Denny Miller

Denny Miller
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Portrays:	Ser 5-9
Date of Birth:	April 25, 1934
Date of Death:	September 09, 2014
Age at Death:	80
Nationality:	USA
Related Media
		@ BW Media
Official Site (archived)
IMDb profile

Dennis Linn "Denny" Miller (April 25, 1934 – September 9, 2014) was an American actor and writer who portrayed the humanoid Cylon Ser 5-9 in the Battlestar Galactica two-part episode "The Gun on Ice Planet Zero." Born in Bloomington, Indiana, the 6-foot-4-inch actor became best known for his regular role as Duke Shannon on the television western Wagon Train (1961–1964), his portrayal of the first blond Tarzan in the 1959 film Tarzan, the Ape Man, and his memorable supporting role in Blake Edwards' 1968 comedy The Party.

Career

Early Discovery and Film Debut

Miller's path to Hollywood began at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he played basketball for the legendary coach John Wooden. Miller received a full-ride scholarship to UCLA alongside his brother Kent after attracting Wooden's attention at University High School in Los Angeles. Their father, Ben Miller, was a physical education instructor at Indiana University and later joined the UCLA faculty.

During his senior year, Miller worked as a furniture mover to help pay for his education. In a fateful encounter on Sunset Boulevard, a talent agent discovered him while he was working a furniture moving job and signed him to a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). His screen test was directed by the renowned filmmaker George Cukor. Miller's first role was an uncredited bit part in the Frank Sinatra drama Some Came Running (1958), filmed in Madison, Indiana. Miller later recalled his small part with humor: "I was the only one who came running. I came running to tell Dean Martin that somebody was in town to shoot him!"

Tarzan and Early Career

In 1959, Miller became the first blond actor to portray Tarzan in MGM's low-budget remake of Tarzan, the Ape Man. The film, which lifted most of its footage from earlier Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan movies, was originally envisioned as part of a trilogy. However, Miller himself acknowledged in a 2007 interview with the Las Vegas Journal-Review that the production was unsuccessful, joking that "the one I did was so bad they didn't do the other two." Miller had been recommended for the role by actor William Smith, who was also considered for the part and would later star in the NBC western series Laredo. MGM had Miller under contract for 20 months, during which he actually worked only eight weeks as Tarzan.

Despite the film's critical failure, Miller's career gained momentum. He appeared in numerous television westerns during the early 1960s, including guest spots on Northwest Passage, Overland Trail, Laramie (where the 26-year-old Miller appeared as Wilkie, the son of a powerful rancher, in the "License to Kill" episode), Have Gun – Will Travel, and The Rifleman (as a dimwitted gunfighter named Reuben Miles).

Wagon Train and Television Success

In 1961, Miller landed his most prominent television role as Duke Shannon, the young scout on Wagon Train. He appeared in more than 100 episodes of the popular western series from 1961 to 1964. During his tenure on the show, his billing evolved from Denny Miller to Denny Scott Miller and finally to Scott Miller, a progression he later chronicled with humor in his 2004 autobiography Didn't You Used to Be What's His Name?

Following Wagon Train's cancellation in 1965, Miller starred opposite Juliet Prowse in the NBC sitcom Mona McCluskey (1965–1966), playing military officer Mike McCluskey. In the story line, Mike insisted that Mona live on his military salary rather than her earnings as an actress.

The Party

Miller considered his role as "Wyoming" Bill Kelso in Blake Edwards' 1968 comedy The Party to be the part he most enjoyed during his career. The film, which starred Peter Sellers, employed an improvisational approach with a script that was only 63 pages long—less than half the normal length for its running time. Edwards ran video cameras simultaneously with the main film cameras to capture the improvised performances, allowing actors to develop their characters spontaneously—an innovative technique for its time.

Cast and crew members described the production as exceptionally enjoyable. Miller himself called the experience "heaven," noting that cast and crew members not even involved in shooting certain scenes would stay on set just to watch the filming because they sensed they were creating something special. In the film, Miller's character—a towering western movie star—becomes charmed by Sellers' portrayal of Hrundi V. Bakshi, the bumbling Indian actor who accidentally gets invited to a lavish Hollywood party.

Guest Appearances and Later Career

Miller appeared in over 200 television episodes throughout his career, working on many of the most popular series from the 1960s through the 1990s. His science fiction and fantasy credits included Voyagers! (1982), Battlestar Galactica (1978), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, and the original miniseries version of V.

He memorably appeared in two separate episodes of Gilligan's Island: first as surfer Duke Williams (who washed ashore after a tsunami) in "Big Man on Little Stick," and later as Tongo the Ape Man in "Our Vines Have Tender Apes." Both character names referenced his two most famous roles—Duke Shannon from Wagon Train and his portrayal of Tarzan. His other notable guest appearances included Gunsmoke, The Fugitive, The High Chaparral, Hawaii Five-O, I Dream of Jeannie, The Brady Bunch (as Carol Brady's egomaniacal high-school boyfriend Tank Gates in "Quarterback Sneak"), The Six Million Dollar Man, Quincy, M.E., The Incredible Hulk, M*A*S*H, The Rockford Files, Charlie's Angels, Dallas, Magnum, P.I., and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.

His film work included roles in Love in a Goldfish Bowl (1961), The Party (1968), Making It (1971), Doomsday Machine (1972), Buck and the Preacher (1972), The Gravy Train (1974), The Island at the Top of the World (1974), The Norseman (1978), Caboblanco (1980), and Circle of Power (1981).

Commercial Work

For 14 years, Miller served as the face of Gorton's seafood, appearing in numerous television commercials as the iconic Gorton's Fisherman in his distinctive yellow rain slicker. Miller had previously spent 10 years as the spokesperson for Brawny paper towels. When Gorton's hired Miller, the company's packaging featured a clean-shaven fisherman, but this changed when Miller declined to shave his beard for the role—the company subsequently altered the fisherman's image on their labels to resemble Miller. Following Miller's death, the company's chief operating officer told his widow Nancy that Miller had been "the best fisherman they'd ever had."

Personal Life

Miller earned his Bachelor of Science degree from UCLA in 1966. Miller's teammates at UCLA included Willie Naulls and Rafer Johnson, the famous decathlete. When Miller left the Bruins during his senior year to pursue his acting career and become Tarzan, his roster spot was taken by Denny Crum, who would later become a legendary basketball coach.

Miller was married to his second wife, Nancy, with whom he resided in Las Vegas, Nevada for the final years of his life. He had previously been married to Kit Smythe, who played Ginger in the unaired pilot of Gilligan's Island.

In Las Vegas, Miller was devoted to physical fitness and maintained a weight room in his garage bearing the sign "Miller's Body Shop." He also taught classes in relaxation techniques. Miller moved to Southern Nevada with his wife Nancy approximately nine years before his death and used Tarzan's famous ululating yell on his answering machine.

Miller wrote two books later in life. His 2004 autobiography, Didn't You Used to Be What's His Name?, chronicled his career as a character actor and reflected on his experiences in Hollywood. Miller described his writing influences as including James Thurber (especially his book The 13 Clocks), Dave Barry, Coach John Wooden, Benjamin Hoff's The Tao of Pooh, Robert Fulghum, and J.K. Rowling. In 2006, he published Toxic Waist? Get to Know Sweat!, illustrated by Mike Royer, which focused on America's obesity epidemic and promoted physical fitness. Miller offered advice to aspiring writers: "Don't wait till you are seventy-one like I did. Get on with it."

Miller was a regular fixture at fan conventions and book festivals, where he enjoyed signing autographs, posing for photographs, and discussing his past roles, including his time as Tarzan. He maintained close friendships within the Edgar Rice Burroughs fan community and, along with his wife Nancy, was a frequent visitor to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Collections at the University of Louisville, where he counted Curator Emeritus George McWhorter among his closest friends. Miller was a panelist at the Clark County Library's Spring Fling book fair in 2013 but stopped attending festivals in September 2013, preferring to keep his illness private.

Miller was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, in January 2014. The diagnosis was a cruel irony for an actor and former athlete devoted to physical fitness. However, according to his wife Nancy, medical professionals who treated him remarked that he was "the strongest ALS patient they'd ever had." Nancy Miller noted that even two years before his death, "he still looked like he was 50." Miller died at his Las Vegas home on September 9, 2014, at the age of 80. His wife Nancy stated that following his diagnosis, "He maintained his dignity and grace" and "we tried to make every minute count."

References

External Links

• Denny Miller at Find a Grave
• Denny Miller's Official MySpace Page