Glenn Miller - Bio, Age, Height, Nationality, Net Worth, Facts

Glenn Miller is a late American big band musician, arranger, composer, and bandleader. Glenn Miller was one of the most popular bandleaders in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

Early Life

Glenn Miller was born on the 1st of March 1904, in  Clarinda, Iowa, in the United States of America. His birth name is Alton Glen Miller and held American nationality. Moreover, he passed away at the age of 40 years old and had a birth sign of Pisces. He was of white, European-American ethnicity while his religious belief is unknown.

He was born his father Lewis Elmer Miller and his mother Mattie Lou. Moreover, he was the second of two children and grew up in a musical household. His father was a farmer and a music enthusiast who played the mandolin. While his mother was a pianist and organist who taught Miller his first music lessons.

As a child, he learned to play the piano, violin, and mandolin. Eventually, he settled on the trombone as his primary instrument. He played in various school and community bands and began his professional music career in the late 1920s, playing with various bands in the Midwest and on the West Coast.

Education

Miller attended the University of Colorado in Boulder, where he studied music and formed his first band. He later transferred to the University of North Texas (then known as North Texas State Teachers College) to study music education and play in the school’s jazz band.

Glenn Miller – Death

Miller passed away on December 15, 1944, during World War II. At the time, he was a Major in the U.S. Army Air Forces and was traveling to entertain American troops in France. Miller boarded a single-engine UC-64 Norseman aircraft in England, along with the aircraft’s pilot and a passenger, to fly to France for a performance.

Professional Career

Glenn Miller’s career began in the late 1920s when he started working as a freelance trombonist and arranger in various bands, including those led by Ben Pollack, Red Nicholls, and Tommy Dorsey. In the early 1930s, he formed his own band, but it struggled to find success.

His big break came in the mid-1930s when he re-formed his band and signed a contract with RCA Victor. The band began to achieve widespread success with hits like “Moonlight Serenade,” “In the Mood,” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo.” His music became the soundtrack for the World War II generation, and he and his band played countless USO shows for American troops around the world.

Glenn Miller

Caption: Glenn Miller performing with his band (Source: The National WWII Museum)

Meanwhile, he has also a world in the film industry He made his film debut in the film titled Sun Valley Serenade (1941) along with Sonja Henie. In 1942, he starred in Orchestra Wives. However, his new career in film was cut short that same year.

Mysterious Death

In 1942, at the height of his success, he enlisted in the Army Air Force and formed the Glenn Miller Army Air Force Band, which continued to play for troops and broadcast radio shows until Miller’s disappearance in 1944. While flying to France to perform for troops, Miller’s plane disappeared over the English Channel and was never found. The exact cause of the crash remains unknown.

ncG1vNJzZmiamaS0s63PobCmmaOge6S7zGiepZ2eo3qutculnKtn