F. E. Miller

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Flournoy E. Miller (14 April 1887, Nashville, Tennessee - 6 June 1971, Hollywood, California) was an African American composer, singer, writer, and actor who appeared in vaudeville with Aubrey Lyles as Miller and Lyles.

From 1906 to 1909, Miller and Lyles performed with the Pekin Theater Stock Company in Chicago, and then on the vaudeville circuit for many years. In 1915, they appeared in Andre Charlot's production Charlot's Revue in England, and upon their return to the U.S., appeared in Darkydom with Abbie Mitchell.

In 1921, Lyles and Miller wrote the book for Shuffle Along, a Broadway musical with music by Eubie Blake and lyrics by Noble Sissle. Also in 1921, Orlando Kellum made a short film with Miller and Lyles performing their song "De Ducks" in Kellum's short-lived Photokinema sound-on-disc process.

Miller and Lyles also worked on another Broadway production, Runnin' Wild (1923). Lyles broke up the act in 1929, but they reunited briefly in 1932 -- shortly before Lyles' death -- trying to put together a new show Shuffle Along of 1933. Miller also starred in the 1930 version of Lew Leslie's Blackbirds.

He was posthumously nominated for a Tony Award in 1979 for his contributions to the musical Eubie!, based on the life of Eubie Blake.