Research Catalog

Title

Flournoy Miller collection, 1928-1971 1941-1951.

Author

Miller, Flournoy E., 1886-1971.

Supplementary Content

Finding aid

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983.

Description

1.3 lin. in. (4 boxes)

Summary

The Flournoy Miller papers, 1928-1971, document Miller's life as a scriptwriter, producer, and entertainer. The collection consists of two series, Personal Papers and Professional Papers, and includes correspondence, contracts, scripts, and clippings.

Donor/Sponsor

Schomburg NEH Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collections Project.

Subjects

• Biographies
• Amos 'n' Andy
• African Americans > Music
• Love letters
• Shuffle along
• Miller, Bessie Oliver, 1888-1974
• Helen Armstead-Johnson Collection
• Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983
• Sugar hill
• African American entertainers
• Lyles, Aubrey L., -1932
• Musical scores
• African Americans in the performing arts
• Television comedy writers
• Miller, Olivette
• Miller, Flournoy E., 1886-1971
• Scripts
• Musicals
• Lyrics
• African American dramatists
• African American comedians
• Sissle, Noble, 1889-1975
• African American actors

Genre/Form

• Biographies.
• Musical scores.
• Scripts.
• Lyrics.
• Love letters.

Note

• Photographs transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division (Schomburg).

Source (note)

• Helen Armstead-Johnson;
• Helen Armstead-Johnson

Biography (note)

• Flournoy Miller, actor, comedian, playwright, lyricist, and producer, was born in Columbia, Tennessee. He began his entertainment career while attending Fisk University where he teamed up with his childhood friend, Aubrey Lyles to form a 25 year partnership.

Provenance (note)

• The collection was donated to Helen Armstead-Johnson, and subsequently donated by her, along with other theater related collections, to the Schomburg Center.

Linking Entry (note)

• Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.

Processing Action (note)

• Processed
• Cataloged

Call Number

Sc MG 599

OCLC

NYPW00-A151

Author

Miller, Flournoy E., 1886-1971.

Title

Flournoy Miller collection, 1928-1971 1941-1951.

Biography

Flournoy Miller, actor, comedian, playwright, lyricist, and producer, was born in Columbia, Tennessee. He began his entertainment career while attending Fisk University where he teamed up with his childhood friend, Aubrey Lyles to form a 25 year partnership.

In 1907, Miller and Lyles were offered their first professional positions as playwrights for the Pekin Stock Company in Chicago. The first play they co-wrote for the Company was "The Man from 'Bam", followed by "The Mayor of Dixie." In 1915, they had their first success while starring in "Darkydom," the first major black musical comedy. Their biggest success came in 1921 when they joined with Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle to write and produce "Shuffle Along." Following the closing of "Shuffle Along" in 1924, they produced a variety of musical comedies which included "Runnin' Wild" (1924) and "Rang Tang" (1927). After the unsuccessful run of their production "Keep Shufflin'" (1928), the team broke up, ending a twenty-five year partnership. During this time Miller wrote and appeared in Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds" (1930). One year later, the team reunited for one last time and produced "Sugar Hill" with James P. Johnson.

After Aubrey Lyles' death in 1932, Miller teamed with comedian Mantan Moreland and they toured the vaudeville circuits. In 1936, they appeared in the motion picture "Harlem on the Prairie," the first all-black western. In the 1950s Miller wrote for the television show "Amos 'n' Andy." Miller died in a California hospital in 1971.

Provenance

The collection was donated to Helen Armstead-Johnson, and subsequently donated by her, along with other theater related collections, to the Schomburg Center.

Linking Entry

Forms part of: Helen Armstead-Johnson Theater Collection.

Connect to:

NYPL Digital Collections

Finding aid

Added Author

Blake, Eubie, 1887-1983. Shuffle along.

Research Call Number

Sc MG 599