Actors - Dennis Miller

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	Actors - Dennis Miller

Dennis Miller (born November 3, 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American comedian, political and social commentator, and television personality.

Early life

Miller grew up in Pittsburgh, where he graduated from a public high school in 1971. . At Point Park University he majored in journalism because he thought it would be easy: "I remember seeing All the President's Men
and thinking Redford looked cool in his crinkled tie." . He was a member of Sigma Tau Gamma. About his social status during this period, Miller writes: "When I went to college, I lived on campus, and the guys I hung out with made the characters in Revenge of the Nerds
look like the Rat Pack in 1962. I myself made that kid Booger look like Remington Steele" (I Rant, Therefore I Am).

Before his career in entertainment, Miller worked as a janitor and an ice cream scooper. . At some point in the 1970s he submitted Playboy magazine's "joke of the year."

Television career

In the early 1980s Miller hosted The Trolley Show, a Saturday-afternoon newsmagazine for teenagers, on Pittsburgh's KDKA-TV. He also produced humorous essays for the syndicated PM Magazine television program. Miller then began performing standup in New York comedy clubs such as Catch A Rising Star and The Comic Strip, as well as in Los Angeles at The Comedy Store. He appeared on Star Search, where he lost out to fellow comedian Sinbad. (The show Family Guy alludes to this piece of trivia by portraying Stewie Griffin as having a similar experience.)

Saturday Night Live

Miller's big break came in 1985 when he was discovered by Lorne Michaels at the Comedy Store. He landed a spot on Saturday Night Live
, where he succeeded Christopher Guest as the "Weekend Update" anchor. Miller began his fictional news reports with "Good evening, what can I tell you?" and closed with "That's the news, and I am outta here!" Fans of SNL became accustomed to his smirky delivery, high-pitched giggle, and poofy, frequently-primped hair—idiosyncrasies that would be spoofed by Dana Carvey, Tom Hanks, and (later) Jimmy Fallon, all of whom have impersonated Miller on the show. When Miller left SNL in 1991, the anchor's chair was turned over to Kevin Nealon.

In 1990 Miller released a standup comedy CD, The Off-White Album, which drew heavily from the observational and metaphor-driven style he was known for on Saturday Night Live, and showed glimpses of the politically-based humor that would influence his later work. A well-received HBO special, Dennis Miller: Black & White, aired shortly after the release of the CD.

The Dennis Miller Show

In 1992, following his departure from Saturday Night Live, Miller launched a late night talk show, The Dennis Miller Show, syndicated by Tribune Entertainment. The Dennis Miller Show could easily be classified as the first "alternative" talk show, featuring cutting edge bands and other groundbreaking guests not seen on other late-night programs of the time. For example, Toad the Wet Sprocket made its national television debut on the show, and Henry Rollins stopped by more than once to chat with Miller and perform spoken word.

The Dennis Miller Show had a limited audience due to Tribune contracting it for time slots in the wee hours of the morning. The show was also hurt by the booking practices of the rival Tonight Show with Jay Leno, whose executive producer, Helen Kushnick, would ban stars from appearing on her program if they appeared on any other talk show. The show was cancelled in 1992, the same year it premiered.

Dennis Miller Live

Beginning in 1994, Miller hosted Dennis Miller Live, a half-hour talk show on HBO characterized by its simplicity. The show had no set, no band, and not even much lighting. It consisted mainly of Miller speaking to the largely unseen studio audience on a darkened stage. There would be one guest per show, either live in the studio or occasionally on air via satellite, whom Miller would quiz on the topic of the day. The show also had a call-in segment (the number was 1-800-LACTOSE); however, call-ins were phased out entirely in the last years of the show. Miller and his writing staff won five Emmy Awards while hosting the show, which aired 215 episodes during its nine-year run. The show was cancelled by HBO in 2002.

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