Allan Miller
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Allan Miller | |
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Born | |
Occupation(s) | Actor, director, acting teacher, author, playwright |
Years active | 1956–current |
Spouse(s) | Anita Cooper (divorced) Laura Zucker (m. 1976) |
Children | Gregory Miller Zachary Miller |
Allan Miller (born February 14, 1929) is an American actor, director, acting teacher, author and playwright.
Biography
Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Anna (née Diamond) and Benedict Miller.[1] He served in the U.S. Army after World War II during the occupation of Japan.[2] Noticing an ad in Stars and Stripes that was looking for performers, he began performing in shows to entertain the troops.[2] In 1948, after Miller returned to the U.S., he attended Erwin Piscator's New School of Social Research's Dramatic Workshop in New York.[2] He then studied acting under Uta Hagen (his classmates included Geraldine Page and Charles Nelson Reilly); and under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio (his classmates included James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Paul Newman).[2] In 1958, under Strasberg's sponsorship, he began teaching at the Dramatic Workshop. In 1960, he started teaching privately; one of his students was a young Barbra Streisand.[2]
He is best known for his appearances on television, including Kojak, The Rockford Files, The Streets of San Francisco, Hawaii Five-O, Dallas, and The Paper Chase.[3] His film career included roles in Baby Blue Marine (1976), Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) and Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984). He has performed on stages across the country and on Broadway. He was producing director of the Back Alley Theatre, which he created and ran with his wife, Laura Zucker, from 1979–1989.
Allan Miller also coaches acting. He has coached Meryl Streep, Geraldine Page, Barbra Streisand, and hundreds of other actors. He's taught acting at NYU and the Yale School of Drama, and continues to teach at the Actors Studio West. He's the author of the book, A Passion for Acting, and a DVD, Auditioning. He wrote the play, The Fox, based on the D.H. Lawrence novella, which was produced in Los Angeles, Off-Broadway at the Roundabout Theatre in New York City, and continues to be produced in the United States and around the world.
He is a member of the acting branch of the Motion Picture Academy and a former board member of the Screen Actors Guild.
Personal life
Miller has been married twice. His first wife was actress Anita Cooper, now deceased.[2] His second wife is Laura Zucker, who for 25 years was executive director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.[2][4]
Filmography
- Baby Blue Marine (1976) - Capt. Bittman
- Two-Minute Warning (1976) - Mr. Green
- Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) - Loan Company Manager
- MacArthur (1977) - Colonel Diller
- Hawaii Five-O (1977) "Shake Hands with the Man on the Moon" - Frank Devlin
- The Champ (1979) - Whitey
- Cruising (1980) - Chief of Detectives
- Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) - Alien
- Brewster's Millions (1985) - Political Newscaster
- Warlock (1989) - Detective
- Second Chances (1998) - Dr. Rasmussen
- Bad Words (2013) - Bald Glasses Judge
Miller has also acted in over 150 TV shows and fifty plays.
References
- ^ Allan Miller Biography (1929-)
- ^ a b c d e f g Miller, Daryl H. "Stages of Development". Los Angeles Times June 21, 1998.
- ^ The Paper Chase, Season 1, Episode 6, "Nancy" (YouTube)
- ^ Morris, Steven Leigh (August 8, 2017). ""I Was Thrown Down a Staircase by Meryl Streep." The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Laura Zucker". This Stage.