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Rick Miller (comedian)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rick Miller
Born (1970-03-12) March 12, 1970 (age 54)
Canada
GenresTheatre, Musical comedy, Impressions, Observational comedy
SpouseStephanie Baptist
Websitewww.rickmiller.ca

Rick Miller (born March 12, 1970) is a Canadian director, actor, comedian, musician, playwright, and podcast host, currently living in Toronto. He has two architecture degrees from McGill University in Montreal, and has performed in 6 languages on 5 continents. Although primarily known as a solo theatre creator and performer, Miller is also known for hosting the television series Just for Laughs[1] and for performing a version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" during which he impersonates "twenty five of the most annoying voices in the music industry". His BOOM Trilogy of solo shows (BOOM, BOOM X, and BOOM YZ) examine 75 years of music, culture and politics, and have been performed over 600 times across North America, Europe and Asia.

Career

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Miller has created and performed in many plays, BOOM,[2] BOOM X,[3] BOOM YZ, Bigger than Jesus,[4] MacHomer,[5][6] HARDSELL 2.0 - VENDU,[7] and Robert Lepage's Lipsynch.[8]

In an example of art imitating life imitating art, The Simpsons featured a segment in the episode "Four Great Women and a Manicure", in which Homer and Marge played versions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, respectively. This was an idea originally conceived by Miller for his one-man-show MacHomer. Matt Groening approved of the show and allowed Miller to use his characters.

Miller is also the co-creative director of Kidoons, the Canadian multimedia company that has developed the family touring stage shows Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea (premiered in 2015),[9] Jungle Book (premiered in 2018),[10] and FRANKENSTEIN: A Living Comic Book (premiered in 2022). Kidoons also produces web series for families, featuring animated characters that connect to the Kidoons stage shows.[11]

When not on tour, Miller is the frontman for the Toronto party band TRAINWRECK,[12] also featuring his life partner of 28 years, Stephanie Baptist. In 2019, he released a compilation CD of 20 tracks from all of his solo shows called Rick Miller SONGS (from BOOM X and Other Shows).[13]

Bohemian Rhapsody skit

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Miller is best known for his famous portrayal of the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody" "as performed by 25 of the most annoying voices in the music industry". However, the actual number of parodies in the sketch is 27, including a general parody of lead guitarists. A video of the performance was uploaded on YouTube in 2007, and has been seen over 1,000,000 times.[14] The list of parodies includes (in order): Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Michael Bolton, Corey Hart, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Jon Bon Jovi, Robbie Robertson, Neil Diamond, Aaron Neville, Dennis DeYoung, Barney the Dinosaur, Aerosmith, "Any Annoying Lead Guitarist", Meat Loaf, Crash Test Dummies, Tom Petty, Beck, The B-52's, AC/DC, Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Ozzy Osbourne, Julio Iglesias, Bobby McFerrin, Andrea Bocelli, and Guns N' Roses.

Voice work

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Miller has also worked as a voice actor for numerous animated television shows and a video game.

Some of the characters he has voiced include:

References

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  1. ^ Just for Laughs page at ABC official site
  2. ^ Review of BOOM in Globe & Mail
  3. ^ Review of BOOM X in Globe & Mail
  4. ^ Review of Bigger than Jesus at SceneandHeard.com
  5. ^ Review of Machomer at Los Angeles Times
  6. ^ Link to interview with Miller about MacHomer on National Public Radio
  7. ^ Review of HARDSELL 2.0 - VENDU at HuffingtonPost.ca
  8. ^ Presentation of Lipsynch on the 2009 Toronto Festival of Arts & Creativity website
  9. ^ "Review: 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' With a Message on the Environment (Published 2016)". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20.
  10. ^ Review of Jungle Book at BroadwayWorld.com
  11. ^ Official Kidoons Network site
  12. ^ Official TRAINWRECK band site
  13. ^ Rick Miller SONGS CD official site
  14. ^ Link to video of the skit, with more than 1,000,000 views
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