Born 1884 in Columbia, Tennessee, Irvin C. Miller got into the entertainment business by way of vaudeville. He started out as an actor in shows and eventually started writing and producing his own.
He produced several different version of his most famous show, Brownskin Models. The show toured the country from 1925-1955. It was heralded as a complete departure from the stereotypes that were standard fare in previous vaudeville shows and offered up a new view of black female sexuality.
The Irene Connection
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In 1944, Irene and Andy Razaf wrote the music for a new version of Brownskin Models.
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In the same year, Irene wrote "music choir features" for Born to Swing, a new musical by Donald Heywood and Andy Razaf. Irvin C. Miller produced the show at the Lincoln Theater in Philadelphia, but it never made it to New York.
