway Rastus'' (1921), ''Liza'' (1922), ...
also became a noted vaudeville performer and theatre producer. He studied at
Fisk University Fisk University is a Private university, private Historically black colleges and universities, historically black Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its campus i ...
in
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
, where he began performing as one half of a comedy duo Miller and Lyles with his childhood friend
Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...
. From 1905, Miller and Lyles were hired by impresario Robert T. Motts to be resident playwrights with the Pekin Theater Stock Company in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. They performed with the company in
blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...
, and in the show ''The Colored Aristocrats'', introducing the characters Steve Jenkins (Miller) and Sam Peck (Lyles) with which they would be associated for many years. Flournoy Miller collection, New York Public Library Archives
Retrieved 11 July 2014
With Marion A. Brooks, Miller founded the Bijou Stock Company in
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
in 1908. One of the first black theatre companies in the South, it folded soon afterwards and Miller returned to Chicago. In 1909, Miller and Lyles traveled to
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, where they started to perform on one of the
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
circuits, uniquely relying on comic performances rather than incorporating song and dance. They developed comedy devices later copied by others, such as a
prizefighting Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional fights are supervised by a regulatory auth ...
routine which contrasted Miller's height and Lyles' short stature; completing each other's sentences; and "mutilatin'" the language in their phraseology. In 1915, they appeared in
André Charlot Eugène André Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French-born impresario known primarily for the musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He later worked as a character actor in numerous American films. Born in ...
's production ''Charlot's Revue'' in England, and upon their return to the U.S. appeared with
Abbie Mitchell __NOTOC__ Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell Cook (25 September 1884 – 16 March 1960), also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer. She performed the role of Clara in the premiere production of George Gershwin's ''Porgy and Bess'' i ...
in '' Darkydom'', a
musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...
with score by
James Reese Europe James Reese Europe (February 22, 1880 – May 9, 1919) was an American ragtime and early jazz bandleader, arranger, and composer. He was the leading figure on the African-American music scene of New York City in the 1910s. Eubie Blake called him ...
that was the first major black musical comedy. For several years they continued to work together on the Keith vaudeville circuit, as well as writing and producing plays. Miller's script for ''The Mayor of Dixie'' was the basis for ''
Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Amer ...
'' which premiered in 1921, a
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...
musical with music by
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...
and lyrics by
Noble Sissle Noble Lee Sissle (July 10, 1889 – December 17, 1975) was an American jazz composer, lyricist, bandleader, singer, and playwright, best known for the Broadway musical ''Shuffle Along'' (1921), and its hit song "I'm Just Wild About Harry". Ea ...
. The show "set the style for more than a decade, inspiring many imitations," and showcased the song "
I'm Just Wild About Harry "I'm Just Wild About Harry" is a song written in 1921 with lyrics by Noble Sissle and music by Eubie Blake for the Broadway show '' Shuffle Along''. "I'm Just Wild About Harry" was the most popular number of the production, which was the first f ...
". Miller and Lyles also starred in the show, as Steve Jenkins and Sam Peck. Although the book for ''Shuffle Along'' is credited to Miller and Lyles, Miller was the principal author. ''Shuffle Along'' ran in theatres until 1924. Also in 1921, Orlando Kellum made a
short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
with Miller and Lyles performing their song "De Ducks" in Kellum's short-lived
Photokinema ''Photo-Kinema'' (some sources say ''Phono-Kinema'') was a sound-on-disc system for motion pictures invented by Orlando Kellum. 1921 introduction The system was first used for a small number of short films, mostly made in 1921. These films prese ...
sound-on-disc Sound-on-disc is a class of sound film processes using a phonograph or other disc to record or play back sound in sync with a motion picture. Early sound-on-disc systems used a mechanical interlock with the movie projector, while more recent sys ...
process. Between 1922 and 1925, Miller and Lyles also made a number of recordings for the
OKeh OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...
label. The pair wrote a three-act play, ''The Flat Below'', and Miller also wrote another play, ''Going White''. Miller and Lyles continued to work together for several years writing and performing in Broadway shows including ''Runnin' Wild'' – one of the first shows to popularize the Charleston, in 1923, with a score by
James P. Johnson James Price Johnson (February 1, 1894 – November 17, 1955) was an American pianist and composer. A pioneer of stride piano, he was one of the most important pianists in the early era of recording, and like Jelly Roll Morton, one of the key ...
– '' Rang Tang'' (1927), which they co-directed; and ''Keep Shuffling'' (1928) which featured music by
Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...
. They split up the act in 1928, while Miller worked with Eubie Blake in ''
Lew Leslie Lew Leslie (born Lewis Lessinsky; April 15, 1888 – March 10, 1963) was a American Jews, Jewish American writer and producer of Broadway theatre, Broadway shows. Leslie got his start in show business in vaudeville in his early twenties. Al ...
's Blackbirds of 1930'' on Broadway. Miller and Lyles later reunited to perform on radio, and also threatened to sue
Freeman Gosden Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden (May 5, 1899 – December 10, 1982) was an American radio comedian, actor and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the '' Amos 'n' Andy'' radio series. Life and ...
and
Charles Correll Charles James Correll (February 2, 1890 – September 26, 1972) was an American radio comedian, actor and writer who was best known for his work in the radio ''Amos 'n' Andy'' radio series with Freeman Gosden. Correll voiced the main character, ...
, writers and performers of the ''
Amos 'n' Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' was an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago then later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio sho ...
'' radio show, for
plagiarising Plagiarism is the representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of anothe ...
their act. However, the case was dropped after Lyles' death in 1932, at a time when the duo were trying to put together a new show, ''Shuffle Along of 1933''. By 1942, Miller had accepted a job with Gosden and Correll as a writer for the radio show. During the 1930s, Miller became increasingly involved with the
film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production company, production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre- ...
, working in particular with the comedian
Mantan Moreland Mantan Moreland (September 3, 1902 – September 28, 1973) was an American actor and comedian most popular in the 1930s and 1940s. He starred in numerous films. His daughter Marcella Moreland appeared as a child actor in several films. Ear ...
with whom he also performed in vaudeville. He performed in, and wrote for, several all-black movies between the 1930s and 1950s, including the
Westerns The Western is a genre of fiction typically set in the American frontier (commonly referred to as the "Old West" or the "Wild West") between the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the closing of the frontier in 1890, and commonly associated wit ...
'' Harlem on the Prairie'' (1937), '' Harlem Rides the Range'' (1939), and ''
The Bronze Buckaroo ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' is a 1939 American Western (genre), Western race film directed by Richard C. Kahn. ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' stars Black cowboys, Black cowboy singer Herb Jeffries, here billed as Herbert Jeffrey. Plot Cowboy Bob Blake rec ...
'' (1939). He moved to
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
, but retained an interest in theatrical productions, including presenting the unsuccessful show ''Shuffle Along of 1952''. Miller appeared alongside
Scatman Crothers Benjamin Sherman "Scatman" Crothers (May 23, 1910 – November 22, 1986) was an American actor and musician. He is known for playing Louie the Garbage Man on the TV show ''Chico and the Man'', and Dick Hallorann in Stanley Kubrick's '' The ...
in the minstrel review short film ''Yes Sir, Mr. Bones'' (1951). He also worked with the producers of ''Amos 'n' Andy'', becoming a script consultant and recommending Tim Moore to take the starring role in the TV version. Miller married Bessie Oliver in 1912. He died in Hollywood in 1971, aged 86. The
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...
ist Olivette Miller was his daughter, and playwright-librettist Sandra Seaton is also a relative.


Influence and commemoration

Miller was posthumously nominated for a
Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...
in 1979 for his contributions to musical theater, as described in '' Eubie!'', based on the life of
Eubie Blake James Hubert "Eubie" Blake (February 7, 1887 – February 12, 1983) was an American pianist and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. Blake began his career in 1912, and during World War I he worked in partnership with the singer, drum ...
. The book ''Reminiscing with Sissle and Blake'' by
William Bolcom William Elden Bolcom (born May 26, 1938) is an American composer and pianist. He has received the Pulitzer Prize, the National Medal of Arts, a Grammy Award, the Detroit Music Award and was named 2007 Composer of the Year by Musical America. He ...
and Robert Kimball (
Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...
, 1973), tells the story of Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles's involvement with ''Shuffle Along''.


Filmography

*'' They Know Their Groceries'' (1929),
Vitaphone Varieties Vitaphone Varieties is a series title (represented by a pennant logo on screen) used for all of Warner Bros.', earliest short film "talkies" of the 1920s, initially made using the Vitaphone sound on disc process before a switch to the sound-on-f ...
short co-starring
Aubrey Lyles Aubrey Lee Lyles (8 January 1884 – 28 July 1932), sometimes credited as A. L. Lyles, was an American vaudeville performer, playwright, songwriter, and lyricist. He appeared with Flournoy E. Miller as Miller and Lyles as a popular African-A ...
.
Bryan Foy Bryan Foy (December 8, 1896 – April 20, 1977) was an American film producer and film director, director. He produced more than 200 films between 1924 and 1963. He also directed 41 films between 1923 and 1934. He headed the B picture unit a ...
directed *''
That's the Spirit ''That's the Spirit'' is the fifth studio album by British rock band Bring Me the Horizon. The album was released on 11 September 2015, and marks a departure from the group's metalcore roots, in favour of a less aggressive alternative rock and ...
'' (1933) *'' Harlem on the Prairie'' (1937) *'' Harlem Rides the Range'' (1939) *''
The Bronze Buckaroo ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' is a 1939 American Western (genre), Western race film directed by Richard C. Kahn. ''The Bronze Buckaroo'' stars Black cowboys, Black cowboy singer Herb Jeffries, here billed as Herbert Jeffrey. Plot Cowboy Bob Blake rec ...
'' (1939) *'' Lucky Ghost'' (1942) *''
Mr. Washington Goes to Town ''Mr. Washington Goes to Town'' is a 1942 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and Jed Buell, and starring F. E. Miller, Mantan Moreland and Maceo Bruce Sheffield. The film was marketed primarily to black audiences and written and fil ...
'' (1942) *'' Professor Creeps'' (1942) *'' Stormy Weather'' (1943) *'' Yes Sir, Mr. Bones'' (1951)


See also

*
African American musical theater African-American musical theater includes late 19th- and early 20th-century musical theater productions by African Americans, African Americans in New York City and Chicago. Actors from troupes such as the Lafayette Players also crossed over ...
*
Black Vaudeville Black Vaudeville is a term that specifically describes Vaudeville-era African American entertainers and the milieus of dance, music, and theatrical performances they created. Spanning the years between the 1880s and early 1930s, these acts not onl ...


References


External links

*
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Flournoy E. Miller papers, 1924-1995
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miller, Flournoy 1885 births 1971 deaths African-American male comedians African-American comedians American male comedians 20th-century American comedians American vaudeville performers Blackface minstrel managers and producers American theatre managers and producers People from Columbia, Tennessee 20th-century African-American people Comedians from Tennessee