Eve Marilyn Miller (born Marilyn Miller; August 8, 1923 – August 17, 1973) was an American actress who appeared in 41 films between 1945 and 1961. She was born in Los Angeles, California, and died in Van Nuys, California. She died by suicide at age 50.

Early life

Born in Los Angeles, California, Miller was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Stanley Miller and was raised in San Francisco, where her father was a piano salesman. During the early years of World War II, Miller worked as a welder in a shipyard and later, before the war ended, became a department store clerk.

Movie career

In 1951, after several small parts in television and movies such as The Vicious Years (1950), Miller came to the attention of producer-director Ida Lupino and through her influence was cast in Warner Brothers' The Big Trees, starring opposite Kirk Douglas. Several more parts followed such as The Winning Team with Ronald Reagan and Kansas Pacific starring Sterling Hayden. Miller's main work though came in a long string of television roles stretching through the 1950s. She appeared regularly in anthologies such as Fireside Theater, Four Star Playhouse, and Crossroads. The actress also had parts in a number of series including Lassie, Annie Oakley, and Richard Diamond, Private Detective.

Personal life

A Democrat, she supported the campaign of Adlai Stevenson during the 1952 presidential election. In 1954, Miller met Glase Lohman, an actor who had a brief television and movie career in the mid-1950s, and they became engaged. On July 21, 1955, after an argument between the two, Miller attempted suicide by stabbing herself in the abdomen. According to newspapers at the time, she was discovered by police on her kitchen floor, surrounded by letters she had written to Lohman. Eventually, after four hours of surgery, she recovered. On August 17, 1973, nine days after her 50th birthday, Miller died by suicide in Van Nuys, California. She was interred in Forest Lawn Cemetery (Hollywood Hills).

Filmography

Film

Television